Can the presence of musculoskeletal pain be determined from the facial expressions of ridden horses (FEReq)?

Poor performance in horses is often attributed to rider or training problems or behavioural abnormalities. Riders often fail to recognise lameness. We need to determine if there are differences in facial expression in lame and non-lame horses when ridden, which may facilitate the identification of horses experiencing pain. A previously developed facial expression for ridden horses ethogram (FEReq) was applied blindly by a trained analyst to photographs (n=519) of the head and neck of lame (n=76) and non-lame (n=25) horses acquired during ridden schooling-type work at both trot and canter.
Source: Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Source Type: research