Is Your Horse's Performance Problem Really a Training Issue?

When a horse isn't moving or functioning comfortably, the first signs aren't always obvious lameness. Sometimes, the earliest indication that something has changed is simply that the horse no longer feels quite the same to ride.

Perhaps they have lost some of their impulsion, become more difficult to engage, feel stiffer on one rein or are struggling with an exercise they previously found easy. Other horses may become inconsistent in the contact, less willing to go forwards or increasingly resistant during certain movements.

It can be tempting to view these changes purely as a training problem, particularly when the horse appears sound and is still able to continue working. Training should certainly be considered, but it is also important to ask whether there could be a physical reason for a change in your horse's performance.

Poor Performance Doesn't Always Mean Obvious Lameness

One of the challenges with horses is that musculoskeletal discomfort does not always present as clear, continuous lameness.

Research into horses investigated for poor performance has demonstrated this particularly well. In a study of 150 horses with musculoskeletal pain undergoing ridden assessment, only 30% were continuously lame. Other findings included episodic lameness and bilaterally shortened steps and/or restricted hindlimb impulsion and engagement.

This highlights why changes such as reduced impulsion, engagement or willingness shouldn't automatically be dismissed simply because a horse isn't obviously lame.

Behaviour can provide useful information too. Research using the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) has identified associations between certain ridden behaviours and musculoskeletal pain. This doesn't mean that every resistant behaviour is caused by pain, but it reinforces the importance of considering physical comfort when a horse's normal behaviour or performance changes.

Movement Requires the Whole Body to Work Together

Every movement we ask a horse to perform relies on multiple areas of the body working together.

Whether we are asking for a simple transition, lateral work, collection, jumping or increased impulsion, the horse requires an appropriate combination of joint mobility, muscular strength, coordination, stability and neuromuscular control.

Muscles need to be able to contract and relax effectively. Joints require sufficient functional mobility for the movement being performed, while the horse also needs the strength and stability to control that movement.

This is one reason I believe it is important to look beyond the area where a problem appears to present.

For example, difficulty with a particular movement doesn't necessarily tell us where the underlying limitation originates. The horse's body functions as an interconnected system, and changes in one area may influence how other areas are being used.

Compensation: When the Body Finds Another Way

Horses are incredibly good at adapting.

If an area is uncomfortable, restricted, weak or simply unable to meet the demands being placed upon it, the horse may alter the way they move to continue performing the task.

In the short term, this ability to compensate can be extremely useful. However, if an altered movement pattern persists, other muscles, joints and soft tissues may be required to work differently or take on additional load.

This is why simply treating the area that appears tight or uncomfortable doesn't always give us the whole picture. It is useful to consider why that area may have become overloaded in the first place.

From an osteopathic perspective, this means assessing the horse as a whole and considering how different areas of the body may be influencing one another.

What Does the Research Tell Us About Pain and Performance?

There is growing research demonstrating the relationship between musculoskeletal comfort, ridden behaviour and equine performance.

Research involving more than 1,000 starts at British Eventing BE90, BE100 and Novice competitions found a relationship between Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram scores and performance. Horses finishing first, second or third had lower median RHpE scores than other finishers and horses that were eliminated, retired or withdrawn.

Research in elite Grand Prix dressage horses has also found an association between higher RHpE scores and lower judges' scores.

These findings don't mean that every performance issue is caused by pain. Performance is complex and can be influenced by training, rider ability, fitness, confidence, environment, tack and many other factors.

They do, however, reinforce an important point: physical comfort and performance cannot be considered completely separately.

Where Does Equine Osteopathy Fit In?

From an equine osteopathic perspective, I am interested not only in what the horse is struggling to do, but how their body is functioning while they attempt to do it.

Using a whole-body, hands-on assessment, I consider joint mobility, muscular and fascial tension, movement patterns and areas of compensation alongside the horse's workload, training, previous injuries and the physical demands of their discipline.

Equine manual therapy research is continuing to develop. A 2022 review of spinal mobilisation and manipulation in horses reported a growing body of evidence in this area, with research examining outcomes including joint movement, muscle tone, nociception and performance.

More recently, osteopathy-specific research has begun to provide further objective information.

A 2025 randomised controlled study investigated a single osteopathic manipulation of the sacroiliac joint in sport horses with sacroiliac dysfunction. Researchers reported small but significant changes in selected gait parameters alongside reductions in back muscle tone and pain-related scores following treatment.

A separate 2025 study investigated osteopathic manipulation in non-lame sport horses with caudal cervical dysfunction and decreased performance. Researchers reported changes in cervical functional assessment, pain and muscle tone scores, alongside measurable changes in selected gait parameters.

These studies are encouraging, but the evidence base for equine osteopathy is still developing. They should not be interpreted as evidence that osteopathy can improve every horse's performance or resolve every musculoskeletal problem. Further research, particularly into repeated treatment and longer-term outcomes, is needed.

Learn What Is Normal for Your Horse

As an owner or rider, one of the most valuable things you can develop is an understanding of what is normal for your individual horse.

You ride, handle and observe them regularly, which means you may notice subtle changes before they become particularly obvious.

Things worth paying attention to can include:

• A new difference between the left and right rein

• Reduced impulsion or willingness to go forwards

• Difficulty engaging the hindquarters

• Changes in canter transitions or canter quality

• Reduced flexibility or suppleness

• Difficulty maintaining bend

• Increased resistance during particular movements

• Changes when tacking up, mounting or being groomed

• Unexplained changes in behaviour or willingness to work

• A general feeling that your horse is simply "not quite right"

None of these signs provides a diagnosis on its own, and there are many possible explanations. However, a persistent or unexplained change is worth investigating rather than automatically assuming the horse is being lazy, difficult or disobedient.

Where there is lameness, significant pain, sudden deterioration or another concern regarding your horse's health, veterinary assessment should always be the first step.

Training and Physical Function Need to Work Together

Not every difficulty under saddle is physical. Sometimes a horse needs more strength, clearer training, better balance or simply more time to understand what is being asked.

Equally, repeatedly schooling an exercise won't necessarily solve the problem if the horse is physically struggling to perform it comfortably.

This is why I believe training and physical function need to be considered together.

A horse can only perform within the current capabilities of their body. Good training develops those capabilities progressively, while appropriate physical assessment and management can help us understand whether mobility, discomfort, weakness or compensation may be contributing when something begins to change.

Rather than simply asking:

"Why won't my horse do this?"

Sometimes it is worth asking:

"Is there a reason my horse is finding this more difficult than they used to?"

That small change in perspective can help us listen to what the horse's movement and behaviour may be telling us and ultimately support more comfortable, confident and sustainable performance.

Read the Research

• Musculoskeletal pain & poor performance in 150 horses – Dyson & Pollard, 2023
PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37370450/

• Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram & British Eventing performance – Dyson & Pollard, 2022
PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35268159/

• Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram in elite Grand Prix dressage horses – Dyson & Pollard, 2021
PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33919208/

• Spinal mobilisation and manipulation in horses – Haussler & Holt, 2022
PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36244938/

• Osteopathic manipulation of the sacroiliac joint in sport horses – Ramon et al., 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eqre.2025.100028

• Osteopathic manipulation of caudal cervical dysfunction in sport horses – Ramon et al., 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eqre.2025.100037

Equine osteopathy and manual therapy are developing areas of research. The studies above should be considered within the wider evidence base and do not suggest that osteopathic treatment is appropriate for every performance or musculoskeletal problem. Veterinary assessment remains important where pain, lameness or injury is suspected.