Recognising Lameness in Horses

Lameness in horses is a common yet complex issue that can significantly impact a horse’s performance and overall well-being. Early detection and appropriate management are crucial to ensure long-term soundness. Understanding how to recognise lameness and take appropriate action are essential skills to have.

What is Lameness?

Lameness is any alteration in a horse’s gait caused by pain, injury, or mechanical dysfunction. It can range from subtle discomfort to obvious not wanting to bear weight on a limb. The pain or discomfort can come from joints, muscles, tendons or ligaments – and there are numerous causes of lameness including:

• Hoof abscesses, bruising, or poor hoof balance

• Tendon or ligament injuries

• Joint disease such as arthritis

• Back or sacroiliac issues

• Poor saddle fit or rider imbalance

• Trauma or fractures

Early Signs of Lameness

Recognising lameness early can prevent minor issues from becoming serious, long-term problems. This is where learning and recognising what is normal for your horse is key so you can identify changes quickly.

"Learning to recognise when your horse shows signs of mild discomfort and respond accordingly can help prevent lameness and injury." says Gillian

Signs to Watch For

• Subtle Changes in Movement

   A shortened stride, stiffness, or a reluctance to move forward

• Head Bobbing

  A noticeable head nod when a horse moves, especially at the trot

• Uneven Weight Bearing

  Standing with more weight on one limb while resting another frequently

• Changes in Behaviour

  Resistance to work, unusual irritability, or reluctance to pick up a certain lead in canter

• Hoof Sensitivity

  A reluctance to walk on hard surfaces

• Swelling or Heat

  In joints, tendons, or hooves

Evaluating Lameness

A structured approach to assessing lameness can help pinpoint the issue more effectively.

Steps to Evaluate Lameness

Regularly observe and assess your horse to spot asymmetries and postural changes.

1. Observe at Rest: Check for uneven weight distribution, swelling, or abnormal posture.

2. Watch in Motion: Ask a friend to walk and trot your horse up on a straight line and on a circle. Video it, so you can watch it back.

3. Look for Asymmetry: Compare movement on both sides to detect differences.

4. Palpate for Pain: Run your hands over joints, muscles, and hooves to feel for heat or swelling.

If you notice consistent irregularities, call your vet for advice.  

What to Look For During a Trot-Up

Here's a guide on how to spot lameness during a trot-up:

1. Head nod for front limb lameness

• "Down on sound" - When a horse is lame on a front leg, it will nod its head up when the sore leg hits the ground and down when the sound leg does.

• So, if the horse nods its head down when the left front hits the ground, it's likely to be lame on the right front.
  

2. Watch the hips for hind limb lameness

• Watch the horse’s hips. The affected side often rises more or is carried more stiffly.

• A horse may drop its hip more on the sound leg to avoid putting weight on the sore one.
  

3. Asymmetrical movement

• One stride may look shorter or less fluid than the other.

• Watch from the front, back, and side for uneven movement.
  

4. Irregular rhythm

• A sound trot has a consistent two-beat rhythm.

• A lame horse may have a disrupted rhythm or seem to "skip" a beat slightly.
  

5. Foot placement

• A lame horse might land toe-first or be hesitant to fully place the sore foot.

• You might also notice a delay in picking up the affected leg.

  
  

The Importance of Professional Assessment

With experience many horse riders, owners and coaches can identify obvious lameness, however, subtle or intermittent lameness often requires professional evaluation and diagnostics to find the cause and plan treatment. Your vet may carry out the following diagnostic tests such as flexion tests, nerve blocks and diagnostic imaging to help establish what, where and why the lameness is occurring.

Preventing Lameness

With horses, it can be difficult to totally prevent lameness - sometimes accidents happen and circumstances are just out of your control. But there is preventative care that will help maintain long-term soundness in your horse and reduce the chance of lameness. These include regular hoof care, correct tack fit, a balanced diet and a progressive fitness and training schedule.

Recognising and addressing lameness in its early stages is crucial for the long-term health and happiness of your horse. This can be done by staying observant, knowing and listening to your horse and seeking professional guidance if you have any concerns. A good training programme and day-to-day care will all help to ensure your horse remains sound, comfortable, and a willing partner whatever discipline you do.

Just a Feeling

Having the skills to identify lameness is essential for the welfare of the horse, but how about when you have that feeling that even though your horse doesn’t look obviously lame, there’s something - you can’t quite put your finger on it but they just doesn’t seem quite right.

There may be a subtle change in the horse’s performance such as feeling lazy or being more spooky than normal. Perhaps they have been tripping on the arena surface recently or not as willing to work. The question is, should we just ignore these little changes and dismiss them as the horse being naughty or awkward? Or are they an early warning sign of musculoskeletal discomfort?

Performance Specialist Dr Sue Dyson strongly believes that all horse owners, handlers and professionals should recognise poor performance in horses and should ask themselves why, when things aren’t going well.

Research shows that horses don’t behave with deliberate intent. So, when a horse’s behaviour isn’t what you'd expect, it raises an important question - is it a training issue, or could it be a response to pain? As responsible owners and riders, learning to recognise the difference is vital. Having the ability to identify the signs of effective training, while also understanding the potential consequences of using inappropriate methods and how they may manifest in the horse’s behaviour.

Below are some of the common misconceptions that are often heard banded around in the horse world – how many have you heard?

My horse……….

• is lazy

• is spooky

• is stressy

• has one lazy hind limb

• always bucks into canter, they are excited

• is ‘mare-ish’

• is quirky because she’s a chestnut mare

• wants me to hold them up (leans on the bit)

• hangs on one rein

• is grumpy

• hates jumping downhill

• doesn’t pick up their feet properly (trips/stumbles)

• is clumsy

• drags his hind toes because he'd lazy

• doesn’t stand still at the mounting block

• jumps okay but doesn’t like dressage

“None of these behaviours or characteristics are normal or good excuses to ignore what is happening,” says Sue. “If you can say any of these about your horse there is a good chance they may have some underlying musculoskeletal pain.”

The behaviours listed above could all be early warning signs that all is not quite as it should be, and you should get your horse the assessment and treatment they need. Take time to look at your horse objectively, do they have the correct muscle tone and development for the work you have been asking of them? Do they behave differently when you are handling them on the ground compared to when ridden?

“Find yourself a vet that understands poor performance and will watch the horse ridden,” Sue stresses. “This is so important, as often horses will only display the behaviours when ridden and they may look sound when assessed in hand.”

If you would like to have the skills to pinpoint why a horse isn’t performing at its best and identify whether it's a training issue or something more, you need to join our 8-week online course - Movement and Behaviour with Dr. Sue Dyson. This unique opportunity starts on Thursday 1st May – Wednesday 2nd July 2025.

Learn to recognise subtle signs of pain and improve your observational skills using the Ridden Horse Performance Checklist. This transformative course will help you identify pain-related behaviours before they become a bigger problem.

Movement and Behaviour Course

1 May 2025 at 18:00 – 3 July 2025 at 22:00|An 8-week Online Course with Dr Sue Dyson

Register Now