Hello Everyone!

I have literally hundreds of thousands of videos used for documentation of every patient I have seen since 2016. I lost some through a short period due to a G-Drive crash with 5TBs worth of videos when I used a GoPro, along with another G-Drive crash that almost made me cry that had all the horses I have necropsied. Now I have backups to backups plus everything stored in the cloud so that my life of patient documentation can continue to someday help others realize that I too knew absolutely nothing and learned all that I know today from my patients. As I go back in the archives I listen to what I am saying to the trainers I work for. How I knew nothing, absolutely nothing of what was wrong with the horse as they were explaining to me (on video) the clinical signs as they were riding/driving the horse.

Most times my response was either “WTF is/was that”, “I don’t know”, “Hang on let me get on”, but most importantly repeated more than any other comment after taking a heavy sighs… “I’ll figure it out” and “that horse is SOOOO painful”. The other comments that I say most is “I love this horse”, “Look how beautiful/handsome this horse is”, “Wow that horse is amazing”, “Oh My God what a train wreck”, and “I don’t blame the horse for …..”.

Riding or driving a horse is a TEAM sport. It would not be called a “team sport”, meaning more than one person or species competing for a common end goal. I have never seen horses in a pasture organized playing a “sport”. Have you? I have seen them playing with each other, a stick, a limb, a ball or jolly ball or whatever other object but not an organized sport. We, humans, bring horses into our arena via different discipline for sports. They allow us to train and ride them for what we want them to do. Working horses like mounted police horses, ranch and feed lot horses, therapy horses etc are no different except they have a job to do that is not based solely on their athleticism but more on their calm mindset of day in and day out routine of working, not competition. None have no choice in any of these matters including the shoes on their feet, the blankets they wear, pads, girths, saddles, harnesses, etc placed upon them whether they fit or not or are comfortable or not. They have no choice.

What I have learned throughout my life, especially as an equine veterinarian, is that how a person treats horses is who they are as an individual person. It is a plain and simple statement that I have found to be true for myself and as I watch/observe people in all categories of this industry as trainers, owners, grooms, farriers, judges, horse dealers, bodyworkers, physiotherapists and lastly veterinarians working and being around horses. Through my lens of observing day by day how people interact with their own horses or horses owned by others, I realize that many do not care to see, with the majority not seeing nor recognizing when horse is painful.

How is it possible since the early 1980’s when the sport horse industry took off, people still to this day accept that a girthy horse is not painful, or a horse that is constantly swishing its tail is not painful, or a horse that competes in the show pen with its ears pinned back and mouth gapping or chomping at the bit the entire time is not painful, or a horse that does not want to be mounted is not painful? I could go on forever with the examples. Horses are smart! There are different categories of smart, no different than people, but they clearly show us every single day in their stalls, when we groom them, when we pick up their feet, when we tack them up and especially when we ride or drive them that they are uncomfortable or in pain.

Whose fault is this? Frankly and honestly, it is the equine veterinarian professions fault. WE, as veterinarians, should have been taught to recognize these performance problems as PAIN not as a behavioral problem that is thrown into the lap of the trainers to “figure it out” and “make it work” because “there is nothing wrong”, “I can’t find anything”, and my favorite case of a mare “It’s the soundest horse I have seen in a long time” as that specific horse is avoiding mounting and then violently bucking as soon as someone steps into the stirrup! Without Sue Dyson’s Ridden Horse Ethogram paper and FINALLY social licensing maybe, just maybe, we are finally getting somewhere?

I was at AAEP, the big yearly veterinary conference for equine veterinarians. It was in Denver this past year and the main speaker for opening the conference was Temple Grandin. I rarely go to listen to opening speakers but Temple Grandin has my utmost respect as a human being and for what she has done for animals. At the end of her presentation there was some time to ask questions and a veterinarian asked a question that made me almost fall out of my chair. They asked Temple Grandin whether in her opinion, “Do horses have different personalities”? I AM NOT KIDDING! I first thought “are you F_ _ _ing kidding me” then looked over at the amazing Julie Sillman sitting next to me with her mouth gaped open as I said “And THIS is WHY this profession is unable to find the answers, recognize the problems and give people answers for why their horse is lame”! I could not believe that a veterinarian, especially an equine veterinarian, just asked this question in front of probably 300+ other equine veterinarians! Absolutely blew me away and made me realize that this one simple question to Temple Grandin is the problem…no respect! If you have no respect for something or someone what do you do? You show them a lack of regard, nor do you give them any consideration, or show any feelings of remorse or empathy for who they are as an individual. Maybe it was an innocent question? I will give this person the benefit of doubt, however Temple Grandin I think was just as shocked by the question at a veterinary conference and answered directly, “Of course, they all have individual personalities, why would they not” as a statement of fact versus an open question.

I have two salt aquariums and each fish that swims in either tank or invertebrate that crawls around has a personality. They actually know me and come to me as I walk by or during feeding time which they know by the minute. Many demand attention at non feeding and various times. They all have personalities as I do not need to be a veterinarian to figure that out.

Respect your horse as a member of your team. They have all the answers and try to tell you what’s wrong, so use your ears to listen and open your already open eyes to see.

The video attached is a horse, prior to me treating him, who had severe sciatica and made the choice time after time to show me respect!

Please share this blog and my podcast with your horse friends, and comment below if this was helpful. Most importantly, remember to always put The Horse First.

AJD