“Bad” horse behaviour, frequently labelled as resistant, lazy, or even explosive, can be an indicator of pain according to equine orthopaedics expert Dr. Sue Dyson.

An Explainer - “In sport horses, we see a lot of injuries,” says Dr. Sarah Malenchak, who owns Westhills Equine Veterinary Services in Stony Plain, Alberta. “But we want the horses feeling as good as possible as soon as possible so they can go back into work. Plus, we want them to heal properly, so they don’t reinjure themselves,” she says.

Soft tissue and skeletal injuries are of significant concern in sport horses. Fortunately, veterinary knowledge and technology are rapidly advancing to quickly and accurately diagnose and treat such issues. Medical imaging technologies have become powerful diagnostic tools. Each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses, but the modalities are often successfully used in combination with one another to accurately facilitate diagnosis and direct appropriate treatment.

Most horses aren’t simply pasture pets — they provide some sort of active service to their owners. But many horses are not totally sound, and most horse sports don’t allow lame horses to compete. Lameness generally means a horse is in pain; hence, it’s not acceptable to ride lame horses. So, what can owners and riders do? Gerard Laverty says many horses that are less than 100 percent sound are living comfortable lives as “serviceably sound” partners. “It’s most horses that have saddles on,” he says. Laverty teaches the farrier science program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, British Columbia and has his own farrier business.