12/06/2026
We Think Pain Must Be Obvious
Many people unconsciously assume that if a horse isn't obviously lame, it must be fine.
Unfortunately, biology doesn't work that way.
A horse doesn't need to be severely lame before physical discomfort starts influencing behaviour. Small deficits matter. A horse can be slightly sore, slightly fatigued, slightly unstable, or slightly uncomfortable, and the cumulative effect can dramatically reduce its ability to cope.
The Broken Leg Test
(...And Why We Can Misunderstand Horse Behaviour)
[Yes, its long - but reading this might change what you can see]
One of the most fascinating things I observe in the horse world is how often people separate behaviour from the body.
A horse develops separation anxiety. A horse becomes difficult to load. A horse starts rushing under saddle, becomes reactive, struggles to leave the property, or suddenly becomes emotional and difficult to handle. Almost immediately, the conversation turns to behaviour.
How do we stop it?
How do we train through it?
How do we fix it?
Yet what often gets overlooked is a much simpler question: what might be making this horse struggle to cope in the first place?
What I find particularly interesting is that most people would immediately understand this relationship in themselves. If your knees hurt, you've had a terrible night's sleep, you've got a migraine, and someone asks you to perform a difficult task, your emotional resilience drops. You become less patient, less confident, more reactive, more argumentative and more likely to avoid the task to do it.
Most people understand this intuitively.
Yet somehow when the horse is footsore, arthritic, weak, unbalanced, exhausted, stressed, or struggling to cope with its environment, that relationship often disappears from our thinking.
The behaviour becomes separated from the body.
I don't think this is really a horse problem.
I think it's a human cognition problem - let me explain.
1️⃣ We See Behaviour, Not Capacity
Behaviour is obvious. Capacity is not.
We can see a horse refusing to load, calling out, rushing, bucking, spooking, or becoming emotional. What we often cannot see are the subtle factors that may be reducing the horse's ability to cope, such as sole soreness, arthritis, muscular fatigue, weakness, poor balance, or chronic discomfort.
Humans naturally focus on what they can see. The behaviour becomes the problem, while the factors contributing to the behaviour remain hidden.
2️⃣ We Turn Behaviour Into Character
Instead of asking, "Why might this horse be struggling?" we often ask, "Why is this horse doing this?"
That subtle shift changes everything.
The horse becomes stubborn, naughty, disrespectful, emotional, insecure, or lacking confidence.
We stop investigating the horse's circumstances and start assigning personality traits.
The conversation shifts from capacity to character.
3️⃣ We Think Pain Must Be Obvious
Many people unconsciously assume that if a horse isn't obviously lame, it must be fine.
Unfortunately, biology doesn't work that way.
A horse doesn't need to be severely lame before physical discomfort starts influencing behaviour. Small deficits matter. A horse can be slightly sore, slightly fatigued, slightly unstable, or slightly uncomfortable, and the cumulative effect can dramatically reduce its ability to cope.
4️⃣ We Separate Emotion From Physiology
Fear, frustration, anxiety, and avoidance are not just psychological experiences. They are influenced by the state of the body.
When a horse feels physically vulnerable, its nervous system becomes more cautious. The horse becomes more sensitive to risk.
From an evolutionary perspective, that makes perfect sense.
A vulnerable animal should be more cautious.
5️⃣ We Focus on Behavioural Solutions
To be clear, many behavioural problems are training problems.
The horse may not understand what is being asked. It may lack confidence, motivation, or clear guidance. Good training matters and often resolves these issues.
The problem arises when good training ISN'T working.
The horse understands.
The horse has previously coped.
The rider is being fair and effective.
Yet the behaviour is changing or deteriorating.
Those are the situations that should make us curious.
6️⃣We Prefer Simple Explanations
Humans like certainty.
"He has separation anxiety."
"She lacks confidence."
"He's emotional."
The reality is often more complicated. Behaviour may reflect the combined effects of physical discomfort, stress, fitness, sleep, environment, social pressures, and previous experiences.
Simple labels feel satisfying.
Unfortunately, they often stop us investigating further.
7️⃣We Like Explanations That Protect Our Plans ‼️⚠️
This is perhaps the most uncomfortable reason of all.
If I acknowledge that my horse is uncomfortable, I may need to change my plans. I may need to stop riding, spend money, postpone goals, or rethink my approach.
**Human beings are remarkably good at accepting explanations that allow us to continue doing what we wanted to do anyway.**
Not because we are cruel.
Because we are human.
ENTER THE - BROKEN LEG TEST 💡
A simple way to challenge our assumptions is to apply what I call the Broken Leg Test.
Imagine your horse had a broken leg. Would you expect them to happily leave their paddock mates, calmly load onto a float, enjoy a long trail ride, work in deep sand, perform circles under saddle, or stand quietly while being saddled?
Or would you expect them to become reluctant, emotional, reactive, or unwilling?
The point is not that every behavioural problem is caused by pain.
**The point is that horses do not need a broken leg before physical vulnerability starts influencing behaviour.**
When a horse's behaviour changes unexpectedly, or when good training that should be helping isn't working, ask yourself:⬇️
**Could something be reducing this horse's capacity to cope?**
👉From Character to Capacity
Many people who fall into this trap care deeply about their horses.
The problem is rarely a lack of compassion.
The problem is that humans are naturally poor systems thinkers.
Behaviour is the visible output. The horse's feet, joints, muscles, fitness, sleep, environment, and stress load are often hidden parts of the system.
Yet behaviour is often the most logical thing the horse could do given the state of that system.
Perhaps the question isn't:
*"Why don't people recognise that pain affects behaviour?"*
Perhaps the better question is:
*"Why do people find it so difficult to see behaviour as evidence of the horse's current capacity rather than evidence of the horse's character?"*
That shift takes us from judging the horse to investigating the horse.
And I believe that may be one of the most important welfare skills a horse owner can develop.
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If you find this human side of horsemanship fascinating, it's because it is and understanding can a big impact.
If you'd like to learn more, see the comments below.👇
