Can you recognise when a horse is in pain?

Research indicates that many horse owners, riders, and equine professionals often struggle to recognise pain and discomfort in horses. Pain is one of the most common causes of behavioural problems and pain-related behaviours are often misinterpreted or dismissed as ‘bad behaviour’.


If a horse has a major injury it is easy to see signs of discomfort immediately – most riders and owners can identify a limping horse. However, it is much harder to tell if a horse is experiencing chronic, or low-level pain. 


Recognising when a horse is suffering is vital for their health, welfare and quality of life. 
 
This instructor-led course will give you a practical understanding of equine pain. Veterinary behaviourist Roxane Kirton, equine behaviour consultant Justine Harrison and veterinary physiotherapist Holly Gallacher will look at how to recognise and assess equine pain and discomfort from physiological and behavioural perspectives. 


You will have access to 4 weeks of learning – including video lessons, group Zoom meetings for weekly live chat, discussion in a dedicated forum, real-life case studies and practical advice.


You will learn:


• What pain is and how it affects the horse


• The relationship between pain and behaviour


• The behavioural indicators of pain


• How to identify subtle signs of discomfort in the horse


• How to recognise pain in the ridden horse


• How to perform a clinical assessment


• How to identify forelimb and hindlimb lameness


• How to identify biomechanical dysfunction 


• The biomechanics of engagement


• Case studies



This course is aimed at horse owners, students and equestrian professionals interested in learning about equine pain. You don't need any prior knowledge to take this course, it is open to everyone.


The course runs for 4 weeks.

All course material will be available for 30 days after the course has finished.

STARTS 12 APRIL 2025

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Course curriculum

    1. Navigate your course

    2. Reading List

    1. Part 1: Understanding Equine Pain

    2. Part 2: Understanding Equine Pain

    3. Quiz: Understanding Equine Pain

    4. Zoom Meeting #1 Recording

    1. Part 1: Introduction

    2. Part 2: How Does Pain Affect Behaviour?

    3. Part 3: Body Language Indicators of Pain

    4. Part 4: Postural Changes

    5. Part 5: Pain When Ridden

    6. Quiz: Recognising Equine Pain

    7. Zoom Meeting #2 Recording

    1. Part 1: Identifying Pain and Dysfunction

    2. Part 2: The Clinical Assessment

    3. Part 3: The Clinical Assessment

    4. Part 4: Case Study

    5. Quiz: Identifying Pain and Dysfunction

    6. Zoom Meeting #3 Recording

    1. Recognising Lameness in Horses (Bonus webinar)

    2. Zoom Meeting #4: 8 May 7pm BST (UTC+1)

    3. Quiz: Assessing Lameness

About this course

  • £199.00
  • 22 lessons

Who is this course for?

  • HORSE OWNERS

  • EQUINE STUDENTS

  • EQUINE PROFESSIONALS

Continuing Professional Development (CPD/CEU)

  • Course Contents

    Video lessons, 4 x live Zoom meetings, community discussions, video analysis of real-life case studies, community discussions and 4 x quizzes.

  • Course Duration

    4 weeks

  • CPD/CEU Certificate

    You can download a personalised CPD/CEU certificate after completing the course material and the final quiz.

  • KPA

    This course has been approved for 9 Continuing Education Units (CEU) by the Karen Pryor Association (KPA). Once you have completed the course you can contact us for an event code, then email both code and CEU certificate to the KPA.

  • IAAT

    Understand Horses is a trusted partner of the International Association of Animal Therapists, offering external CPD courses for its members.

Learn how to assess equine pain and discomfort

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Your Coach

ROXANE KIRTON

Roxane Kirton BVMS MSc MRCVS graduated as an equine vet from the University of Glasgow in 2005. She has spent most of her career working in the equine charity sector and it was the challenges of working with horses and ponies with histories of cruelty and neglect that started Roxane’s interest in equine behaviour. This led to her obtaining a MSc in Clinical Animal Behaviour with Distinction from the University of Lincoln in 2020. Her MSc research project was investigating the welfare impact of different grazing systems on outdoor living ponies. Roxane has a particular professional interest in the relationship between unwanted behaviours and physical health. In addition to continuing to work in the charity sector to improve the welfare of horses, Roxane also offers private behaviour and acupuncture consultations.

JUSTINE HARRISON

Justine is passionate about improving horse welfare and founded Understand Horses to provide practical, evidence-based information to the equine world. She is a Certified Equine Behaviour Consultant with the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants. She is also the organisation’s UK Co-Chair and a member of the Application Review Team. She is also registered as an Accredited Animal Behaviourist with the Animal Behaviour & Training Council, and sits on the Equine Committee. 
Justine is a visiting lecturer in equine behavioural science at several UK universities and colleges and also acts as an expert consultant in court cases involving equine behaviour. She holds lectures and workshops around the UK, presents at conferences internationally, and regularly contributes to a wide variety of international publications either writing articles, commenting or answering specific questions about horse behaviour and training.

HOLLY GALLACHER

Holly Gallacher is an Equine Veterinary Physiotherapist, registered with the National Association of Veterinary Physiotherapists (NAVP). Holly received a BSc (Hons) in Equine Science, followed by a PgDip in Veterinary Physiotherapy from Harper Adams University in 2016. She has been around horses since the age of four and owned her lovely mare Roxy (above) for over 15 years. Professionally she enjoys working both in the field with her own private clients as well as being a university lecturer and teaching the next generation. Holly is passionate about improving horse welfare and has a particular interest in the link between pain and behaviour in equines.

STARTS 12 APRIL 2025

Introductory Price of £199

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