Johnson Equine

08/04/2025

Excellent👏

Sensitive Sole Dysregulation Disorder (SSDD):
Why Your Horse Isn’t a Jerk—He Just Has Sore Feet 🐴🔥

⚠️ This is long. Possibly the most important thing you’ll read this year about your “frustrating” horse. So dig deep and let me transplant some good ideas into your head....

People come to me for all sorts of reasons.
Some are curious about my nerdy, no-nonsense take on horse training.

Some want help building a better relationship with their horse.
And some arrive clinging to the last threads of hope, unsure whether their horse is traumatised, dangerous… or they are just not good enough to own a horse 😔.

Most of the time, the horse is just confused.
Once we clear up the misunderstanding, lay out a process, and build some real skills, the change is phenomenal.
✅ Communication improves.
✅ Confidence blooms.
✅ Partnerships are born.

It’s effective.
It’s beautiful.
It works—until it doesn’t.

Because there’s a subset of horses—genuinely lovely horses, with well-meaning, capable humans—who still struggle.
Not from lack of effort.
Not from uselessness.
Not because the horse is a waste of time.

It’s because the horse isn’t physically in a state to learn.
And the top culprit?

Sore. Bloody. Feet. 🦶💥

Which is why I’m proud (and mildly exasperated) to introduce a term that I believe deserves a permanent spot in the equine lexicon aka lingo:

Sensitive Sole Dysregulation Disorder (SSDD)

A multifactorial, stress-induced hoof spiral that masquerades as a behavioural problem—but is actually your horse’s way of saying, “Human, I cannot cope. And what you're asking me to do is bloody uncomfortable and I feel threatened.”

Why We Need a Term Like SSDD

If you’ve read my blog on New Home Syndrome, you’ll know how powerful naming things can be.

That post gave thousands of horse owners a lightbulb moment:
💡 “Ah—it’s not that my new horse was drugged and sold by an unscrupulous lying horse seller. He’s just completely unravelling from the stress of relocation.”

Naming gives us a grip on the slippery stuff.
It stops us chasing trauma narratives, mystical contracts, and fantasy horsemanship rabbit holes wasting our time, money, and enjoyment of horses.
It invites clarity.
It invites action.

So let’s do it again.
Because SSDD is real.
It’s widespread.
And it’s quietly ruining training, relationships, and confidence—for both horse and human.

The Official Definition (Because I’m Nerdy Like That 😎)

Sensitive Sole Dysregulation Disorder (SSDD):

A stress-induced, multifactorial syndrome in horses, characterised by systemic dysregulation and poor hoof integrity. It results in chronic sensitivity from inflammation, poor structural balance. It causes altered posture and movement, and unpredictable or defensive behaviour—especially when the horse is asked to move, load, or engage physically.
Commonly misdiagnosed as poor training, bad temperament, or “being crazy, dangerous, or… a bit of a dick.”

How It Starts
(And Why It’s So Sneaky 🕵️‍♀️)

Stress—whether from relocation, dietary change, social disruption, intense work, poor training, or all of the above and more—disrupts the gut.

We talk about ulcers and hindgut issues, but gut disruption reaches much further. It impacts:

- Nervous system regulation
- Nutrient absorption
- Muscle and fascia development
- Sensory processing
- Postural support
- Biomechanics
➡️And yes… hoof quality

Systemic inflammation gets triggered, and it ripples to the hooves.
Thin soles.
Inflamed hoof structures.
Suddenly, every step hurts.

And when all four feet hurt at once?
There’s no limp.
No giveaway unless you know what to look for.
Just a horse who suddenly doesn’t want to:

🚫 Go forward
🚫 Bend
🚫 Load
🚫 Be caught
🚫 Be mounted
🚫 Leave its friends
🚫 “Trust you”
🚫 “Connect”

From the outside, it looks like resistance and unpredictability.
But inside?
It’s one long, silent “Ouch.”

And just because they run, buck and gallop in the paddock does not mean it isn’t festering away.

Case Study: The Off-The-Track Time Bomb 🧨
Meet the OTTB.
He’s fresh off the track with the emotional resilience of a sleep-deprived uni student living off Red Bull and vending machine snacks.
His microbiome is wrecked.
His feet are full of nail holes.
His hooves are thin and genetically fragile.

Hoof balance and form has been considered for the next race—not the next 20 years.
And someone’s just pulled his shoes in the name of “letting down naturally.” 🙃

Cue: SSDD.

Now he’s bolting, spinning, rearing, planting, or shutting down.
The forums recommend groundwork, magnesium, a different noseband, an animal communicator, or an MRI for a brain tumour.
The horsemanship world says “move his feet.”
The trauma-informed crowd say “get his consent.”
Kevin at the feed store says “get his respect.”

But nothing changes.
Because it’s not a behaviour issue.
It’s a hoof–gut–nervous system–biomechanical spiral.
And until you break the cycle, no amount of connection, compassion, or carrot sticks will touch it.

What SSDD Looks Like:
🔹 Short, choppy strides
🔹 Hesitation on gravel
🔹 Tension through the back and neck
🔹 Braced posture, dropped belly, collapsed topline
🔹 Popping hamstrings
🔹 Loss of bend, swing, or rhythm
🔹 Explosions without warning
🔹 Refusal to leave the paddock
🔹 Sudden regression in training
🔹 Being labelled a “dick,” “bitch,” “jerk,” or “nutcase”
Imagine removing your shoes.
Now walk barefoot over gravel, or Lego hidden in shag-pile carpet 🧱
Add a backpack.
Now have someone control where you have to move and how fast.
Now smile, be polite, and do what you’re told.

Sound like trust and connection to you?

That’s SSDD.

Let’s Be Clear 💡
This isn’t an anti-barefoot rant.
And it’s not a pro-shoes crusade.
It’s about recognising that stress undermines hoof quality…
And compromised hooves undermine everything else.

Hoof pain is a master dysregulator.
It breaks posture.
Fractures movement.
Feeds stress.
Causes breakdown.
Blocks learning.
And it’s hard to see—especially when you think your horse is acting like an idiot.

What To Do (Especially for OTTBs, STBs, and New Arrivals)
✅ Be strategic.
✅ Be clinical.
✅ Be kind.
- Replace shoes or hoof protection, don’t rip off shoes on Day One.
- Support the gut from the start.
- Prioritise routine, rest, and recovery.
- Make sure they’re sleeping—properly.
- Work with a hoof care pro who understands stress transitions.
- Wait before reassessing shoeing choices.
- Stop mistaking pain for personality.
- Choose insight over ideology.
- Choose systems thinking over magic silver bullets.

Why It Matters

When we name SSDD, we stop blaming horses for not coping.
We stop shaming owners.

We stop spiralling into horsemanship cults where stillness is the only sign of success.

We start looking at the actual horse.
In the actual body.
With actual problems.

Because sometimes, it’s not temperament.
It’s not training.
It’s just a hoof—
Tender, tired, inflamed—
Whispering softly:
“I can’t cope.”
A hoof that needs support and protection.

📸 IMAGE TO BURN INTO YOUR MEMORY BANKS
Study it.
See the posture searching for comfort?
The tension lines?
The zoned out face that says “pain”?
The weird stance?
That’s SSDD at a standstill.
Even if you can’t see it yet—please consider it.
I might’ve made up the name…
But the thing itself is very, very real.

Just like New Home Syndrome, SSDD deserves its own hashtag.
Okay fine— is a bit long.
Let’s go with:

If This Blog Made You Think—Please Share It 🙏
But please don’t copy and paste chunks and pretend you wrote them.
There’s a share button. Use it.
Be cool. Give credit. Spread the word.
Because if this made you stop and wonder whether your horse isn’t being difficult—but is actually sore, stressed, and stuck in a spiral—
That moment of reflection could be the turning point that changes everything.

We’ve just released our Racehorse to Riding Horse – Off the Track Reboot course, plus other clear, practical resources to help you understand OTTBs & OTTSTBs and support these incredible horses, as they are more prone to this than most.

Because with the right information, what feels impossible…
Can become totally achievable. 🐎✨

I’ll pop some references in the comments.

08/01/2025

Full study link in article.

New research shows cranking the noseband hurts your horse's gait.

There are always many opinions about nosebands. Too loose, and a trainer might call it sloppy. Too tight, and it becomes a welfare concern. There are studded and crank and chain and traditional, and all kinds of gadgets and gizmos designed to keep our horse’s mouth shut, but what is best for the horse? Is cranking that extra hole doing more harm than good?

A 2025 study published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science examined the impact of noseband tightness on pressure and performance. The results are eye-opening if you believe that a tighter noseband means better performance in the ring.

Most riders are familiar with the standard: leave two fingers’ space beneath the noseband. It’s even outlined in guidelines from the FEI. And according to the study, 85% of riders say they know this recommendation. But when researchers actually measured the fit using a standardized taper gauge, only 15% had their nosebands adjusted to the proper tension.

The vast majority were too tight. Sometimes dramatically too tight.

The Hidden Pressure on a Horse’s Face
In the study, eight horses were fitted with a simple cavesson noseband and tested at three settings: a standard two-finger fit, a snug one-finger fit, and a cranked-tight zero-finger fit. Under each setting, researchers measured facial pressure and evaluated gait.

- The one-finger setting increased pressure on the nasal bone by 54% over the two-finger baseline.
- The zero-finger setting? A staggering 338% increase in pressure.

Imagine trying to do your day job with a belt cinched tight around your nose and jaw. Now add that your success relies on body movement, and you have no way to say, “This hurts.” That’s similar to what the horse might feel like being asked to perform in a fully tightened noseband that more than triples the force exerted on its face.

Unfortunately, changes to tack and equipment don’t typically come solely from the perspective of the horse’s comfort. So let’s look at performance as well.

In addition to pressure data, the researchers measured each horse’s trot stride. As the noseband got tighter, the stride got shorter—by a lot. On average:

- Horses at the one-finger tightness lost 6.2% of their stride length.
- With a fully tightened noseband, stride loss jumped to 11.1%.

In real-world terms, that’s about 24 centimeters, roughly the length of a hoof, disappearing from every stride. While that may not sound dramatic at first, consider how it compounds across a full course. Shorter strides can mean rushed distances, flat movement, and a horse that never quite gets to “flow.” In the hunter ring, 24 centimeters could be the difference between pinning in a highly competitive under saddle class.

And this wasn’t just about stiffness or resistance. The study found a statistically significant negative correlation between noseband pressure and stride length. In short, the tighter the fit, the shorter the step.

Sure, a longer stride is helpful in the show ring. But this research highlights deeper concerns about what that level of pressure does to the horse’s face and nerves. The noseband sits directly over sensitive structures, including branches of the trigeminal nerve, which help regulate posture and proprioception. Excessive pressure here doesn’t just hurt. It may also interfere with the horse’s balance and coordination.

Previous studies have shown that pressures as low as 32 kPa can damage tissue. In this study, the tightest noseband setting reached an average of 115.8 kPa. That’s far above what’s been associated with pain or injury in other species. That number isn’t just theoretical. It’s happening under tack, often unnoticed, every day. And unlike overt lameness, this kind of pressure flies under the radar, making it easy to miss, but just as impactful.

🔗 Read the full article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/07/30/new-research-shows-cranking-your-noseband-hurts-your-horses-gait/

🔗 Read the full study here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080625003120?via%3Dihub

07/31/2025

Edited to show the third human toe is the equilivant to the horse foot. Also the horse splint bones are thought to be the equivalent of toes 2 and 4 in the human.

What a clever way to illustrate the foot of man and lower leg of the horse.

Drawing taken from “The horse its treatment in health and disease, 1909”.

They have similarities in the bone structure however the biomechanical are quite different.

I love it when I hear folks compare horses feet to human feet and I untangle in my head, what they describe, to see if what they are saying is actually correct. Flipper feet (long toes), stones in shoes (protruding bars) etc.

My journey of biomechanics is in its infancy but it’s a truly amazing topic. I had a great 2 hour conversation with a farrier from the US today, Jeremy V. He explained such a lot to me and helped me understand more about the biomechanics.

When you consider the fetlock on the horse and the cannon bone as one of the directions of force (perpendicular) then there is the pastern line of force at at angle, it’s quite complicated. At stance it’s ok. Start the limb moving then woah……🤯🤯🤯🤯.

07/30/2025

07/26/2025

A great study, social studies on horse owners are few and far between. Pls share🤝

"BUT MY HORSE IS WELL CARED FOR…" A LOOK AT EQUESTRIAN ATTITUDES AND WELFARE

A recent study interviewed riders, trainers, and coaches from the UK, Canada, and the US to explore what equestrians think about performance horse welfare — and why some practices that compromise welfare are still defended.

Participants consistently expressed concern for horse welfare — but some also justified harmful practices as necessary for training or competition.

These contradictions showed up in five key themes:

• Conflicting ideas of a 'good life': Equestrians often have strong opinions on what horses deserve, but struggle to align these ideals with the realities of daily training and competition.

• Objectifying the horse: Horses were sometimes described more as tools or athletes than as sentient partners, making it easier to ignore harmful practices.

• Instrumental care: Management often prioritises performance results over emotional or physical well-being — focusing on what the horse can do rather than how they feel. Horses may be immaculately turned out, well fed, and kept sound, but still expected to tolerate uncomfortable or restrictive training without resistance.

• Traditions: Cultural influence and group norms — “this is how it’s always done” — shaped decisions. Many participants admitted that practices learned early in their training persisted over time, even when their awareness of better welfare practices improved.

• Cognitive dissonance: Even when welfare concerns were recognised, participants often downplayed them. They justified or reframed issues to reduce the discomfort of holding conflicting beliefs and behaviours — for example, believing welfare matters but still using harsh bits or pushing horses despite signs of discomfort.

This study highlights how deeply embedded cultural habits and beliefs can block progress, even when riders want to improve welfare for their horses.

It’s yet another reminder that caring for horses means more than physical upkeep. It means reflecting on traditions and being willing to adapt our practices to support not only their physical health but also their emotional and psychological well-being.

Study: Cheung, E., Mills, D., & Ventura, B. A. (2025). “But my horse is well cared for”: A qualitative exploration of cognitive dissonance and enculturation in equestrian attitudes toward performance horses and their welfare.

07/25/2025

Multifactoral😮‍💨

07/19/2025

My neck hurts today 😒

07/19/2025