27/05/2025
Expertise Matters: The Case for Qualified Behavioural Trainers and Vets.
Over the past year, I’ve seen more serious behaviour issues and cases of lameness than ever before. What’s worrying is that more and more horses are being misdiagnosed or given the all clear when there is an underline issue —especially when it comes to things like ulcers or lameness problems showing up as behaviour issues.
A qaulified Behaviourist or Behaviourist studying to become qaulified should be able to identify if your horse is uncomfortable and the possible causes by assessing them through a Behavioural consultation, if we feel pain is a possibility we will then always pass you on to a specialist vet, physio, saddle fitter, dentist etc. A qaulified Behaviourist will also always work alongside your vet or relevent professional to ensure you have the most accurate outcome. I cannot stress enough how important it is to research your chosen professional before using them. The title Behaviourst is not a protected term and unfortunately can often be misleading to you as an owner trying to do the right thing.
One particular issue that really upsets me are owners being told that their horse is not a candidate for ulcers due to them "looking healthy" which is simply untrue. There are a lot of client case studies I can choose of a horse looking perfectly healthy at first glance but actually having an underline issue. For example, Candyman who looked perfectly healthy and shiny from the outside but did in fact have ulcers which we discovered through his reluctance to go forward under saddle, biting and obvious pain face, luckily both Candyman's owner and vet didn't hesitate to scope him after his behavioural consultation.
After starting treatment Candyman is now so much more comfortable and happy. With changes in his day to day management and the use of positive reinforcement to change his association of being handled, Candyman and his owners can now enjoy being in eachothers company without Candyman biting to show hes uncomfortable.
It would have been easy to list Candyman's behaviour as a "naughty" or "cheeky" childs pony, but it is important to understand that these behavioural responses are the only way a horse knows how to tell us something is wrong, and if they do not feel listened to, they have no choice but to shout a little louder by making their behaviours more obvious, I.e biting, Bucking, etc.
Some interesting statistics show that Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) is an increasingly common problem. It is now believed that over 50% of foals and leisure horses, 75% of performance horses and over 95% of racehorses will have gastric ulcers (on some racing yards studied 100% of the horses had severe ulceration).J. Harrison (2016). This is a worrying thought and It is important to note that not all horses will experience the same symptoms with Gastric Ulcers. If you are worried about the physical wellbeing of your horse, please have them checked by a relevant professional and if in doubt ALWAYS have a second opinion.
The picture below of a much happier Candyman and his owner a few weeks after starting treatment during our first target training lesson. 🙂
