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Definitions:
Definitions:
Posture: how an animal stands or carries itself; includes head and body position (1)
What does this look like?
What does this look like?
Posture is a huge part of how a horse communicates; think of it as body language. Certain postures achieved through training can make or break a horse. Below is a breakdown of the different body structures that make up posture:
Head and Neck
Head and Neck
Not to be confused with Facial Expression, which focuses on the muscles of the face, head and neck Posture refers to larger muscles that work to carry the head.
Muscles in the neck determine the position of the nose and direction of sight (1).
Most of the time, a horse will choose how it holds its head, but in training, they may be asked to carry itself in a specific frame or outline.
Postures that compromise a horse's welfare are "behind the vertical" and Rollkur (4, 5).
Body and Legs
Body and Legs
Body and legs are what most would think of when hearing the term "Posture", but often, body posture is misinterpreted, leaving painful conditions unaddressed (2).
Muscles in the body and upper leg work to determine the position of legs as well as which legs are bearing weight (1).
Posture in motion (during the walk/trot/canter/lope/gallop) can improve with training, but inappropriate training can hurt them if they are not using the correct muscles.
Posture, or body language, is important to read when caring for or handling nonverbal beings because it is a main form of communication (3). Ignoring a horse's communication can lead to frustration, stress, and possibly pain (2, 8). Some natural postures horses use for communication are:
Head Posture (3)
Alert: Head raised, ears forward, eyes focused on stimulus
Relaxed: Head low, ears to the side
Threat Posture (3)
Bite: Head first and may be low, mouth may be open, showing teeth, ears back
Kick: Hind first, lifting hind leg, may kick out in air
Submissive Posture (3)
Head low, weight back, creates distance
May clack/snap as foals do (2)!
Relaxed (3)
Head low, muscles relaxed, may be resting a leg with weight to opposite side.
Discomfort (2, 8)
Crossing legs/"Tri pod" stance
Pointing
Camping out
Parking out
Narrow/Wide Base
Leaning against objects
Tucking in abdomen
Activity: Watch the video above and list out the different postures you notice.
Why does this happen?
Why does this happen?
Common Reasons for Postures
Common Reasons for Postures
A horse's posture, or body language, can tell us quite a bit about what may be stressing the horse out (2, 3, 9).
Herd/Social Dynamics
Threat and submission postures are important for communication and ultimately decrease conflict (3, 6, 7).
Threat postures can drive threats away to protect itself or others (3).
Pain/Discomfort
A huge part of posture is where the horse is holding its weight, so if the horse is keeping weight off of one leg more than any other leg, it might be in pain (1, 2, 3, 8).
The Tri Pod and Pointing stances are examples of abnormal weight-bearing postures that can show pain (2).
Horses "parking out" may be stretching to alleviate pain (2).
Tucked in abdomens can indicate gut pain (2).
Head position also tells us a lot about how a horse is feeling in movement (13).
Ideally, a horse should keep its head on or just in front of the "vertical". Other positions may indicate pain or weakness.
A horse does not have to move to show they are in pain!
Training
Some training programs may use certain tools or methods to get the horse working in a desired frame. This is born from the idea of the correct posture for exercise, but often it is misunderstood and not properly trained.
Rollkur is a posture obtained by force in which the horse's nose is pulled in towards its chest or neck. This can cause quite a bit of stress and pain as well as affect their breathing and vision (4 ,5).
Horses are submissive by nature, which is how we were able to domesticate them in the first place. All too often, they learn to work through pain, making performance a poor measurement for welfare.
Training the horse to work in that posture through the use of painful training tools can cause trauma, making the horse extra sensitive to certain pressure (4, 5). In this case, the horse might automatically go behind the vertical or into Rollkur due to the trauma.
Forcing a horse into a frame creates a false collection, in which the horse is not engaging the correct muscles and could be setting up for injury or extreme stress (4, 10, 11).
How can we help?
How can we help?
Digestive upset is a major cause of pain in horses.
Give 24/7 access to forage, or maximize access to forage as much as possible.
Horses are meant to walk and forage for roughly 12 hours/day, so they have evolved to need a lot of daily movement.
Give 24/7 pasture or maximize turnout.
Limiting access to other horses can actually cause behavioral issues that may lead to injury.
Maximize turnout with buddies.
Because posture is a huge sign of pain, it is important to know when to call the vet.
Ensuring the horse is on a regular farrier cycle is helpful to keep the horse comfortable while standing and moving.
Proper training and exercise can improve posture and and relieve some minor pain, as instructed by a vet.
Training aids that connect to the bit often do not encourage the horse to work in the correct posture (11).
Tools like the EquiBand system encourage hind end engagement without connecting to the bit. This decreases the overall stress of the training and allows the horse to relax into the movement and may be useful to treat hindlimb lameness (12).
Sources:
Sources:
Carini, F., Mazzola, M., Fici, C., Palmeri, S., Messina, M., Damiani, P., & Tomasello, G. (2017). Posture and posturology, anatomical and physiological profiles: overview and current state of art. Acta BioMed, 88(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v88i1.5309
Torcivia, C., & McDonnell, S. (2021). Equine Discomfort Ethogram. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 11(2), 580. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020580
McDonnell, S. M. (2003). A practical guide to horse behavior: The equid ethogram. Eclipse Press.
Kienapfel, K., Link, Y., & König v. Borstel, U. (2014). Prevalence of different head-neck positions in horses shown at dressage competitions and their relation to conflict behaviour and performance marks. PLoS ONE, 9(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0103140
von Borstel, U. U., Duncan, I. J., Shoveller, A. K., Merkies, K., Keeling, L. J., & Millman, S. T. (2009). Impact of riding in a coercively obtained Rollkur posture on welfare and fear of performance horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 116(2–4), 228–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2008.10.001
Heitor, F., do Mar Oom, M., & Vicente, L. (2006, May 19). Social relationships in a herd of sorraia horses: Part I. correlates of social dominance and contexts of aggression. Behavioural Processes. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037663570600146X
Heitor, F., Vicente, L. Dominance relationships and patterns of aggression in a bachelor group of Sorraia horses (Equus caballus). J Ethol 28, 35–44 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-009-0152-1
Lesimple, C., Fureix, C., De Margerie, E., Sénèque, E., Menguy, H., & Hausberger, M. (2012). Towards a postural indicator of back pain in horses (Equus caballus). PLoS ONE, 7(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044604
Sénèque, E., Lesimple, C., Morisset, S., & Hausberger, M. (2019). Could posture reflect welfare state? A study using geometric morphometrics in riding school horses. PLOS ONE, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211852
McLean, A. N., & McGreevy, P. D. (2010). Horse-training techniques that may defy the principles of learning theory and compromise welfare. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 5(4), 187–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2010.04.002
Cottriall, S., Ritruechai, P., & Wakeling, J. M. (2008). The effects of training aids on the longissimus dorsi in the equine back. Comparative Exercise Physiology, 5(3–4), 111. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1478061509342346
Ellis, K. L., Goldberg, M. R., Aguirre, G. E., & Moorman, V. J. (2023). The effect of a 4-week elastic resistance training regimen in horses with non-performance limiting hindlimb lameness. Journal of Equine Rehabilitation, 1, 100003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eqre.2023.100003
Dyson, S. (2021). The ridden horse pain ethogram. Equine Veterinary Education, 34(7), 372–380. https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.13468
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