Does pain related behaviour become habit in horses?

In answer to a question so many ask me... Does a pain related behaviour become a habit? My answer is "No. Once the pain has gone, the behaviour will change - for example napping, going disunited in canter, biting when you do the girth up. However, if the pain behaviour is linked to a human action that caused pain, for example the horse was whipped every time he went along a certain path because that's where he would nap, or he was smacked every time he tried to bite when he was girthed up, then some form of problem behaviour is likely to remain. The longer the pain went on for, the more likely it is that a linked problem behaviour will return." 

I'm currently proof reading my new book 'Understanding Horse Performance: Brain, Pain or Training?', and came to this sentence by guest contributor, scientist and author David Marlin, who I think answers the question much more clearly: "Domesticated horses clearly exhibit many behaviours during their management that suggest that they are experiencing pain, or that they have previously experienced pain associated with a particular situation and are anticipating the onset of pain." He also says "...what one person or horse experiences as not being painful may be moderately painful or even severely painful or unbearable to another. The emotional component of pain also indicates that the response to a painful stimulus can be influenced by previous experience. If a horse has experienced repeated pain in response to say being mounted, his perception of pain may be significantly greater than that of a horse who has not previously experienced pain during mounting."

A client recently took her horse to the vets for investigation into a long-term issue, part of which was that the horse goes disunited in canter. This has been going on for several years, and has been investigated in the past, with no real conclusions. However this time, the vet nerve blocked, found the right spot, and this is the message that my client sent to me: "She took a while before she realised it didn't hurt... this has been going on for so long, she has always disunited so it was huge to see her canter 2 full circles without disuniting!" So many people have said that the behaviour is just a habit, and yet here is the proof that even after several years, that is not the case.

One of my bugbears is hearing people say 'It's just him, it's how he's always been'. Recently I visited a horse whose owner used just those words, and was convinced she was right because she's known the horse since he was 12 months old. Looking closely, there was a scar on his right fore pastern, and the owner had no knowledge of how it had happened. I'm as confident as I can be that this horse had an accident as a foal involving his front leg that caused muscle spasm and therefore restriction of movement through the base of the neck, leading to long term fascial restriction and therefore long term stiffness affecting the whole horse. Had this been recognised and treated at the time, the restrictions would not have set in, especially since a young horse heals so quickly. As it is, I believe that between us, the owner and I can significantly improve this horses way of going (he's 11yrs old now), improving comfort and performance and reducing the risk of injury, and after just one tre warned his neck range of movement is already significantly improved. There's a long way to go, when restrictions have been in place that long they cannot release too quickly or further damage would occur. But the point is that the stiffness and reduced range of movement has not become a 'habit' for this horse, and as the physical restrictions ease, the horse will respond appropriately.

Think about the behaviours your horse offers, and whether they are 'just him', or whether they're caused by past trauma, current discomfort, or by lack of understanding on either your part or his. The Brain, Pain or Training book, available on pre order from www.thehorsephysio.co.uk, has been written to help you decide this, and then to help you know where to go from there to make the changes you'd like to see.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts, and any stories you have to share with others that might help them in their quest to make the most of their time with their horse, so if you've got a moment, please leave a comment below.

Until next time,

Sue