12/01/2026
A really important topic! Join Raquel’s free online masterclass about pain in our horses- she is brilliant and we promise you will leave with a lot to think about 😃🐴🩷
**“Pain has been ruled out.”
“It’s definitely NOT pain.”**
We can never 100% rule out pain.
Pain is individual, variable, and unpredictable.
I have a disc injury in my own back.
Some days I can barely bend, my core won’t function, my back locks, and I am in a lot of pain.
Other days? I can dance the night away 💃
When my back flared badly a few years ago, I couldn’t walk.
Panadol, Nurofen… even morphine didn’t take the pain away.
Nerve pain is not logical or consistent.
I’ve seen horses explode unpredictably, shut down, collapse - and then appear completely fine minutes later.
Fascial pain can change day to day depending on:
- movement and loading
- hydration
- muscle tension
- nervous system state
Arthritic horses often become grumpy, stiff, and still in cold weather.
With the right joint support, appropriate mobility work, and sensible workload, they can become far more comfortable and expressive.
Muscle conditions, like myofibrillar myopathy, can change overnight.
Jelly can go from moving freely and feeling strong to dragging, lethargic, and weak - literally from one day to the next.
Some pain doesn’t show up until:
-the body is loaded
- fatigue sets in
-a specific movement stresses a vulnerable area
👉 Pain cannot be ruled out as a cause of behaviour. Ever!!
Horses have only one way to communicate with us - their behaviour.
It is our responsibility to listen and to ask better questions.
And no —
Bute, Equioxx/Previcox, or other NSAIDs are NOT sufficient to rule out pain.
I have been involved in countless dissections of horses of all ages and the amount of pathology that was not diagnosed is always surprising - the horses body is complex and we do not have all the tools to rule out pain in every area.
💥I have seen;
-part of the liver adhered to the caudal ribs with an undiagnosed pelvic fracture
- Diaphragm and Spleen Scarring from an old trauma
- The brain adhered to the skull creating a balance issue
- Fusion of the vertebrae from the underside (any area that cannot be imaged)
- Fractured ribs in the chest area
- Calcification in muscles
These are just to name a few things that would be difficult to diagnose in the LIVE horse but would be creating pain!!
I’ve worked with countless horses labelled as:
“not in pain”
“nothing wrong”
“just behavioural”
They often arrive as a last resort and when we identify the underlying dysfunction and put the right practices in place, their entire demeanour changes.
🦄When posture, stability, strength, and body function improve, I consistently see horses become: - emotionally regulated
Because their body becomes a safe, balanced, predictable place to live in.
✨ This is why I run my FREE Posture & Behaviour Masterclass.
To help you understand the real physical contributors behind:
the “lazy” horse
the “reactive” horse
the horse that won’t stand for the farrier
🐴 It is your responsibility to educate yourself and advocate for your horse.
👉 Join the FREE Posture & Behaviour Masterclass
📅 Sunday 18th January | 8am AEDT
Register here - https://www.integratedvettherapeutics.com/registration-fb-jan26
Because behaviour is never “just behaviour.”
