"Lameness can be due to biomechanical restriction.” Diane Howard, PhD, MSc, MMCP

Brilliant quote by Diane who is often a guest speaker on Compassionate Horse Click members only calls. Diane recently reviewed the Horse Grimace Scale for our CHC community. She presented on horses physical expressions related to pain, both physical and emotional. The group is currently studying emotional expression and learned much from Diane’s research including facial expressions that one doesn’t necessarily relate to a horse being in pain. One example that was new to me, specifically, is the ears being held stiffly held out to the side. Moreover, I found her quote especially intriguing because so many times, it is us, the humans, who are causing our horses’ pain through biomechanical restriction (see photo). Often, we don’t recognize it ,and other times we are living in denial. Our emotions can interject, and we can feel offended and/or become defensive if anyone...