How to Assess Your Horse Regularly: A Holistic Approach

As horse owners, we spend a significant amount of time with our horses, but not always enough time truly assessing them through a structured, objective lens. Regular horse assessment is not about searching for problems or attempting to diagnose pathology. Instead, it is a proactive process of building awareness, establishing baselines, and identifying subtle changes early, often well before they progress into pain, injury, or measurable performance decline.

A holistic horse assessment considers the whole horse: posture, movement quality, tissue response, behavior, and emotional state. It integrates systematic observation with hands‑on palpation and, critically, sound clinical reasoning. Throughout this process, one guiding question should remain central:

Why might I be seeing or feeling this?

Start With Observation

Some of the most clinically relevant information is gathered before any physical contact is made. Begin by observing your horse in their normal living environment (stall, paddock, or pasture) without asking them to perform.

Consider:

• How does your horse respond when you approach?

• Do they appear engaged, guarded, distracted, dull, or unusually reactive?

• Have there been changes in social behavior, routine, or baseline energy level?

Behavioral changes (and long-standing behaviors) are often among the earliest indicators that a horse may be compensating or experiencing discomfort. A horse that becomes difficult to catch, increasingly irritable, or uncharacteristically withdrawn may be communicating physical strain rather than behavioral resistance.

From a holistic and clinical standpoint, all behavior is meaningful data.

Facial Expressions & Emotional State

Subtle changes in facial expression can provide meaningful insight into a horse’s comfort level.

Observe:

• Eye softness versus tension

• Ear position, mobility, and responsiveness

• Jaw and muzzle tone

• Altered blinking or facial asymmetry

Research and clinical experience consistently show that horses experiencing discomfort often demonstrate facial tension well before overt lameness or clear performance issues are evident. Emotional state and physical status are closely linked. Changes in one often reflect changes in the other.

Ask:

• Why might my horse appear guarded today?

• What recent changes could be influencing their stress or workload tolerance?

Posture & Whole‑Body Balance

Posture provides a snapshot of how a horse is distributing load throughout their body at rest.

When observing your horse standing, note:

• Standing square or habitually rest the same limb

• Frequent weight shifting

• Muscle or bony asymmetry through the neck, shoulders, back, or pelvis

• Tail carriage

• Areas of abnormal muscle tension

• Hoof health and balance

Postural asymmetries most often develop as compensatory strategies, not isolated weakness. The clinically relevant question is rarely where the asymmetry exists, but rather why the horse has adopted it.

Left unaddressed, compensatory posture can increase cumulative tissue stress and elevate injury risk over time.

Movement Observation

Movement assessment adds critical context to static observations. Whenever possible, observe your horse in multiple settings.

Assess:

• Rhythm and stride quality at the walk in hand

• Symmetry left to right

• Straightness versus drifting

• Differences between free movement and ridden work

Subtle alterations in rhythm, stride length, or movement symmetry often reflect early compensatory patterns. These changes frequently precede diagnosable lameness and are central to effective injury prevention strategies.

Once again, return to the key question:

Why might this movement strategy be emerging now?

Hands‑On Assessment

Effective palpation of soft tissues and bony structures is a learned skill grounded in attention, consistency, and feel. It is not about applying force, but about gathering information.

During hands‑on assessment, note:

• Temperature variation

• Muscle tone and tissue texture

• Symmetry side to side

• How the horse lifts and places down their feet when you’re picking hooves

• Your horse’s response, including softening, bracing, or avoidance

Healthy tissue typically feels warm, elastic, and responsive. Guarding, flinching, or persistent hypertonicity are clinically relevant findings, not areas to push through or immediately attempt to correct.

The purpose of palpation is not to “fix” tissue in the moment, but to better understand how the horse’s body is responding to load, posture, and movement demands.

Common Areas of Tension and Their Clinical Relevance

While individual patterns vary, certain regions frequently demonstrate compensatory tension:

• Poll, jaw, and cervical spine – often associated with contact, dental issues, head‑neck posture, or stress

• Withers and thoracolumbar spine – commonly influenced by saddle fit, posture, and workload changes

• Ribcage – integral to respiration, bending, and trunk mobility

• Hindquarters – primary drivers of propulsion and common sites of compensatory overload

• Limbs and hooves – changes in heat, swelling, or sensitivity may reflect cumulative stress in tendons, ligaments, or joints

Identifying tension is not a diagnosis. It is the starting point for more informed clinical reasoning.

Asking “Why?”

This is where assessment becomes most valuable.

Rather than concluding, “My horse is sore here.”

Shift toward clinical inquiry:

• Why is this area bothering my horse?

• Why now? 

• Why does my horse behave this way every time I do this thing?

• What variables have changed?

Workload, footing, tack, rider influence, management, stress, and recovery capacity all contribute to observed patterns. Pain and compensation are rarely random; they are adaptive responses to demand. A horse’s behavior and responses to what we ask them to do always mean something, even if they have been this way for a long time!

Finding the answers to these questions and addressing the horse’s diagnosis often requires a team approach. There are many pieces to the horse “puzzle” and each equine professional has a unique skillset and way of looking at the horse. A holistic assessment helps us to put puzzle pieces together in order to make appropriate changes which improve our horse’s wellbeing, comfort, and performance.

Patterns Over Time

A single assessment provides a snapshot. Repeated assessments reveal trends.

Consistent check‑ins allow you to establish what is truly normal for your horse, identify gradual changes early, and communicate more effectively with veterinarians, farriers, and rehabilitation professionals.

Precision develops over time. Consistency is what makes assessment meaningful.

Regular horse assessment is not about creating anxiety or searching for faults. It is about developing informed awareness and supporting long‑term soundness.

When you learn to observe, palpate, and ask why, you become an informed and effective member of your horse’s wellness team.

When to Seek Professional Support

Professional input is recommended when you observe:

• Persistent or progressive asymmetry

• Behavioral changes accompanied by physical findings

• Declining performance, recovery, or tolerance to work

• Long-standing negative reactions or behaviors, even if they are mild

Owner observations significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of veterinary and rehabilitation interventions by providing valuable historical and contextual information.

Working With Forge On Physical Therapy

While regular owner‑led assessment is foundational, a trained clinical eye is often necessary to fully interpret findings and determine appropriate next steps.

In‑person equine physical therapy assessments (available in Colorado) allow for comprehensive, hands‑on evaluation of posture, movement quality, tissue response, and functional biomechanics. These sessions are particularly valuable for horses with new or ongoing performance limitations, recurrent asymmetries, or a current or chronic injury.

Remote posture and biomechanics assessments offer structured video analysis for horse owners who want professional interpretation but may not have access to in‑person services. Through guided video submission and detailed feedback, these assessments help identify compensatory movement strategies which are essential clues when building a holistic picture of your horse’s health.