There is a question I hear from horse owners all the time, and it often comes with a heavy sigh or a frustrated shake of the head. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately. He’s just being so difficult.”
I get it. I really do. When a horse that used to be a pleasure to ride suddenly starts pinning his ears, refusing jumps, or kicking out under saddle, it can feel personal. It can feel like a battle of wills. And if you’ve been riding long enough, you’ve probably been told at some point to “ride through it” or “show him who’s boss.”
But here’s what I’ve come to believe after years of working with horses as an equine therapist: most horses that are labelled as difficult are actually horses that are hurting. They’re not acting out. They’re speaking up. They just don’t have the words we do.
This post is for every horse owner who has ever second-guessed themselves. Who has wondered whether they’re being too soft, or whether something is genuinely wrong. Let’s talk about how to tell the difference, what signs to watch for, and how you can start advocating better for your horse’s comfort and wellbeing.
Why Horses Get Labelled as “Difficult”
Horses are incredibly stoic animals. They evolved as prey animals, which means showing weakness or pain was dangerous in the wild. That instinct doesn’t just disappear in a domestic setting. Many horses will push through discomfort for a surprisingly long time before their behaviour starts to change.
By the time a horse is acting up consistently, there’s a good chance they’ve been uncomfortable for a while. They tried to tell us quietly first, and the message got missed.
This isn’t about blame. It’s just about understanding how horses communicate.
The problem is that pain behaviours and “naughty” behaviours can look almost identical on the surface. A horse that bucks when you ask for canter could be testing boundaries. Or they could have a sore back, a poorly fitting saddle, or a sacroiliac issue that makes canter deeply uncomfortable. Without looking deeper, it’s almost impossible to know just from the behaviour alone.
That’s why I always encourage horse owners to approach behaviour changes with curiosity first, not correction.
The Most Common Signs Your Horse Might Be in Pain
So what does pain actually look like in horses? Here are some of the most common signs I see in my work with horses around Bundaberg and beyond.
Changes in Facial Expression
Horses show pain in their face, and once you know what to look for, it becomes easier to spot. Look for a tense jaw, a wrinkled or tight muzzle, and eyes that look hard or glazed. The ears may be pinned back or held at an odd angle.
Researchers have developed something called the Horse Grimace Scale to help people identify pain through facial cues. It looks at things like eye tension, ear position, and muscle tightness around the nose and mouth. You don’t need to memorise the whole scale, but knowing that a horse in pain often looks tense around the face is a really useful starting point.
Resistance Under Saddle
This is the big one that brings most people to me. A horse that was previously forward and willing suddenly feels heavy, reluctant, or explosive. Common pain-related riding behaviours include:
- Bucking, especially when moving into or within a pace
- Refusing jumps or stopping short
- Head tossing or a tight, hollow back
- Pinning ears when the girth is tightened
- Resistance or stiffness on one rein
- Difficulty maintaining straightness
None of these are automatically signs of pain. But when they appear suddenly, or cluster together, it’s worth asking why before reaching for a whip or a stronger bit.
Changes in Ground Behaviour
Pain doesn’t just show up under saddle. Watch how your horse behaves during grooming, rugging, and general handling.
Does your horse flinch or move away when you touch certain areas? Do they pin their ears when you do up the girth? Are they suddenly hard to catch, or reluctant to be led? These can all be signs that something hurts.
A horse who was happy to stand quietly for grooming and is now pawing, biting at the air, or swishing their tail constantly may be telling you something important.
Changes in Posture and Movement
Watch your horse move in the paddock when no one is asking anything of them. A horse in pain may stand awkwardly, shift their weight frequently, or rest one leg more than usual. They might move less than they used to, or you might notice a subtle unevenness in their stride that wasn’t there before.
Changes in posture at rest are something I look at closely during sessions. Tension held in the neck, a one-sided stance, or a horse that always cocks the same hind leg can all point toward discomfort that needs addressing.
The Story of Banjo
I want to share a story about a horse I worked with not long ago. His owner, Lisa, had been riding Banjo for three years without any real issues. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Banjo started refusing to move forward at the canter transition. He’d pin his ears, hump his back, and occasionally buck.
Lisa had done everything right. She’d had his saddle checked, his teeth floated, and her vet had done a basic lameness assessment that came back unremarkable. She felt like she was going crazy. Her instructor suggested she needed to ride more firmly through it.
But Lisa had a gut feeling something wasn’t right. She reached out to me, and when I came to assess Banjo, I noticed immediately how tense he was across his hindquarters and lower back. He flinched when I applied light pressure to his lumbar region, and his gluteal muscles were significantly tighter on the left than the right.
We started with a massage session, followed by PEMF therapy to help reduce inflammation deep in the soft tissue. After a couple of sessions, combined with a recommendation to see an equine chiropractor, Banjo started to change. The ear pinning softened. The canter transitions came back. And Lisa didn’t have to “ride through it” at all. She just had to listen.
Banjo wasn’t being difficult. He was doing his best.
The Difference Between Pain and a Training Gap
Now, I want to be fair here. Not every bit of resistance is pain. Sometimes horses do have genuine training gaps, or they’re testing their boundaries, particularly young horses or those with inconsistent handling.
So how do you tell the difference?
Here are a few helpful questions to ask yourself:
Did the behaviour come on suddenly, or has it always been there? A sudden change is more likely to signal pain. A behaviour that’s been present since you got the horse may be a training issue.
Is the behaviour worse on one side? Asymmetrical resistance, such as being consistently stiffer on the left rein or consistently bucking when asked to canter on one lead, is a strong indicator of physical discomfort.
Does the behaviour improve with rest, or get worse? Horses that are sore often feel worse after standing still and better after a gentle warm-up. Horses with training issues tend to be consistent regardless of warm-up.
Have multiple vets or therapists found nothing? Sometimes pain is subtle and doesn’t show up in standard assessments. Soft tissue discomfort, for example, won’t appear on an X-ray. This is where complementary therapies like massage, PEMF, and red light therapy can help uncover what’s being missed.
If you’re still unsure, always err on the side of checking for pain first. The cost of missing pain is much higher than the cost of ruling it out.
Practical Things You Can Do Right Now
You don’t have to wait for a professional to start paying closer attention to your horse. Here are some simple things you can do this week.
Keep a behaviour journal. Note when the difficult behaviour happens, what you were asking for, how your horse moved beforehand, and any changes in their environment or routine. Patterns often become visible over time.
Do a simple body check during grooming. Run your hands slowly along your horse’s back, neck, and hindquarters. Watch their expression and body language. Are there areas where they tighten up, swish their tail, or turn to look at you?
Watch them move freely. Before you tack up, watch your horse trot in a straight line on a hard surface if you can. Any unevenness is worth noting.
Trust your gut. You know your horse. If something feels off, it probably is.
And of course, if you’re noticing persistent changes in behaviour or movement, booking in with an equine therapist alongside your vet is a great next step. Massage, PEMF therapy, and red light therapy are all things I use regularly at Harmonising Horses to help horses find relief from soft tissue tension, inflammation, and discomfort that can fly under the radar in standard assessments.
Your Horse is Trying to Communicate
If there’s one thing I hope you take from this post, it’s this: your horse is not trying to make your life hard. They are trying to tell you something, and they are counting on you to listen.
The horses that get labelled as difficult are often the ones that need the most compassion. They’ve been trying to communicate through the only language they have, and somewhere along the way, the message got lost in translation.
You are your horse’s greatest advocate. When something feels off, trust that feeling. Ask questions. Seek help. And if you’re in the Bundaberg region and you’d like a fresh set of eyes and hands on your horse, I’d love to help. Get in touch through the website or come and say hello on Instagram. Your horse deserves to feel good, and so do you.
