“They’re not lame, they’re just not … right.”
I commonly hear this as many horses present to our practice for vague signs of poor performance or even behavioural issues. Trainers often will say that the horse is misbehaving and they want to make sure there is not a physical issue before assuming it is a training issue.
In my experience, it is very uncommon for a horse to misbehave for no reason and behavioural issues under saddle are usually indicative of an underlying physical problem. Thus, our job as veterinarians (and owners and trainers) is to find the problem and help the owner and/or trainer develop a plan to move forward. While this can sometimes be a challenging and exhaustive process, it is ultimately rewarding if the underlying physical cause can be identified and resolved.