A recent comparison of diagnosis and treatment of back pain in horses a decade apart has highlighted the way riders and veterinarians alike have evolved in their awareness and management of this condition. | Photo: Kevin Thompson/The Horse

For decades—likely even longer—back pain has been causing poor performance, dangerous behavior, and compromised welfare in riding horses. Unfortunately, we haven’t always been so aware of that fact. But there’s some good news on this front: A recent comparison of diagnosis and treatment of back pain in horses has highlighted the way riders and veterinarians alike have evolved in their awareness and management of this condition.

“In the last decade, the attention to back pain has grown so much,” said Andrea Bertuglia, PhD, of the University of Turin Department of Veterinary Science, in Grugliasco, Italy.

“The evolution in the available diagnostic imaging techniques has enabled vets to investigate this region further in detail, obtaining definitive diagnoses, and to tailor the right treatment,” he said. “Veterinary surgeons most likely have more training in physical therapy and rehabilitation as well, and the horses are followed during the entire convalescence period