showed that about 73% of the horses exhibited some degree of lameness, and about half of them showed signs of pain during riding. Pain was measured using the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE). Similar results have been found in other studies and locations. Similar issues have also been found in leisure riding horses.

The impact of riding on horses depends on daily riding duration. Riding school horses show more facial grimacing, according to the Horse Grimace Scale, on days of moderate work (1 to 2 hours of riding) than on rest days,