Equine Pain, Poor Performance and Challenging Behavior Days

Sue Dyson

graduated from Cambridge University, United Kingdom. She was Head of Clinical Orthopedics at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, England for many years until 2019 and is now an independent consultant. She has a passion for the investigation of poor performance using a holistic approach to the horse, tack, rider triad to try to maximize potential. Sue has also ridden at top British level in Eventing and Show Jumping and has trained horses that have competed at the Olympics and World Championships.

Kevin Haussler

graduated from The Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine in 1988. He was trained in the conservative management of spinal-related disorders in humans at the Palmer College of Chiropractic-West and completed a veterinary chiropractic certification program in 1993. He attended the University of California-Davis to attain a PhD focusing on spinal pathology and pelvic biomechanics in Thoroughbred racehorses. Post-doctorate training involved evaluation of in-vivo spinal kinematics in horses at Cornell University. While at Cornell, he directed the newly formed Integrative Medicine Service which provided chiropractic, acupuncture and physical therapy services to both small and large animals. Kevin was Associate Professor at the Orthopedic Research Center at Colorado State University and involved in teaching, clinical duties, and research into the objective assessment of musculoskeletal pain, spinal dysfunction and the application of physical therapy and rehabilitation. Since 2024 he is an Associate Professor at Lincoln Memorial University in eastern Tennessee. He is a charter diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation and a course instructor for the Equine Rehabilitation Practitioner Certification course at the University of Tennessee.

Gemma Pearson

combines her time between research and outreach as Director of Equine Behavior at The Horse Trust and running a referral clinic for clinical equine behavior cases where she is based at the University of Edinburgh. She is also an accredited racecourse veterinary surgeon and enjoys working at Musselburgh racecourse.

After working in ambulatory practice Gemma moved to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies where she completed a rotating residency program in the equine hospital, completing her Cert AVP (EM), alongside an MScR investigating horse veterinarian interactions.

Subsequently she completed her CCAB (certified clinical animal behaviorist) and her PhD thesis ‘Stress in equids undergoing veterinary care and the development of interventions that positively influence the horses’ experience’.  As well as continuing with her own research she supervises several students at PhD, MSc and undergraduate level.

In 2022 Gemma became the first person to become a species-specific RCVS recognized specialist in Veterinary Behavioral Medicine (Equine) and was awarded Fellowship of the RCVS in 2024 for meritorious contributions to clinical practice.

Gemma is frequently invited to lecture internationally, as a recognized expert in this field and an excellent communicator. One of the most successful projects was filming a series of short YouTube videos with the British Equine Veterinary Association aiming to reduce injury rates when dealing with difficult horses under the ‘Don’t break your vet’ campaign.

Gemma is passionate about improving interactions between horses and people, specifically regarding the application of learning theory. In her spare time, she has competed up to advanced level endurance on a homebred horse as well as enjoying competing in affiliated dressage and eventing. Currently she is retraining a Thoroughbred recently retired from racing.