Exmoor pony study links age and rider weight to post-ride pain sensitivity

A preliminary study examining how rider weight and a pony's age affect comfort during and after ridden exercise has been published in the International Journal of Equine Science. Led by researcher Jenna Payne, the work — which won a poster award at the 2026 Horses Inside Out Conference — looked at ten trekking Exmoor ponies aged between 13 and 25, each ridden over a roughly 4km route in walk and trot by a lightweight, a middleweight and a heavyweight rider on separate occasions. The team used a pressure algometer to measure sensitivity to pain in the muscles above the spine, alongside heart rate variability, before each ride, immediately afterwards, and again two hours later.

The results suggest age plays a meaningful role in how ponies respond to being ridden. Ponies aged 17 or younger showed increased pain sensitivity two hours after exercise regardless of rider weight, while ponies aged 18 and over showed reduced sensitivity straight after the ride but increased sensitivity two hours on when carrying a middleweight or heavyweight rider. Heart rate variability, a marker of physiological stress, did not differ by age in this study.

The researchers describe the findings as preliminary and are calling for further work with a larger and more varied sample of ponies before firm conclusions are drawn. Even so, the study adds early evidence to an active welfare debate around matching rider weight to horse and pony size, and points to the value of monitoring animals in the hours after a ride, not just during it, particularly as they get older.