Proprioceptive rehabilitation improves horses' body awareness and coordination after injury or neurological dysfunction, supporting recovery and return to work with reduced welfare risk.
Horses with proprioceptive deficits live with impaired body awareness that increases their risk of injury, causes discomfort from uncoordinated movement, and limits their ability to engage in normal behaviors. Targeted rehabilitation programs that progressively challenge proprioceptive pathways support neural recovery and reduce the duration of welfare compromise following neurological injury. The welfare benefit of proprioceptive rehabilitation extends beyond physical recovery to include the restoration of confident, coordinated movement that enables horses to participate in social activity and light work that supports their psychological wellbeing.