The horse has to be gathered, so he has to drive his back end underneath himself. On the trail or in the ring, the horse also maneuvers through lateral flexion. He's able to sidepass with ease, to sidle up to a gate, or go around an obstacle in his path. Because he moves at a reasonable speed, the pleasure horse undergoes less strain and concussion than horses in high-speed disciplines. He stays sound in back and limbs for light work.
Many pleasure horses are in their second, or even third, career.
Some Thoroughbreds go from the track to the hunter or jumper ring, and later become pleasure mounts. Pleasure horses do encounter the same lameness problems as do all performance horses, such as navicular disease and laminitis. The concussion of hard or uneven ground pounds rider and horse. Dorton sees effects of hard riding. We see horses with back and hock problems, and degenerative joint disease.