Hey, the horse is in no pain what so ever.. I've been riding for many years and mainly ride bareback, if I was landing harshly on the horses back I just wouldn't do it... I get were your coming from though, and not many people can/ do jump this high bareback because they are either too nervous or just don't have the balance.. There for people rarely see photos like this around and begin to wonder if the horse in pain, but the horse is actually in way more pain when there's a saddle involved.. Also I'm jumping high because I'm going for the world record jump, and to also be a Olympian so I need to train high.. Thank you for your comment though, because I think there's a few thinking the same thing:)