I have decided to share these edited and shortened notes of a recent Equine Behaviour Lecture I did to help potential Clients understand the kind of Behavioural work I do with horses. If you would like the full notes please contact me.
Introduction.
What is day this is about?
Empowering you to think deeper and clearer about your interactions and training process with your horses.
To develop better feel and timing in your training.
To learn how to shape behaviour.
To understand the theory behind how horses learn and how we can use this science in the work we do with horses.
To understand that there is a type of training out there that offers a motivator that is pleasant and affirming to the horse.
Whatever your chosen method is, it’s the application of it that really determines it’s usefulness.
True nature of a horse
Horses are not dominant by nature. Domestication has induced the stimulus for aggression/dominant type behaviours.
Studies have show that a horses behaviour in the wild is very different from domestication. Sadly people understanding of Equine Behaviour (EB) is based on observing how domesticated horses interact.
Horses don’t tend to use their power and strength against us in a negative way. They don’t seek confrontation.
Horses are adaptable, social, trainable, friendly, inquisitive creatures who look for interaction and relationship.
A Social herd animal with a flight not fight response.
People battle with horses, which results in horses learning about their own strength.
Training a horse before it is ready, physically and mentally.
Horses are started too soon in general and once started are pushed too hard in the first two years as a ridden horse.
Horses bones are not properly fused until 5-7 years old depending on the breed.
Some many horses end up with mild to severe pain, physiological imbalance, lameness, early arthritis, kissing spine, stifle issues the list goes on and on!
It takes a horse on average 2-4 years to be strong enough to work correctly in collection with a proper trainer/rider. Just think about that for a moment!
The lack of basic knowledge about how to correctly school a horse is alarming.
Gadgets used to lunge and ride in have been scientifically discredited time and time again and yet they are still used.
The BHS has a lot to do with how behind we are in the UK in how we manage and train out horses.
So this leads us to what our responsibilities are to our horses in order to get the best from them.
What I look at before I do any training/behaviour work with a horse.
A horse’s innate needs… the 3 Fs
Friends (socialisation)
Forage (free access)
Freedom (ability to move, not confined in a stable for multiple hours a day)
Environment
Feed/supplements.
Routines.
Appropriate environment in the field and stable.
Herd dynamics
Pain
Physical pain is sadly very often over looked.
What needs to be observed in the humans.
Peer pressure.
Ability/experience/method of handler.
Different types of training, trainers, methods leading to confusion and never really mastering any of the methods.
What you think about horses will directly determine how you treat and train them.
Comfort Zone in your applied horsemanship Vs Ambitious curiosity- willingness to try something new?!
What makes a good equestrian?
Emotional control
Patience
Body awareness
Clarity
Consistency
Flexibility
Confidence
Timing
Problem solving
The art of horsemanship combined with an understanding of the science of behaviour and equine biomechanics is probably getting pretty close to perfect!
The journey is endless!
Equine behaviour and the different types of Training.
Ok, the boring bit!
Operant Conditioning = A learning process through which the strength of a behaviour is modified by reinforcement or punishment.
Most forms of training in this day and age are a combination of Negative Reinforcement (NR) and Positive Punishment.
Threshold and the importance of recognising it!
Generally people do not give much notice to a horse who has gone above threshold.
Horses are not safe to be on or around when in this state. They become unpredictable.
A horse's mental state (whether it's relaxed or afraid) has a strong impact on it's ability to learn.
To be effective and humane trainers we must be very aware of the mental state our horses are in.
"When an individual is confronted with a threat, stress systems are activated and elevate the levels of several different stress chemicals that are circulating throughout the body. An increase in one of those chemicals, cortisol (stress hormone), can have a dramatic impact on how memories are processed and stored. The production of cortisol and adrenalin (as well as noradrenaline in the brain) in a normal stress response leads to memory formation for events and places that generate danger. More specifically, elevated cortisol levels (stress) can strengthen the formation of memories of emotional events, block the ability to unlearn fear memories, and enhance the formation of memories of the surrounding context in which the fearful event occurred. Interestingly, too much cortisol (stress) can also have the opposite effect and actually impair memory and learning in non-threatening contexts. Thus, the biological response to stress is intimately involved in both fear learning and unlearning." source
When a horse is in a heightened state of stress or fear they will be unable to control their emotions, to remain focused on their handler, and activate their working memory. It will also inhibit their ability to learn and process the situation properly.
Therefore, we don't want to ever intentionally put them into a state of fight or flight response. It doesn't help anyone. By the time they have reached a point of such reactivity they become dangerously unpredictable and their emotions/instinct kick into over drive.
Keep this all in mind when you consider a horse to be acting in a "disrespectful way". Could your horse actually just be responding in the way it's body was designed and it has no cognitive power to control?
We should always be striving to create minimal stress with our training to optimise learning and to avoid long term negative impacts on our horses.
How does your horse learn?
Repetition
Short frequent sessions
REST!
In every interaction you have with it….
What does your horse enjoy doing when you are training it???
This is a really powerful question to ask yourself.
To answer it you have to be brutally honest!
I have often asked my clients this question to be met with a slightly dazed expression. Sometimes people say hacking or jumping. Rarely do they say schooling.
Some people say everything! (But I often see different!)
Then I ask what do you like doing the most when working a horse?
This is much easier to answer!!!
Imagine that your favourite thing can become your horses favourite thing…. Imagine the joy, effortless freedom, the silent yet perfect communication.
Why Use PR?
Nothing alive is immune to the power of positive reinforcement.
…. Think about the times in your life you have worked really hard and you either got the recognition for your efforts, or you didn’t. Think about how that made you feel?….
If there wasn't a positive outcome to all your hard work, next time you will tend to do the action with as minimal effort as possible or just not do it at all.
Horses are no different!
Positive reinforcement is a powerful training tool. (especially when combined with the clicker)
What used to take forever to teach a horse now takes a fraction of the time.
What used to have to be trained with fear and intimidation now happens out of the horse's desire to earn something good!
No Need for invasive training habits be it methods or gadgets.
Sure, those things “work”... but when you really think about it, a horse working to avoid something (pain, pressure, punishment) is going to act a lot different than a horse working to earn something.
Autonomy for the horse- shock horror! The horse can say “enough”. We go with that in order to create a relationship and understanding that we are working together.
The horse develops a new found desire to work with a human rather than avoid them.
Personal development when using PR
learning to have better timing and lesson planning.
Observational skills and emotion control
clearer, more effective, less forceful, positive forms of communication with the horse.
Creativity and patience.