Human benefit horse benefit

I love it when both humans and their horses get to benefit from 'behaviour modification'. Fixing a problem so that both the owner and the horse feel rewarded is one of the most positive feelings I can ever get from my work.

One of the requirements for this is empathy towards the owner and horse from my part, and empathy towards the horse from his or her owner. Horses are at our mercy, and to help them our empathy must be as accurate as possible. That includes ditching human-centred values so the process can be pretty tough as simply recognising one is being human and not horse-centred can be hard enough! Knowing this warns me that I must not judge others before I've had a chance to walk in their shoes.

With empathy for horseness in mind, there are pretty much two ways of getting a horse to stop behaving in a way that hinders its human in trying to attain their specific goals with it. Either punish the horse for the 'misbehaviour'. Or alternately teach the horse that another, incompatible behaviour is more rewarding. The specific example I have in mind is in the retraining or behaviour modification of the horse that hates to be clipped.

For that horse, clipping is aversive, why else would the horse try to evade it? Clipping it successfully, i.e. the horse stands still enough for the duration, can be achieved by teaching the horse that moving away results in application of a pressure halter to stop it. This technique seems to be pretty popular according to the magazines. Responses to the pressure halter need to be trained in advance of using the clippers for maximum effect. Essentially the horse learns that it cannot escape the clippers because of the way the pressure halter prevents it from doing so. The horse may then either start to get used to the clippers. This is more likely if they are introduced in incremental stages and do not hurt, and the horse given respite for standing still for short periods. Or the horse may simply become even more fearful of them. This is exacerbated by the fact that the horse cannot use the option of 'flight' to reduce its fear, and this is especially likely if the horse was very scared of clippers rather just than slightly bothered, and if the increments in which the clippers are introduced were too large for that horse. This is the risk whenever response prevention techniques, i.e. trapping the horse, are used.

There is of course an alternative means of helping a horse get over its fear of clippers and increasing the calmer, still behaviour required to get the job done. Teaching the horse to associate the clippers with rewards such as food titbits can make it more likely to see clippers as something positive rather than something that has to be tolerated, or worse - endured because the horse is helpless to do otherwise. A horse might be set up to learn that if he sniffs at the switched off clippers, food treats will suddenly be made available, and then the task can be made gradually more difficult by turning the clippers on. Alternatively the noise of them played quietly in the background could become a signal for a bucket feed. He could also learn that when stroked with the hand, and then with the clippers (turned off of course to begin with) that food is then presented. Standing still to wait for the reward will then come more naturally and willingly. All this can be achieved without having to actually restrain the horse at all.

When the horse learns to stand to be clipped in the first manner, he has no choice, and probably won't perceive any reward in being clipped, just that if he keeps still the clippers will stop eventually. The human may however be quite satisfied. But when the horse is trained via the latter reward-based method, he gets rewarded as well as his human, so now who benefits?

Patience and Confidence

These are two qualities that most horse people would argue are important in a horse trainer, but where do they come from?

I think they are partly due to the expectations the trainer has of the horse's response to his or her methods.

Knowing my expectations will be met makes me more patient. Keeping that patient attitude when working with a horse makes me more likely to stay calm - but only as long as I have strategically planned my training efforts. As long as I do this I don't become frustrated by lack of progress and get all impatient. When a plan is good my horse is able to meet each goal I create, then I feel successful! Repeated experience of getting it right helps me to be patient more easily, because I know the rewarding sensation of success is just around the corner! I hate that experience of irritation and frustration when a plan doesn't come together! But these experiences prompt me to plan better next time :-)

In my case confidence also comes from the experience of success. If I've succeeded I've also stayed in control! The behaviour change I predicted in the horse actually happened, therefore I stayed in control. The more this happens the more I expect it to happen and the more confident I am of success. This affects how I conduct myself around the horse, and some of that is bound to rub off. Confident, patient people are predicable people who don't look tense or randomly lose the plot. That's got to be reassuring for the horse who also needs that sense of predictability about the world to feel in control.

These two things are the making of great horse trainers, in that sense, great training makes great horse trainers.

What method?

Horse people are always asking me: what method do I use, what methods do I approve of, what I think of a certain method? Now I have one answer:

I think that there are many roads to Rome and any individual may take the path of their choosing. I think a truly ethical horseperson will make an effort to understand the horse's nature (his ethology if you like), the ways in which horses learn (learning theory derived from the field of psychology), and the means by which horses may suffer, emotionally, mentally and physically.

They will take lessons from the horses they meet, and endeavour to know and understand their horse as an individual. They will then make informed choices as to how to train their horse today. That may differ from how they trained the previous horse yesterday. Tomorrow they may change their approach based on what they learned today.

I personally choose to use positive reinforcement wherever I can. I also teach horses to yield to pressure so that less knowledgeable or ethical horsepersons aren't led to unduly stress them. Sometimes I can only work on the horse's emotional level, sometimes the horse is mentally and physically in a place where I can put higher, competitive goals into the syllabus.

May each of us find our route to Rome, without breaking too many horses on the way

Who's leading who?

Taking a dog for a walk by its lead and leading a horse more or less require the same things: that the animal in question accepts restraint without fear or frustration; and that they go where their human handler goes.

But why would either dog or horse want to do that? The easiest way to frustrate a dog is put it on a lead and deprive it of its liberty to sniff stuff and interact with other dogs. Horses lose thier liberty too, and often the freedom to flee from fear. And that lead (rope) is not only an infringement of liberty, it's an intrument of pain if it's not used with respect - which all to often it isn't.

Fear, frustration and the potential for pain can be very much reduced if the animal is informed about what to do before the lead is even attached. The animal can learn that sticking close and going where the human goes earns food titbits (or ball games for the dog) that can't be got any other way. If they leave the human's side they get nothing. When the animal gets really good at this the lead can be attached. The potential for large and painful pressures is reduced because the animal already knows what to do. Then it is possible to teach the animal that following, instead of fighting, lead preassures is another way to earn positive reinforcement - as well as the pressure release that would obviously entail.

Dogs and horses can be taught to walk nicely on a loose lead, without fear or frustration, and with no resentment.

Training equine emotions

Do horses really enjoy training? Or do we just like to think they do because we enjoy it?

Horses are always having learning experiences, from every single interaction we have with them. Some of those interactions are really pleasurable for the horse, like feeding for example. Some of those interactions may not be so desirable even if they are for the horses own good, like veterinary interventions!

From an ethical and philosophical stand point I think that horses should be able to enjoy training, after all we are simply usuing them for our own gains. It is only fair that if we do that then we should make it possible for horses to volunteer to be used by us rather than be conscripts into our plans!

It's possible to do that. All the interactions we have with our horses are learning opportunities for the horse, and horses are affected by such conditioning at all levels - not just in their behavioural expression. When horses actively seek or are surprised by rewards (the pleasurable stuff they want ot gain, not just the relief from rein or leg pressure we use to motivate them), they get a release of dopamine. This conditions their brain to seek such rewarding experiences again, and aids their expereince and memory of pleasure. Using rewards in training not only changes their behaviour so that they do more of the stuff we rewarded, it also creates a pleasurable association with the learning environment - including us! This means that not only does the horse perform trained behaviours more willingly, he also seeks us out for more rewarding oppportunities. In other words, he starts to become a volunteer.

I see this phenomenon in real life. Every day I see my own horses it is they who approach me, not the other way around. And when I visit others I've helped I see the same thing happening. Horses have started to catch people!

The same thing has been happening in zoos and laboratories where animals are kept and used for various purposes. Animals that have been trainined to approach and cooperate for positive reinforcement actually volunteer for even potentially painful experiences like blood sampling!

If we're going to enjoy using horses then at least let the horses enjoy it too :-)

Dominance - or is it?

Are horses as political as we think or is it just another red herring? I've lost count of how many times people have told me that they just wish they could show their horse who's boss, or how their horse is dominant and so they have to be firm with him, or that because horses try to find the weakest link they must learn to speak horse so thay can manage horses naturally.

I think it's time for a rethink on the dominance issue. First and foremost, what is dominant behaviour for? Is every incident witnessed an attempt by the horse to assert dominance? Is there a simpler explanation?

When a horse is said to be the dominant of a pair of horses it is because in contests over some important resource such as food or water, it has always displaced the other horse and 'won' access to that resource. When resources are short horses do need to compete over them, and after a series of competitions the frequent losers will start to give way more easily to the frequent winners.

But are the contests about dominance rank, or the resource in question? I think that they are about the resource, because when resources are plenty horses fight less. I think when horses compete for a resource they are frightened about losing that resource, because after all, it is important for survival. The horse who is desperate enough, and confident enough in his competitive ability will be more likely to compete, and if the opponent is weaker, he'll win. But ultimately that horse got into the competition because he felt threatened, not because he was into politics for politics sake.

All the above means that 'dominance' behaviour is for competing for stuff when one feels threatened. This means then, that when horses direct pushy, aggressive behaviour towards us they feel threatened or confused and they're not trying to be 'dominant' - unless of course we are making advances on their food bowl!

When a horse feels threatened by our behaviour he has four options: get away from us, behave aggressively, try to change the subject through fidgety behaviour, or plain freeze. Aggressive behaviour in its various degrees is quite effective at making us get out of their way or stop what we are doing to them. It's self defence, not the horse's ambition to be dominant over us.

I think that this means that when horses try to push us, bite us and kick us they are confused about what we are trying to make them do, or we are plain scaring them. This means we have to intelligently find away of training the horse to understand what we want without fear so that we can communicate more clearly. It's just not fair to assume that the horse is trying to get one over on us when more simply, he's just trying to communicate discomfort.

Emotional horses

All horses are capable of emotion. That might sound anthropomorhic, projecting human

attributes onto the horse, but I never said horses are capable of human emotion! Horses amaze me in their emotional capacity, it is precisely because they're not quite like us that fascinates me. The reason why they're not like us is because they are adapted to a different lifestyle and are motivated by different things. But they have some similarities, pretty much all mammals have the same basic emotional neurocircuitry, like that for fear & anxiety, frustration & rage, for seeking the good stuff in life, lust, joy and nurturance.

To help build a good relationship with horses, for the purpose of having fun or competing seriously, the emotional stuff is important. Horses that aren't emotionally fit find it hard to learn technical stuff, and their behaviour shows it, they can become shut down, or be going in every direction at once. Neither state is fun or going to give a competitive edge.

I find that horses can be affected by fear and frustration every day of their lives with us if we restrict their natural lifestyle excessively, confuse them through our efforts to school them and fail to provide some of the fun stuff in life.

Take horses that get stabled at night and go out in the day, especially at this time of year. Number one, they might be affected by reduced day length as neurochemical production is altered. That can be emotionally sensitising all on its own, but normally it may set the scene for stronger emotional states to have a negative effect.

That leads me on to number two: the horse gets wet, hungry and uncomfortable in the field, and by tea time is positively hanging over the gate to come in. That's because he expects that any minute he'll have relief from the wet ground and he'll get his short feed and some hay to munch. That drives his 'SEEKING' system (see Jaak Panksepp's book, Affective Neuroscience). In his anticipation he gets frustrated because he can't get to the dry stable with the lovely nourishing food because someone left a fence and a locked gate in the way! In his frustration he switches from SEEKING to RAGE and bites the pony next to him. That makes the groom mad so she yells or hits him making him fearful, and he didn't know what he did anyway he was just so wound up just then, and now the human is too. Now even more wound up and emotional he drags his owner up the yard and won't stand still to have his legs washed, even though he's done this 100, 000 times before. He gets shouted at for this and the lead rope gets yanked for good measure - not that it works but the human feels less frustrated, but will probably feel guilty in the car on her way home. Finally he gets into his box and digs into his food, now he feels better and settles for the night... But horses sleep for no more than 5 hours a day, so he has a couple of dreams and he's hungry again. But, the haynet's run out and it's still just one more hour before breakfast and release into the field where at least he can run around, have a nibble of grass and chew the fences for a bit until he gets too wet and hungry again...

See how it goes? We've probably all been there but there is another way. Maybe the horse has to live in the stable at night, limited grazing and all that. That's ok, no need to reach for the birch twigs here! The horse could be fed more hay and be fed some additional forages like carrots, swede, alfalfa, readigrass, a nutritional lick - horses love to pick through different flavours, that's what grazing is all about. The horse can get all his dietry needs from feeding this way so no need for a short, sweet feed for him to get psyched up about. The horse's turnout could have some hard standing put in and a hay feeder or two placed there, so that hay can be put out to prevent hunger setting in at 2pm. Then at coming in and going out time the owner can practise some new horsemanship skills to safely lead her horse, hose his legs and change his rug. Then he'll be a pleasure to have and the owner can have warm fuzzy thoughts as opposed to guilt on the way home :-)

The Art, Science and Common Sense of Horsemanship

I am frequently queried about my approach to equine behavioural problems and training methods. Because I don’t adhere to one particular method or another it is not always easy to explain what I do actually do. Saying that I simply mix and match is only a part explanation, it would be more accurate to say that my intention when I work with any horse and owner is to look at the whole partnership. I determine what exactly motivates that horse and owner, tailor a training and management programme based on fundamental first principles, and then educate the owner in their use in their specific case. This is the combination of the art, science and common sense of horsemanship.

This approach is loosely similar to the means by which a work of art such as a painting is created. There are basic principles of how to make different colours, use of perspective and light, and set up an aesthetically appealing composition. And although that’s the case, how come one painting is never exactly the same as another, even if they’re by the same artist? That’s where art uses basic principles that can be understood through scientific analysis, but the art is in wittingly or unwittingly applying first principles to create something unique. I look at horsemanship in this way.

There are basic principles to do with the way in which horses function and respond to their environment. Understanding how the horse works is fundamental to understanding how ‘methods’ work. Most horsemanship instruction is precisely that, instruction on how to apply methods whether it’s on how to muck out a stable or teach a horse to lunge. Most instruction, especially at basic levels is not about why to or why not to. Obedience is often deemed important at this stage for health and safety reasons, but continuing an obedient mentality is likely to lead to thoughtlessness. One of my first lessons in horsemanship was the statement that I should never stop learning about horses. It was not indicated to me at this time that I should question established practise but to accept it as best practise and get on with it. A lesson I learned later on, from a somewhat maverick horsewoman who worked locally was that I should question how and why things are done the way they are. A year later, embarkation on an equine science degree provided me with ample opportunity to do just that, and I’ve been finding those opportunities ever since!

Take our tradition of doing almost everything to a horse from its left side. As beginner horsemen we are instructed to halter, tack up, lead and mount horses from the left side. This becomes habitual for us in our future equestrian careers. A result of this is that horses become more used to us handling them from that side, and so we handle them even more from that side because it is where they and we are more comfortable. A cycle of behaviour is formed and we then come to extrapolate this habit to the introduction of new and potentially frightening stimuli to the horse. But why?

The tradition of doing things from the left most likely springs from the horse’s military history. Taking the military example as a suggestion, the sword is carried on the left side of the soldier so that it may be easily drawn from its scabbard and used in the right hand. In this case, handling and mounting from the right hand side of the horse would result in the sword getting in the way. It makes sense to get on from the left where the sword will be less likely to hit the horse’s rear as the rider swings his leg over its back, possibly causing the horse to move inconveniently. Another question that leads on from this is: is this the best course of action with my horse today?

In re-examining the tradition of mostly doing things from the left hand side of my horses, I am first of all aware that I am not a cavalryman and I am not carrying a sword. Therefore this liberates me to choose whichever side I want to lead or mount my horses from, or to introduce new stimuli to them. I could look to see if there is any science on the matter from which to further help me make an objective decision on how to introduce novel things into the life of a foal or inexperienced horse. In fact there is some science on this matter. Horses have an eye on each side of their head giving them a very wide field of view that is best adapted for spotting the kind of movements predators make when attacking horses. It has been suggested that what they see in their left eye is processed by the right, more emotional, brain hemisphere. Information from the right eye is processed by the more logical left brain hemisphere. When Australian scientists tested this idea they subjected horses to novel stimulus on their left and right sides. Horses responded more fearfully when the stimulus was first presented on the left side as the more emotional right brain hemisphere reacted with fear, communicating to the legs to move faster! So now which side am I going to introduce the hosepipe to my yearling for the first time?

This example is just the tip of the iceberg when considering the horse and our intentions for him. It’s the part of horsemanship I love best and is just as relevant to everyday training and management of a horse without ‘problems’ as it is to one with a ‘behaviour problem’. My goal in life is two-fold, to learn as much fact about horses and owners as I can, and secondly to integrate that knowledge into the best management and training practises for all who wish to seek some help from me.
So what method do I practise? Today it might be the loose schooling with food reinforcements signalled by a clicker for trotting with a lower head position for the injured Thoroughbred I’m rehabilitating, and the carefully timed release of rein pressure to inform the nice young cob about how good it is to slow, stop or turn as I progress through the process of breaking in (by the way I still use this term even though other, probably more accurate terms are available because most horse people still understand this term to mean early training of the horse to accept a rider). I will always assess, diagnose and tailor to fit individual horses and owners, so there will never be an explicit ‘Jenni Nellist’ method of horsemanship. I hope I will always continue to empower owners with knowledge so that they can work through their own logical thought processes and apply their own method as they become more skilled equestrians.