tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83347762514740302952024-03-13T22:34:40.954-07:00equineBehaviourBlogFelicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-13061067611023016402022-10-02T13:39:00.005-07:002022-10-03T02:06:11.505-07:00Time to do more than 'not watch anymore'? A brief review of Julie Taylor's new book<p> Some months ago, I received my copy of Julie Taylor’s recent book <i>‘I can’t watch anymore’ The case for dropping Equestrian from the Olympic Games: An Open Letter to the International Olympic Committee.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzbeQywv_xUwopWOqMsUreDzz6vqCXTfXh0fqbEi01IEoizv5CYJnb9rdE9qH772rqL7RQOR8edn5em9OqG1FsVx6E6aAkLld2JTSxWUv6Ww0_rD-5_HxllOPF8NN9_7vLVrGQXpHjpAyi7uDkZucCSYm1nM6reGMp_HK2uQAFnlInxvtvKxNA7nTYQ/s267/JT.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="187" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEzbeQywv_xUwopWOqMsUreDzz6vqCXTfXh0fqbEi01IEoizv5CYJnb9rdE9qH772rqL7RQOR8edn5em9OqG1FsVx6E6aAkLld2JTSxWUv6Ww0_rD-5_HxllOPF8NN9_7vLVrGQXpHjpAyi7uDkZucCSYm1nM6reGMp_HK2uQAFnlInxvtvKxNA7nTYQ/s1600/JT.png" width="187" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I picked it up intending to browse and ended up reading it from cover to cover. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Why? I have been in the ‘<i>I can’t watch anymore</i>’ camp for over a decade, and thought I was fairly familiar with the arguments. What kept me reading was:</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul><ul><li> Realising I didn’t know the half of it.</li><li> Feeling that I should know.</li><li> The clarity and thoroughness of the arguments presented.</li></ul></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">For several years, I have been hopeful that life was improving for top level competition horses; more comfortable tack, better arena surfaces, consideration of their needs beyond physical comfort and so on. Although I felt that the bigger questions – relating to the use of horses in competition – were not being adequately addressed, I consoled myself that at least conditions were improving.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">This book provides convincing evidence that my hopes were wildly optimistic. Many important topics are discussed; doping, denerving, rollkur, the gap between rules and practice and transparency to name a few.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It brings you to an inescapable realisation - that when another picture of a horse in clear distress is shown (as on the book cover), or a photo is published of a horse with blood on their side after competing, or a report is given of a de-nerved horse participating in high level competition - the response from regulatory bodies may well <b>not</b> be to act to improve equine welfare. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Instead, we see within this book too many cases where the response is instead to relax regulation in the troublesome area, or concentrate on how to make the issue either more palatable or less accessible to the public. For example: </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul><li>The removal of the ban on riding de-nerved horses (FEI, 2013)</li><li>Shifting the definitions of prohibited substances and relaxing penalties when horses test positive for them (I was astonished to hear of a horse jumping in the Olympics whilst testing positive for a local anaesthetic - authorised by the FEI Veterinary Commission on the day)</li><li>Downgrading the 'blood rule' to a chapter on 'eliminations' - a consequence most often arising from a mistake, rather than it's former classification as an issue of abuse of the horse. </li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Whatever your opinion about competing on horseback (in whatever form), all horse lovers can agree that at the very least ‘good enough’ welfare of these horses must be maintained, and the bodies responsible for monitoring this standard should be scrutinised. This book scrutinises. And should, I feel, be read by anyone who wants to make an informed decision about whether they want to watch, or participate, anymore.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhm-RUEljT6VriQBObYVcazek_ti8anmzh7W0go_bfsTHGklSg4rzkJG4o4WfcUVohuI6biot9eCz2SUvr5X6iTtyDpv_fmS6gOySVWUwatlvTwvklhIDhBCqE58d4JSqtbjYvZ0fiOn72TamqqRPpVDfU38__XX8TZMapDEl5yVYbStu58q0HVHidw/s1920/306060672_539297537959482_8322987818877068265_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhm-RUEljT6VriQBObYVcazek_ti8anmzh7W0go_bfsTHGklSg4rzkJG4o4WfcUVohuI6biot9eCz2SUvr5X6iTtyDpv_fmS6gOySVWUwatlvTwvklhIDhBCqE58d4JSqtbjYvZ0fiOn72TamqqRPpVDfU38__XX8TZMapDEl5yVYbStu58q0HVHidw/w367-h207/306060672_539297537959482_8322987818877068265_n.jpg" width="367" /></a></div>Julie Taylor will be presenting a webinar for the EBA on October 16th 2022, booking at <a class="qi72231t nu7423ey n3hqoq4p r86q59rh b3qcqh3k fq87ekyn bdao358l fsf7x5fv rse6dlih s5oniofx m8h3af8h l7ghb35v kjdc1dyq kmwttqpk srn514ro oxkhqvkx rl78xhln nch0832m cr00lzj9 rn8ck1ys s3jn8y49 icdlwmnq cxfqmxzd ezidihy3" href="https://www.trybooking.co.uk/BVPZ?fbclid=IwAR1Mi3xYM2dSTThG5LGPe7_fwYmI9fMQLd3VIcD96PQPgGoZX5KpWCMS3co" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; white-space: pre-wrap;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://www.trybooking.co.uk/BVPZ</a>. You could join us and learn more. Or, if you are reading this after the 16th, contact me at felicity@equinebehaviouraffiliation.org to access the recording. <br /><br /><p></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I close with a few quotes from the book, which I wholeheartedly agree with.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #e69138;">‘The Olympic disciplines, especially dressage, commemorate the fact that, in past centuries, we involved one of the most peaceful species in the world in our own violent conflicts, forcing them to carry us to war; to starve, to be blown up and shot at and to be slaughtered and eaten when we ran out of rations. To keep that dream alive, we continue to ship horses around the world on lorries and aeroplanes, in order to make them do tricks, the purpose of which they cannot possibly comprehend. It is a truly bizarre habit, the time for which has surely passed.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #e69138;"> Humankind stands at a crossroads regarding our relationship with each other and with the rest of the living planet. We should be looking forward to a more peaceful, reciprocally respectful coexistence. Not back in time at our own glorified violence and domination.’</span><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">‘NSAIDs are not considered performance enhancing when taken by human athletes because the human athlete is both the one who wants to win and the one whose body has to work through the pain. In Equestrian, the athlete wants to win and the horse wants to be elsewhere, doing horse things with other horses.’</span><o:p></o:p></i></p><p><span style="color: #660000;"><i>‘If you have ever watched dressage on TV or in person and wondered what is was for, don’t feel bad. Not even the judges know what it’s about. They are expected to award scores for things which are not happening, so they are likely to be as confused as you are.’</i> </span></p>Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-48206156885341354142021-06-27T14:12:00.008-07:002021-06-27T14:33:45.246-07:00How to help horses with separation anxiety<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_kU5N-1dbzI/YNjfFdHUljI/AAAAAAAAAgM/KIQyRfx04TwmH2cuYobvRH9xBJDYOZJwQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2016/205171191_496909528232337_1008677393125055386_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1504" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_kU5N-1dbzI/YNjfFdHUljI/AAAAAAAAAgM/KIQyRfx04TwmH2cuYobvRH9xBJDYOZJwQCLcBGAsYHQ/w238-h320/205171191_496909528232337_1008677393125055386_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddy</td></tr></tbody></table> Three blurry pictures of horses in the distance... this struck me leaving the yard tonight, and I wanted to photograph from a distance so as not to attract them to me. <br /><br />What struck me? That all 3 of these horses, Harvey, Paddy and Tigger, have been described as suffering from separation anxiety. Paddy (the grey) was most extreme, and when he first came to me, he would quickly sweat up and even get colicky if he was separated from certain horses, even if others were still around. Tigger would jump pretty much anything to stay close to other horses. Harvey was never separated from the others after he arrived at my yard nearly 2 years ago, kept an anxious eye on them, and was quick to follow if they left. <br /><br />So, these pictures show all of these horses feeling OK about being on their own. Not hard evidence I admit, you'll have to take my word for it! <br /><br />How did this happen? Every case is different, but it is very common, and was the case for all of these 3 horses, that their extreme worry about being more than a few feet from companions was due to their overall mental well-being - feeling generally stressed, uncertain, unsafe - leading to a need for the security of other horses. <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_WkP-4O9JiE/YNjfCfqUydI/AAAAAAAAAgI/RhlXX6ASSVwGxwUapPmWkfI4G1FRTb5UwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2016/206211941_336908318046091_6954660053480800843_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1504" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_WkP-4O9JiE/YNjfCfqUydI/AAAAAAAAAgI/RhlXX6ASSVwGxwUapPmWkfI4G1FRTb5UwCLcBGAsYHQ/w238-h320/206211941_336908318046091_6954660053480800843_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harvey</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>In the past, I would have approached separation anxiety in a client's horse with training based solutions. Using systematic desensitisation/counter conditioning/shaping, trying to sensitively help the horse to learn that they were OK on their own. This can ask a lot of the client, careful training with excellent reading of body language, and often a lot of time. And it won't be truly effective if the horse doesn't come to feel truly safe without the other horse(s). <br /><br />That feeling of safety may have roots which are not addressed by such training. For example, pain issues may leave a horse feeling vulnerable and unsafe. Similarly a new environment, other stressful events, lack of choice, food deprivation, unavoidable aversives - to name but a few - can leave an individual horse feeling insecure and in need of the company of others. <br /><br />So - what did we do with these 3 horses that worked? Adapt their environment, management and interactions to optimise physical and mental well-being. For example, ensuring constant access to forage (albeit often soaked hay to keep weight down), as much choice as possible, ensuring physical needs are met, minimising aversives and giving constant access to other horses.<div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pF2RoEQ3eGE/YNjfGZ3q0RI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/jgGxugI8CwEa3rzxNCN7BOJGNHZaX65tgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2016/205290611_1218682375212682_8835504219739218800_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1504" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pF2RoEQ3eGE/YNjfGZ3q0RI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/jgGxugI8CwEa3rzxNCN7BOJGNHZaX65tgCLcBGAsYHQ/w238-h320/205290611_1218682375212682_8835504219739218800_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tigger</td></tr></tbody></table> In all cases (and I have seen this with many client's horses too), as they feel more secure in themselves, they start making choices to separate a little from the others. For example, the others wanted to come in and shelter from the sun and the flies today, Tigger preferred to stay out and graze; so he stayed out on his own, out of sight of the others and more than 150M from them. Initially, this might be a lesser distance, and the horse might begin to feel uncomfortable on his own - which he can resolve by re-joining the others. </div><div><br /></div><div>A hard thing to take on board sometimes - we like to 'do' something to 'fix' a problem like this. That the 'doing' involves establishing physical and emotional safety for your horse (as far as possible) in all aspects of their lives, then having patience as the feeling of security takes root and grows may feel too passive, but is wonderfully effective.<br /><p></p></div>Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-28305963609557276832021-01-09T05:02:00.002-08:002021-01-09T05:15:31.947-08:00Attachment theory and horses - serve and return<p> A few people have been writing about attachment theory and horses recently, so I thought I'd 'go public' with this little piece relating to attachment theory that I was putting together as part of the Equine Behaviour Affiliation's Applied Behaviour Course. <br /><br />Serve and return. If it's new to you, this video may help </p><h1 class="title style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; color: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-color, var(--yt-spec-text-primary)); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-font-size, var(--yt-navbar-title-font-size, inherit)); font-weight: 400; line-height: var(--yt-navbar-title-line-height, 2.4rem); margin: 0px; max-height: calc(2 * var(--yt-navbar-title-line-height, 2.4rem)); overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-shadow: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-text-shadow, none); transform: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-transform, none);"><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" style="word-break: break-word;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF3j5UVCSCA" target="_blank">InBrief: The Science of Neglect</a></yt-formatted-string></h1><p>So, that's a good introduction for humans, and particularly the importance of serve and return for children. </p><p>As adults, this still matters - for example just brief eye contact with a trusted friend can really help to calm you when you are feeling worried. </p><p>How about horses? The relationships that are central to a horse's life will hopefully be equine, but aspects of attachment theory can help us to think about how we interact with them too. <br /><br />Here's a little clip of Harvey, an ex racehorse who lives at my yard. Harvey has just been attacked by his food bowl! He somehow managed to flip it up and fire food into his face and got a big fright. 5 minutes later he is still not eating. <br /><br />Here, I think we have some serve and return. He touches me (and it's not for treats - he knows all about my right pocket!), I respond, and he then feels safe enough to eat. He repeats this movement a few times before really settling. <br /><br />Completing this serve and return might seem a small thing to us, but think how you feel when you try to catch that friend's eye when you are worried and she looks away or ignores you. It's not so different, and can make a huge difference to the horse and really strengthen a relationship. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KNmqjEyER0A" width="320" youtube-src-id="KNmqjEyER0A"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-57314957322595732992020-09-22T01:31:00.003-07:002020-09-22T01:34:56.126-07:00Grazing muzzles: thoughts on applying research findings to the individual<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is a great example of considering the individual as well as research. </span></span></p><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="23glq-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #505050; font-family: NexusSerif, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.333; margin-bottom: 16px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 16px !important; margin: 16px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; white-space: normal; word-break: break-word;"><span class="title-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159120301969?dgcid=raven_sd_aip_email" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Effects of grazing muzzles on behavior, voluntary exercise, and physiological stress of miniature horses housed in a herd</span></a></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="23glq-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="23glq-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Also considering what the research actually tells us - for example, testing 6 ponies is completely understandable from a research point of view, and provides useful information, but is obviously not enough to draw conclusions about most horses from. </span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="dipb2-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dipb2-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="dipb2-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="8pc7l-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8pc7l-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="8pc7l-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In this paper, grazing muzzles are found to have several benefits for the ponies tested, and no measured problems. For these ponies, grazing muzzles would seem to improve their welfare. </span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="cm5rl-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cm5rl-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="cm5rl-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="ednml-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ednml-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="ednml-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For the individual horse - consider the pros and cons and that horse's reaction to the muzzle. Although the ponies in this research showed no increase in physiological stress in the measurements taken, some horses are clearly very stressed by a grazing muzzle and there may be other less stressful solutions to weigh management. </span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="hq54-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="hq54-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="hq54-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="bh151-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bh151-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="bh151-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Throughout nearly 20 years of looking after Paddy, the only item he has ever consistently avoided - with an added kick threat if I persisted - is a grazing muzzle. In his case, weight control was essential, but he seemed much happier with a small bare paddock and company. Others have accepted it without seeming too concerned. For the horse who is clearly not thrilled about the muzzle but does tolerate it - careful ongoing evaluation of your options! </span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="162re-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="162re-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="162re-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="5i5s5-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5i5s5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="5i5s5-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Learn from the research, but always listen to your horse too. </span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="9qcml-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9qcml-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="9qcml-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br data-text="true" /></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="a8rjb" data-offset-key="cu3md-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cu3md-0-0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative;"><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #505050; font-family: NexusSerif, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 1.5rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.333; margin-bottom: 16px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 16px !important; margin: 16px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; white-space: normal; word-break: break-word;"><br /></h4></div></div>Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-14157089948683570962020-02-26T16:15:00.000-08:002020-02-27T02:02:18.326-08:00Equine Aggression: Character or well-being? <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flynn (the chestnut horse in the video) is lovely with people, but in the first yard shown in the video spent a fair amount of time threatening and moving the other horses. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's common to label a horse like this as aggressive, antisocial, dominant. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are actually many factors involved in Flynn's behaviour. Out in the field with the others he looked very relaxed. He needs to have a good bit of space to feel he can safely be around other horses. So much of his behaviour was about maintaining a safe space around himself. This may have come from being cornered/injured/threatened by other horses in the past - we don't know. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we label an animal, we tend to lose empathy for them, and we may be annoyed or frustrated by their behaviour. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead, we could consider this behaviour as a symptom of an underlying problem; his well-being is compromised. It could be a sign of pain, fear; really any form of stress. We can then consider how to help him. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having sufficient space and feeling safe are basic needs for all animals, and vary for each individual. In this case, we could simply say that his basic needs are not being met in this environment, causing stress which then (as is often the case) causes aggression. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flynn will also behave more aggressively than usual if other basic needs are not being met; for example if he is cold and wet, or in pain.
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "noto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even if we can't resolve the issue entirely (we didn't move to the new environment in the video for over 5 years), we can at least make some changes to improve things, and appreciate that we should be looking for ways to help this horse rather than impugning his good character. </span>Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-33234974800267077692020-02-20T03:30:00.001-08:002020-02-20T08:50:25.995-08:00Horses as individuals (not statistics)<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Asking a good equine behaviourist questions about your horse may
initially be frustrating. They are often going to say something like ‘it
depends’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Why is my horse bucking after jumps? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Why won’t my horse go in the trailer? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Why does my horse pin his ears when people
pass her stable? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Why does my horse yawn after I put his bridle
on?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">What should I do if my horse is pulling away
from me for grass when I lead her?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">And so on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">The answer to all of these questions is – it depends… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Part of the reason ‘<i>it depends</i>’ is that every horse is an
individual, and whilst research and experience may both reveal patterns in horses’
body language and behaviour, the individual may well not conform to the norm.
So a behaviourist will want to ask an awful lot of questions and actually see
your horse if at all possible before giving any sort of opinion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In a
recent journal club with IAABC colleagues, we discussed an interesting paper, ‘</span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Horses
associate individual human voices with the valence of past interactions: a
behavioural and electrophysiological study’ </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Serenella d’Ingeo, Angelo
Quaranta, Marcello Siniscalchi, Mathilde Stomp, Caroline Coste, Charlotte
Bagnard, Martine Hausberger & Hugo Cousillas<b>. Scientific Reports </b>| <i>(2019)
9:11568 </i>| </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47960-5"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47960-5</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
authors of this paper were interested in how horses responded to a voice they
associated with a negative experience (V-) as opposed to their response to a
voice they associated with a positive experience (V+). The figure below is
reproduced from the paper (Many thanks to Springer Nature for their generous
copyright policy!), with my simple additions of the letters A, B, C and D and a
vertical blue line. Each dot in the figure represents a horse, so 16 horses in
total are represented. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WtfblZBMhTI/Xk5rHePV9qI/AAAAAAAAAX4/CzaXlMrB98QHtC0ZqhjqRmvmC1ezDm-lgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screenshot%2B%252841%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="693" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WtfblZBMhTI/Xk5rHePV9qI/AAAAAAAAAX4/CzaXlMrB98QHtC0ZqhjqRmvmC1ezDm-lgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screenshot%2B%252841%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Figure
from above cited paper: Theta wave relative frequency in % of the power profile
(right hemisphere): correlation between data obtained for each horse during the
playback of V+ and V− respectively</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Without
reviewing the findings in this paper, we can simply use this as an example. Please
don’t worry if, like me, you are not well versed in the significance of brain
waves! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Here, a
notable observation might be that 12 of the 16 horses are to the left of the
blue line drawn from 0 on the x axis; the majority of horses have a negative
measurement in response to the voice associated with a positive experience. This
would be a typical and very valid point for discussion – we have found a
pattern. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br />
However, this figure is also an excellent reminder to consider the individual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">For example, horse <b>A </b>measures 30 for the voice
associated with the negative experience (V-), and around -15 for the voice
associated with the positive experience (V+), whilst horse <b>B </b>is -20 and
20 for V- and V+ respectively. So they are showing opposite responses in this
test. Horse <b>C</b> has negative readings for both experiences, whilst horse <b>D</b>
has positive readings for both experiences. Horse <b>D </b>also has a strongly
positive measure for V+, whilst most other horses are negative or close to 0. <br /><br />Furthermore, if we were to look at, say, the mean average of V+ measurements, we would get a figure around -5. We need to be very aware that several individuals showed very different measurements. <br /><br />Statistics gathered for groups give us useful information, but should not be assumed to relate to the individual. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">That this figure beautifully illustrates the point that
each horse is an individual was observed by Dr Robin Foster at the journal club,
so all credit is due to her for highlighting this. The explanation given here,
and any mistakes therein are down to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-28307723507249700742018-11-08T02:13:00.000-08:002018-11-08T02:13:05.150-08:00horses, fireworks and feeling safe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
For very obvious reasons, feral horses prefer to be in wide open spaces, where they can detect threats from as great a distance as possible. Other needs - for food, water, shelter and so on may take them to less open spaces where they will be more vigilant - predators may lurk there. <br /><br />When I built my yard, I wanted to provide adequate shelter from the scottish winter weather, but also tried to keep it as open as possible so it would feel like a safe place. And they look very relaxed and happy in the yard, and come in from the field to rest and doze.<br /></div>
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As the weather turns, they have been spending more and more time in the yard. However, coming up the morning after fireworks night, it was interesting to see that they had hardly been in the yard. It was clear that they had spent the night in the most wide open area of the fields. Maybe seems obvious, but I thought it worth commenting on. Our view is often that a stable is a place where a horse can feel and be safe, and depending on the horse's situation and past experiences this may be the case, but often if the horse senses danger a wide open space will feel much safer. <br /><br />Of course, horses did not evolve to cope with traffic, fences, and thousands of other hazards in the environments we keep them in. Where a horse will actually <i>be</i> safe, may be different from where he will <i>feel </i>safe, but his emotional state and possible responses to feeling endangered are an important factor to consider. </div>
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<br />Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-47287050078347463902018-03-21T15:10:00.000-07:002018-03-21T15:10:04.517-07:00Spending quality time with your horse<div>
Got a message from a past student a couple of days ago with a very well put observation. </div>
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Over last summer she had done a lovely piece of training with her horse to help him with his worries about trailer loading - very slow and observant, really listening to him and taking things at his pace. </div>
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He had been a bit 'off' coming out of winter, and she was keeping an eye on him, looking for something to perk him up. For various reasons, as the trailer was out, she decided to try loading him. He did brilliantly, and the next day was full of enthusiasm when she arrived. Her comment was 'it's amazing how spending some quality time with him made him so happy'. </div>
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When I first got involved with horses, I think I'd have considered quality time with them as going out on a long hack, or maybe grooming - but more from the perspective of what I enjoyed, unless the horse was really clearly unhappy about the activity! A trailer loading training session definitely wouldn't have been on the list. </div>
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I've seen this often, how working at the horse's pace through a fear issue can transform a relationship, and also this training becomes something they really enjoy. The phrase 'quality time' was so accurate; when we can slow down and really pay attention to them and help them feel better about their worries in life, it can mean so much to them. And we can then bring this pace and attitude to other areas of our work with them, and build on a solid foundation. </div>
Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-4143568452015306882018-02-03T08:59:00.000-08:002018-02-03T09:00:37.257-08:00Some thoughts on negative and positive reinforcementMost of us, if we learn about learning theory, quickly become familiar with the following:<br />
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<b><i>Negative reinforcement</i></b> : the removal of something aversive
from the environment as a consequence of a behaviour, making that behaviour
more likely to occur in the future. </div>
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<b><i>Positive reinforcement: </i></b>the addition of
something rewarding into the environment as a consequence of a behaviour,
making that behaviour more likely to occur in the future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Negative punishment:</i></b> the removal of something appealing
from the environment as a consequence of a behaviour, making that behaviour
less likely to occur in the future<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Positive punishment: </i></b>the addition of something aversive
into the environment as a consequence of a behaviour, making that behaviour
less likely to occur in the future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Looks quite straightforward...<br />
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Then, we categorise the training and learning we see. We give our horse a polo when he touches a cone, and say we are training with positive reinforcement. We form biases about what kind of training is good and what is bad. Taken to an extreme, we form opinions about whether people are good or bad based on the kind of training they do, but that's a subject for another day! </div>
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So - a couple of thoughts on positive and negative reinforcement. </div>
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<b><i>Is it positive or negative reinforcement? </i></b></div>
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Let's say my horse Paddy has an itchy leg - he finds a tree stump, lifts his leg and rubs against it, removing the itch. We would generally describe this as negative reinforcement - the irritating itch has been removed by Paddy's behaviour - rubbing the tree stump. </div>
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Now, let's say Paddy has an itchy leg and lifts his leg while I am grooming him. I reach down and scratch his leg for him. Is this positive reinforcement - I am adding a pleasant scratch, or negative reinforcement - removing the itch as in the previous case. Does Paddy learn any differently in the two cases above? </div>
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Since it is the horse who is learning, it only really matters how his brain processes these two events - my opinion is unimportant in his learning process! But I'd be more likely to call the latter case positive reinforcement, because <i>I</i> added a good consequence. </div>
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So already we see a grey area in how we classify the learning. </div>
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<b><i>Can learning through negative reinforcement be a 'nice' experience? </i></b></div>
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The example above, where Paddy finds the handy tree stump surely confirms that negative reinforcement can be an enjoyable method of learning - the relief of scratching the itch. </div>
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To take an example involving a human rather than a bit of wood - let's say Paddy comes hobbling in from the field. He has a big stone trapped in his foot which I removed when he lifts his foot for me. We'd usually describe this as negative reinforcement - I've removed something aversive, and this was probably a very good experience for Paddy. </div>
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<b><i>How do we decide on our preferred training methods? </i></b></div>
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If we think in terms of positive and negative reinforcement, and decide that positive reinforcement is good, kind, ethical, call it what you will, and negative reinforcement is to be avoided where possible - the above examples don't make sense! </div>
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Not only is negative reinforcement a good experience for Paddy in theses cases, it's also sometimes not even clear if learning has occurred through negative or positive reinforcement - that just depends how we view it. </div>
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When we are considering the effectiveness of training, then understanding the mechanics of learning is important. </div>
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When we are considering the ethics of training, a major factor is how it <i>feels </i>to the learner, rather than how it affects their behaviour. Using a model that describes how their behaviour is affected to describe how they may feel is, I think, not enough. </div>
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What really matters, I think, is how the horse feels about interaction we have with him. </div>
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To take an extreme example, if we apply a painful stimulus to our horse then release it when he behaves as we wish, we are using negative reinforcement, but it is the active application of a painful stimulus that we should be concerned about, not the learning mechanism. Whether the aversive stimulus is applied before or after a behaviour, or entirely at random, for myself, I'd like to minimise these stimuli. I'd also like to increase the things he finds nice, whenever they happen! </div>
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In summary - be nice to your horse :-) </div>
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Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-30956709998100968762017-12-02T10:33:00.001-08:002017-12-02T10:35:45.795-08:00Some thoughts on the loss of a horse<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7i00b" data-offset-key="d49ja-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="d49ja-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">A few wee thoughts on how the loss of Benson has affected my other horses. Benson came to me in 2002, Paddy and Tigger arrived in 2003. Flynn has known Benson since 2002, and Elvis since about 2008 - so a long time for all. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="5rbtc-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Initially, all horses looked exhausted. Paddy and Tigger particularly were standing dozing, knees kept buckling but neither wanted to lie down. About 2 - 3 hours after he died huge bout of eating hay. I would guess that they hadn't ate or slept the night before, I can't say how ill he seemed but I think they knew. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="8qc7o-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I left Benson's body in the field shelter for a few hours after he died, interestingly they didn't come in much while I was in the shelter but once I disappeared to pick up poo in the field they all went in. Shortly after they had gone in, Flynn herded the rest of them out and spent some time alone with Benson. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="b6t35-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">It's the first time I've had a chance to do this, and I'm glad I did. After he left, there was no calling, no searching for him; they knew he was gone which I think is probably better. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="832r0-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Things are getting back to something like normal now, but they still don't spend time in the shelter where he died, they all use the other one. I was slow to notice this and change haynets around so they aren't having to eat somewhere they don't want to be.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="eil77-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Also, they are sticking much closer to each other. Usually one will go out an graze alone quite happily while the others stay in, or one will stay in alone. Just now they prefer to be in a close group, and graze as in the photo - close together, where they'd normally spread out. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="divo1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Nothing I can do to make it better really, but there are things I can do to not make it worse. I wouldn't, for example, take one out for a ride alone, or separate them off for any other reason. And I can see where they prefer to be and provide food and water there. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1p8n3-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">These changes are easier to notice when a horse has died, maybe because you're expecting change and feeling the loss yourself. But they will also happen when a field mate leaves; we think a lot about how to introduce new horses, but not so much about the impact there may be when one leaves. </span></div>
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Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-88328277514120641312017-02-08T13:18:00.000-08:002017-02-08T13:18:00.299-08:00A thought on orphan foalsSo, this is just more random musing...<br />
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The young of some species are coprophagic, meaning they eat faeces. There are various theories about why they do this. Foals eat their mothers faeces. So do baby rats!<br />
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I came across this paper today - '<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Maternal Pheromone and Brain Development in the Preweanling Rat'</span></span><br />
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<span class="article-citation" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-right: 0.5rem;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="labs-docsum-citation-part" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block;">TM Lee et al.</span> Physiol Behav 33 (3), 385-390. <time class="labs-docsum-citation-part" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block;">9 1984.</time> </span></span></div>
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<span class="article-citation" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; margin-right: 0.5rem;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The abstract says '</span></span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Preweanling rats selectively approach and consume pheromone-containing maternal feces. This selectivity suggests that the consumption of maternal feces might be important for the growing pup. Previous research suggested that such feces might promote brain development. A series of experiments was carried out in which pups were denied access to maternal feces. These pups were clearly inferior to control pups in brain growth and neurobehavioral maturation, as well as in the quantity of brain myelin.'</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Interesting - often hand reared foals have behaviour problems, and we tend to put this down to the absence of other horses to teach them social skills, stress, our inadequacies in training them and so on. But I wonder if the simple lack of the building blocks necessary for normal brain growth and behavioural development plays a significant role?<br /><br /></span></div>
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Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-25064678198570013242016-11-23T14:06:00.002-08:002016-11-23T14:09:37.120-08:00The side effects of how we train horses...<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="75j59" data-offset-key="bnclv-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="bnclv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">People often evaluate training simply in terms of 'does it work'? Sounds reasonable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If they mean 'does it change the specific behaviour we are focussing on, in the way that we want' then it is definitely not enough. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bnclv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Every interaction we have with a horse may change lots of things other than the specific behaviour - for example they also learn about the individual trainer, may generalise this learning to all people, may come to feel more relaxed or more worried in certain environments, with certain equipment and so on - all as a result of one simple piece of training. </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bnclv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Just rereading a paper, 'Reinforcement as a mediator of the perception of humans by horses (Equus caballus)', Carol Sankey et al. To quote from the abstract: </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bv3j3-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">'In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the use of positive or negative reinforcement in horse training may have consequences on the animals’ perception of humans, as a positive, negative or neutral element (in their environment). Two groups of ponies were trained to walk backwards in response to a vocal order using either positive or negative reinforcement. Heart rate monitors and behavioural observations were used to assess the animals’ perception of humans on the short (just after training) and long (5 months later) terms. The results showed that the type of reinforcement had a major effect on the subsequent animals’ perception of familiar and unfamiliar humans. Negative reinforcement was rapidly associated with an increased emotional state, as revealed by </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">heart rate measurements and behavioural observations (head movements and ears laid back position). Its use led the ponies to seek less contact with humans. On the contrary, ponies trained with positive reinforcement showed an increased interest in humans and sought contact after training. This is especially remarkable as it was reached in a maximum of 5 sessions of 1 to 3 min (i.e. 5 to 15 min) and had lasting effects (visible after 5 months). Even learning was positively influenced by positive reinforcement. Overall, horses seem capable of associating humans to particular experiences and display extended long-term memory abilities.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Common sense, you might say - if we do nice things with our horse they want to be with us more, if we train them by doing things they find unpleasant, they want to be with us less. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is only a little part of the picture of 'good' training - for example simply throwing large amounts of food at your horse for every good thing he does is probably not the answer either! But it is an important element that is often overlooked, by scientists and trainers alike, so it's great to see some research in this area. </span></div>
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Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-6369501877870503162016-09-30T15:02:00.004-07:002016-09-30T15:07:41.952-07:00More horse watching - social behaviourCame across this video I took a couple of years ago. Tigger meeting Duke, the stallion who lives at his yard, for the first time. Tigger's posturing is obviously attention grabbing. You can look up any good book on horse behaviour and find descriptions of this kind of sequence of behaviour. But what I find interesting is the more subtle interactions.<br />
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For example, at the start of the video, the older, wiser Paddy (grey) is not particularly interested in Duke, it is clear that his communication is with Tigger (the touch behind the elbow, then sniffing). He moves a little way from Tigger then waits until Tigger joins him. When Tigger then turns back to Duke, Paddy considers going with him but doesn't. There's very little written about these kinds of interactions.<br />
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I would say it looks very much as if Paddy recognises that Tigger's interactions with Duke aren't very wise, and is suggesting that Tigger should move away/calm down. It's a shame that the moments which bond horses, or demonstrate an existing bond, are not given more attention.Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-86439916576705642062016-09-01T13:39:00.003-07:002016-09-01T13:39:47.463-07:00What's in a whinny? I love just watching horses - and there's always something new to ponder. So today - the whinny.<br />
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The whinny is generally described as a way for horses to maintain or regain contact with each other and also as a friendly greeting. It's an effective way to attract another horse's attention over a distance, and emotions can certainly be transmitted through frequency of whinnying and different types of whinny.<br />
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I think the whinny can convey more than simple communications like 'I'm here and excited' or 'where are you, I'm scared'.<br />
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Getting video of a really interesting example isn't easy - but here's a fairly basic one. Paddy is often observed 'managing' the social life of the horses in his field - herding 'his' mares away from the other horses, and breaking up interactions between certain horses.<br />
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In this case, Paddy is some distance away from one of his field mates who is talking to a pony over the fence. Paddy hears a squeal, whinnies in response and continues to watch until the interaction is over. I have seen more extreme examples where a play fight is turning a bit serious, and a distant whinny from Paddy breaks it up immediately. This whinny could simply be attracting the other horse's attention and thus interrupting their behaviour. But I do think there is more being communicated than that.<br />
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<br />Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-10086885730349574972016-02-26T02:45:00.000-08:002016-02-26T02:50:10.007-08:00On learning... ??So, seems a bit off topic, but I'm reading a book just now on psychotherapy. Lots of ideas in there for anyone who is teaching/coaching, for example the importance of relationship between teacher and student - creating and maintaining an environment in which the student can learn rather than , say, trying to push information into them regardless!<br />
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Over the years, one thing I've had to work on is saying less! The desire to give someone 'useful' information and help them leads you to do and say too much, where often giving them the space to work things out is more productive.<br />
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But the bit that really caught my attention - a story about a man who had been coming for therapy for months, mostly about his failing marriage, but had not revealed he was having an affair with another woman! His desire for the therapist to have a good opinion of him was stronger than his desire to work out his problems and change.<br />
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So, this obviously isn't about horses, but my horse-obsessed brain draws parallels... I have suffered from something very similar when getting help from people whom I respect - I very much want them to have a good opinion of me, so consciously or not, you try to hide what you think are the 'bad bits'. You don't ask the 'silly' questions for fear of sounding stupid, you maybe don't ask to work on the weakest bit of your riding because you know its a big mess, and you'd rather work on something that looks at least passably good!<br />
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Being aware of this tendency (if you have it), being aware that it isn't helpful and will actually slow down your progress, and also being aware that a good trainer/coach/teacher will not be judgmental and think less of you for being willing to expose and tackle the weakest areas, but will be pleased to help you through them... all very important.<br />
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As usual, not quite sure where I'm going with this, have nothing profound of my own to add, but may strike a chord with some of you, as it did with me, whether you are teacher or student...Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-58066114872095753662015-12-02T15:14:00.001-08:002015-12-07T13:18:54.617-08:00When horses don't 'live in the moment'...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, I was really interested when one of last years students came out with pretty much the same comment last week. As happens sometimes, I had 3 separate conversations around this subject with 3 different people and finally something clicked. </div>
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I think there would be lots of different ways of explaining this, but basically when we use a valuable reward in training, at the point where the horse has learned the task and knows a reward is coming, he is anticipating a future event, rather than being focused on what he is doing right now. </div>
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For us people, we know that 'being in the moment' is crucial to improving our horsemanship - if we are thinking about the last poor canter transition, or wondering what we'll have for tea tonight, we are missing what is happening now. I think the same happens for horses - if they are busy thinking about the tasty carrot they will get if they complete 3 steps of shoulder in, they are not feeling the movement, and it feels different to us. </div>
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Not saying don't use treats - if you fade them out appropriately it wouldn't be a problem, but just interesting to consider?<br />
<br />
To put this another way, when the consequence of the horse's actions are big, whether it be reward or punishment, this will cause the horse to anticipate to consequence, which distracts their attention from what is happening in the moment. Which will affect their learning...</div>
<br />Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-25332171295476820562015-08-25T13:53:00.001-07:002015-08-25T13:54:51.045-07:00All because Elvis left the field - problem solving...<div class="MsoNormal">
In my last blog, I was talking about Tigger and his
lamentable lack of social skills, more evident that usual when Elvis left the field and Tigger's social life was turned upside down. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DX7ZUzEGAxc/VdzSgb8u7mI/AAAAAAAAAR8/lUqnpvICFEo/s1600/10743689_816510931721236_1098804835_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DX7ZUzEGAxc/VdzSgb8u7mI/AAAAAAAAAR8/lUqnpvICFEo/s320/10743689_816510931721236_1098804835_n.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not really relevant here, but this picture just sums <br />
Tigger up for me - always a bit different!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Usually during the summer, Tigger either
comes when you call, or you have to go and fetch him, and he is quite happy to
come in once you’ve reached him.</div>
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A few days before Elvis and Paddy were due to return to the
big field, Tigger didn’t want to come in any more. His attention was glued to
the mare and foal, and he didn’t want to leave them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What now? The first thought most of us would have is
probably a training solution – carrot or stick – fairly literally in this case.
But neither would be a great idea. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XWXC0dtp-MU/VdzS81hFq7I/AAAAAAAAASE/-ITcKL0bjDo/s1600/carrot.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XWXC0dtp-MU/VdzS81hFq7I/AAAAAAAAASE/-ITcKL0bjDo/s200/carrot.jpeg" width="192" /></a></div>
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Treats for the wanted behaviour (leaving the foal) would
most probably not work – as he gets further from the foal he becomes
increasingly anxious, and treats would not be a sufficient incentive, nor would
they really address the problem. Safety wise also not the best – Tigger might
well move further from the foal than he is comfortable with in order to get his
treat, which might the trigger an explosive dash back to his buddy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So – maybe a schooling stick or his bridle? In this
situation I’d say not. He is clearly worried about leaving the foal, and
putting more pressure on him will not help matters. Firstly, safety wise it’s a
really bad idea – the field is deep and muddy in places, and ‘picking an
argument’ with a horse on bad footing is just daft <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> . Secondly, particularly in the deep and muddy
bits, you are likely to fail – Tigger will return to the foal leaving you
stranded without your wellies, or worse! Finally – you might get him in from
the field, but if it’s not an emergency what is the point really? You’ve risked
your safety and the horse’s, done no good to your relationship, probably
stressed both of you quite a bit….</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Think again… another option would be to bring the mare and
foal in. Tigger will doubtless follow, not get stressed, this will be safer and
more likely to succeed. Nothing wrong with this solution, except than in this
situation, the mare and foal aren’t mine, and I don’t have anywhere to put them
once they are in! So an option in an emergency, with permission from the owner,
but not ideal in this case. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O7dSX11g3zE/VdzUjT7Ma6I/AAAAAAAAASY/TrPrPsD43Rg/s1600/SAM_1319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O7dSX11g3zE/VdzUjT7Ma6I/AAAAAAAAASY/TrPrPsD43Rg/s320/SAM_1319.JPG" width="320" /></a>And we think again… and find the lazy solution, which always
suits me well <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
Does Tigger really need to come in at all? I can check him in the field, he
doesn’t need fed, and I’m certainly not going to try and ride him while he’s so
distracted. In a few days Paddy and Elvis will return to the field, and they
will most likely fix the problem for me. Once field life is back to normal,
Tigger should get back to normal too, and we won’t have done any damage in the
meantime. If things don’t settle down, we can think (yet) again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sure enough, the ‘not coming in’ thing stopped a few days
after Paddy and Elvis returned to the field, and we’re all back to normal now. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A good example of how each ‘behaviour problem’ is so
individual – we need think before acting, understand the causes and find a solution
appropriate to that unique situation. <o:p></o:p></div>
Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-36568638134918254562015-08-23T14:58:00.002-07:002015-08-23T15:03:29.734-07:00All because Elvis left the field...<div class="MsoNormal">
Tigger, whom we love dearly, spent a lot of time alone until he
was 3 years old, and has, to put it mildly, very poor social skills – he just
always seems to be saying or doing the wrong thing around other horses! In
a stable herd he does OK, make changes to the group and anything could happen. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, about 6 weeks ago Elvis injured his leg, needing stiches
and rest in a small non-muddy paddock for 4 weeks. Paddy and Flynn were
nominated to keep Elvis company, taking turns to stay in. Elvis, who has very
good social skills, adjusted to this change in routine remarkably well. He didn’t
show any great desire to go back out to the big field, and led out nicely in
hand every day for some grazing. The only change in his behaviour was due to
being fed treats while he was getting his dressing changed every day – he is
much more interested in people approaching than previously, and nickers at the
sight of hibiscrub and bandages <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><br /></span></div>
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So, all was well in the small paddock. Out in the big field…
in the absence of Paddy and Elvis, Tigger finds new horses to hang out with.
This causes all sorts of problems. Tigger has an ill-founded burst of
confidence, and starts challenging horses whom he has always steered clear of
in the past. This doesn’t work out too well for him and causes all sorts of trouble… he then becomes very
attached to a 3 month old foal in the field, and doesn’t want to come in any
more. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now we have a fairly calm and content Elvis, but a Tigger
who is distracted, unsafe to handle and having fights with other horses!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Elvis, Paddy and Flynn are now back in the field, and things
have more or less settled down again. The video shows Elvis being turned out
for the first time after his ‘paddock rest’. Elvis is a confident pony with, as
I mentioned, excellent social skills, and it really shows. He enters the field,
turns back for a treat, says ‘hi’ to the horses and ponies he hasn’t seen for
nearly a month – all pretty relaxed. Meanwhile Paddy is back in the field also, and the drama is not Elvis rejoining the herd, but Paddy separating Tigger from the foal – and having to put a lot of effort into
it – usually Paddy just flicks an ear and Tigger moves. The last clip is day 2,
and you can see how much less Paddy has to do to tell Tigger to leave the foal. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Any point to this? </div>
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Firstly, that good social skills make such a difference to your horses social life - just as they do with people. With horses, there is so much focus on social dominance hierarchy, and how that affects their behaviour, and far too little focus on their social skills and how these may affect their behaviour towards other horses and people - and how badly a lack of social skills may affect them emotionally. </div>
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Secondly, to be aware of how changes to the social group can affect a horse, particularly one like Tigger. He changed very quickly from a rideable, manageable horse into one you could not even safely bring in from the field - all because Elvis left the field. </div>
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Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-5542303110397925922015-05-31T12:27:00.001-07:002015-05-31T12:27:23.035-07:00'Aggressive' mare in stable - the fundamental attribution error? <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m
not a psychologist, so forgive my massive simplification, but I came across a
term a while ago that grabbed my interest – the ‘fundamental attribution error’.
Basically, this means that when we see someone doing something, for example running a red traffic light, we tend to
think it relates to their <em><span style="font-style: normal;">personality</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> (<i>'he's an idiot'</i>) rather
than the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><em><span style="font-style: normal;">situation</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> the
person might be in.</span> And the ‘error’ bit would give a clue that we are
often wrong in attributing their actions mainly to their personality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why
did it interest me? Because it is so common in how we view horses. I hear often
about horses who are grumpy, moody, vicious and in other ways of bad character,
when often they are simply responding to a situation they can’t cope with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently,
I visited a client who was concerned about her young horse. Lets call the horse
Milly. Milly was lunging over the stable door at people, with her mouth open,
ears pinned. Going into the stable with her was a risky business, she would
unpredictably lunge at you, or turn her hind quarters and threaten to kick.
Recently she’d become much worse when you approached with a head collar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So,
this is a classic case where Milly might be described as being aggressive,
grumpy, having a bad attitude and so on. Actually, Milly is afraid of
particular situations and events, and having no option to flee in her stable is
resorting to defensive threats. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If a horse like Milly is approached with the attitude that she is being, in some way 'bad', or needs to learn manners, the common approach will be to punish her behaviour - making the situation worse. If we realise she is simply showing her fear of a specific situation, we can do something a bit more constructive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, what do we do? Retraining Milly to be truly comfortable
with people in her stable may take a while. The most immediate problem then,
for Milly’s welfare and the safety of her handlers, is to be able to put a head
collar on her without scaring her. Then she can be taken out of the stable,
turned out into her field, her owner can muck out safely and so on, while she is
retrained. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This client very kindly did a little bit of filming while I was there, and even more kindly has allowed me to put the video up on youtube. Of course, being there to work with the horse and owner and not to make a movie, it's just a few wee clips and the progress by the end of the session wasn't filmed - we were both much too absorbed by Milly! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We worked with Milly for a little over an hour, with several
long breaks and lots of short ones. In the initial part of the film, she is clearly fearful, and trying to retreat as far as her stable will allow. The second part of the film is taken early
on in the ‘retraining’. She is not looking totally relaxed, but is
investigating me and the head collar, and I am giving her a very tiny food
reward each time she progresses a little in her explorations of the head
collar. When I move the head collar towards her, she still backs off, but if I
am patient and let her choose to come forward, she is making good progress. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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'Milly' before and during first training session</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the end of the session, we had put the head collar on
Milly a couple of times, with her full cooperation. She allowed both of us to
scratch her withers, and began grooming us back. She certainly did not look
like a mare of ‘bad character’, she was more than eager to be friendly to
people when she didn’t feel threatened by them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The outlook for Milly is good – she has a very caring owner,
who recognised that this was a problem her horse needed help with, not a bad
horse who needed put in her place. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-85804480472147453452015-04-07T15:05:00.002-07:002015-04-07T15:05:55.542-07:00Can horses get stressed? No, I wouldn't seriously ask that question, would have hoped the answer was obvious.<br />
<br />
Anyway, today I noticed that there was an article about stress in horses in the new British Horse magazine.<br />
Good to see.<br />
<br />
The article opened by reporting on a survey, which found that 90% of horse owners questioned believe that horses suffer signs of stress or anxiety. 44% have a horse that displays signs of stress, and 84% wish to reduce these signs. The stats look quite nice like this, but looked at another way...<br />
<br />
... 1 in 10 horse owners don't believe horses can suffer signs of stress or anxiety<br />
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More than half the horses out there have owners who believe they don't display signs of stress<br />
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And 1 in 6 owners have no wish to reduce stress signs<br />
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Long way to go apparently!<br />
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<br />Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-72947108999121157132015-01-01T14:02:00.001-08:002015-01-01T14:02:37.680-08:00Problem solving poniesHad an interesting situation yesterday. Some big bales of straw had been delivered to the yard, leaving just a narrow pathway between bales for the horses to go through to get out to their field. The gap was narrow enough that the bigger horses would rub against the bales on both sides as they went.<br />
<br />
So, I took the horses out one by one, on very long lead ropes, to see what they would make of it. Benson, Flynn and Paddy viewed it with mild suspicion but walked through of their own accord. Tigger looked at it, snorted, investigated, backed off, and after about 5 minutes and some encouragement leapt through. All pretty normal so far. All of them coped, without getting overly anxious and put up with something a bit challenging to get to the field.<br />
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Elvis - approaches, stands still and looks at it. No snorting, no movement, just looking. After a minute or two, he aims at the single bale, approaches at a brisk walk, puts his shoulder into it and rolls it aside. Then walks calmly through the big gap he's opened up. Deeply impressed - one truly problem solving pony!<br />
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Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-34723594096312230742014-11-05T04:46:00.000-08:002014-11-05T04:52:19.692-08:00Equine Cushing's disease and behaviour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About 6 weeks ago, I asked my vet to test Benson for Equine Cushing's disease. He is 24 years old, there weren't strong indications but he was sweating a little round the shoulders when he shouldn't have been, and some coat loss throughout the summer. He came back with a high reading, and we started him on medication.<br />
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I'm awaiting blood test results, but the behavioural changes so far are interesting:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>He is interacting much more with the other horses - mutual grooming with his old pal Paddy, and even playing nippy games, which I haven't seen him do in years</li>
<li>He is more alert and responsive, and keen to interact with people. A few people over the summer had called him 'bargy' - he simply wasn't paying much attention to his environment and was slow to respond. This included not noticing or reacting to people around him. His supposedly 'dominant' behaviour, 'not respecting' people etc. has been miraculously improved by medication...</li>
<li>He is vocalising more, whinnying to the other horses</li>
<li>He is muddy! He is rolling more</li>
<li>Not behavioural, but he's put on weight and muscle tone is looking better. </li>
</ul>
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The downward progression with Benson was very, very gradual. Improvement has been very quick. Apart from the obvious point - test your horse for Cushings if you see any small signs, this is another case where behaviour could easily be attributed to the horse having a 'bad attitude' in one way or another, when they are actually unwell. </div>
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Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-8267491366534671352014-10-26T13:19:00.000-07:002014-10-26T13:24:32.882-07:00Friendship between horsesPaddy may be hitting his fourth decade, but he is still bright and sociable, and very much a ladies man.Over the last couple of months, he's formed a strong attachment with a very elegant chestnut mare he shares his field with, along with about a dozen other horses.<br />
<br />
Today was one of the saddest sights I've seen in a while. The chestnut mare was moved to another field while Paddy was away from the field having his breakfast with my other horses. On turning them all out, the others were calm and behaving as usual. Paddy trotted then cantered up the field, calling and calling for the mare. He checked the whole (very large field), then just stood there whinnying - much more deeply and loudly than usual.<br />
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No blame to anyone else - Paddy's welfare is my responsibility, and none of us can find a perfect environment for our horses, we just do the best we can. Sharing a field with lots of other horses has been so good for Paddy - the downside is that horses will come and go, for all sorts of reasons. </div>
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It really made me think about how we move horses, suddenly breaking bonds and having such a big impact on them - and often with little thought of how this feels from their point of view. We are rightly concerned and careful about introducing new horses, but may give little thought to taking horses away from a group, which is equally significant from the horses point of view. Planning ahead for group stability can make such a difference to your horse and is often undervalued or not considered at all. </div>
Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-84784042922428855722014-09-21T11:12:00.000-07:002014-09-21T11:17:09.841-07:00Hair by Benson (mutual grooming)Benson giving my hair that special extra today - but amazing how gentle he is, especially when he touches my face. Of course you need to be careful about rubbing noses with a horse, but such a shame when bonding behaviours like this are discouraged or misread as the horse being pushy, aggressive etc. <br />
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<br />Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334776251474030295.post-47153002053638348642014-08-31T04:03:00.003-07:002014-08-31T04:05:09.763-07:00Sticking to the rules in dressage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yE8NptyHGNU/VAL5wYjNcvI/AAAAAAAAAQo/fQnCWuw2nC0/s1600/10468054_10152720945092049_7152115306365060248_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yE8NptyHGNU/VAL5wYjNcvI/AAAAAAAAAQo/fQnCWuw2nC0/s1600/10468054_10152720945092049_7152115306365060248_n.jpg" height="296" width="320" /></a></div>
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Amongst many horse lovers, dressage is getting an increasingly bad name. When I go out to clients I am often struck by their willingness to get help from a riding instructor, but their immediate rejection of an instructor who specialises in dressage - 'I don't like dressage', 'the horses always look so forced', 'I don't want anyone doing that to my horse'. And these views are entirely understandable. </div>
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It is sad that a common view now is that dressage aims to produce horses who move in a spectacular way, whilst looking somewhat tormented. It is not, in my opinion, the rules (and aims) of dressage that are causing the problems, it is lack of adherence to the rules - sorry, but a lot of the problem is down to the judges. </div>
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The first 2 points in article 401 of the FEI rules illustrate this well:</div>
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Article 401 OBJECT AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DRESSAGE</div>
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1. The object of Dressage is the development of the Horse into a happy Athlete through harmonious education. As a result, it makes the Horse calm, supple, loose and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with the Athlete.</div>
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These qualities are demonstrated by:</div>
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• The freedom and regularity of the paces.</div>
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• The harmony, lightness and ease of the movements.</div>
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• The lightness of the forehand and the engagement of the hindquarters, originating from a lively impulsion.</div>
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• The acceptance of the bit, with submissiveness/throughness (Durchlassigkeit) without any tension or resistance.</div>
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2. The horse thus gives the impression of doing, of its own accord, what is required. Confident and attentive, submitting generously to the control of the Athlete, remaining absolutely straight in any movement on a straight line and bending accordingly when moving on curved lines.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Some would argue, quite fairly, that judgement of these points are subjective, and will always be open to disagreements and interpretation. But really, could anyone say that the above horse is 'giving the impression of doing, of its own accord, what is required'? Or that there is harmony, lightness and ease? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The FEI rules also state that </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'Abuse of a horse using natural riding aids or artificial aids will not be tolerated'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">another one where the judges seem to be somewhat out of sync with the general horsey public. That the horse and rider pictured above should come 4th in the WEG dressage Grand Prix Special is, in my opinion, deeply concerning. People will justify the scoring, saying that pictures like the one above represent 'just a moment in time', but how many of these moments are tolerated, and how uncomfortable does the horse have to be, for how long, before it is reflected in the scores? </span></div>
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It's a strange world where humble 'happy hacker<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">s' would not actually allow a good number of the world's most successful competitive riders within a mile of their horses, but seeing pictures such as the one above, this would certainly be my view. </span></div>
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<br />Felicityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06106345025251099530noreply@blogger.com0