Scary solutions to fear issues...

I’m repeating myself now, have said this before in many different ways, but worth another shot!

Let’s say your 5 year old daughter is scared of the dark. After a few unsuccessful home bred solutions, you decide to get her some help, and go to see a therapist who specialises in overcoming fear issues.

She says she can deal with this, no problem. How? ‘Oh, send your daughter in here, I’ll take her by surprise, we won’t tell her what is happening, I’ll just restrain her and leave her in the dark until she stops struggling. That works most of the time. She might hurt herself or get a lot more upset before she is fixed, but being scared of the dark is silly anyway she has to learn’

Hopefully, you wouldn’t be too impressed with this solution, and would seek advice elsewhere!

So why do we still do this kind of thing to animals all the time? Your horse is scared of plastic bags, a schooling whip, the saddle, getting her legs hosed – we’ll just give her no option but to face her fears, and call it a good job when she gives up struggling.

There are much more humane and effective alternatives – so please don’t  let a ‘trainer’ restrain your horse (or dog) while they ‘get used to’ something they are genuinely scared of.  

99.99% of Terminal Cancer Patients have 10 toes

How did you react to the title?

‘Poor Felicity, she’s finally lost it’?

Or just ‘that’s weird’.

Whatever your reaction, it probably wasn't fearful, and you’re probably not at this moment contemplating chopping off one of your toes to avoid the risk of dying of cancer!

We know the two things (having 10 toes and having cancer) occur together most of the time, but we also know they are not related - having 10 toes does not cause cancer. 

However, a similar title might get a very different reaction:

97% of Terminal Cancer Patients Previously Had This Dental Procedure…

It’s a clever title – it makes you want to click and read, to find out if you’ve had the ‘killer’ treatment (its root canal treatment).

I spotted this title on a facebook link the other day, and, even with my sceptical outlook on things, my immediate reaction to this was unease – not far off ‘I’ve had root canal treatment, therefore I'm much more at risk of terminal cancer’.

Most of us reading this will initially assume that there is a link between the dental treatment and the cancer. 

But, we’re not told (maybe no-one knows) what percentage of the population have had root canal treatment. In the US, apparently 25 million root canal procedures are done per year, so over 15 years that’s 375 million, an average of more than one root canal treatment per person!

So, maybe 97% of the population have had root canal treatment, and therefore this scary statistic is exactly what you would expect, and no more meaningful than having 10 toes…

‘Lies, damn lies, and statistics’ – great phrase. I’m susceptible (momentarily) to this kind of headline, most of us are. And occasionally these scare tactics are used by well meaning people who genuinely want to get a message across. But more commonly, they are after something, often your money, so don’t let them scare you :-)

Not directly relevant to a blog on equine behaviour, but horsey people are targeted for this stuff as much as any other group 

'your horse will get mud fever (and then probably die horribly...) if you don't use this lotion'

'your horse will misbehave and hurt you if you don't buy this head collar' 

and so on...

‘If you love somebody, set them free’

A sentimental title, but I’m feeling sentimental.

On Wednesday I was teaching at Horse Haven Riding School for the first time since I became ill in July. I’ve been very touched by their care in returning me to work gradually - first day back was one gentle 1/2 hour lesson, perfect.

Even more touched by the care shown to their horses and ponies. 

One of their little ponies, Peaches, who had been with them for many years, had taken ill. The love and attention she was shown could not have been better if she was somebody’s beloved only horse.  

The decision to have her put to sleep, although emotional, was taken unselfishly, rationally and with full focus on what was best for Peaches. 

Letting your horse go can be one of the hardest decisions to make, and although this was a sad occasion, it felt like the right thing was done at the best time, and you couldn’t ask for more.

With love to all who loved Peaches.  

A little bit about a big word - Anthropomorphism

Firstly, what is it? The Oxford English Dictionary defines anthropomorphism as

‘the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal, or object.’

There is a prevalent view that we shouldn't anthropomorphise about horses. From behavioural scientists to natural horsemanship gurus, all sorts of people will emphasise the dangers of attributing human desires, emotions and characteristics to horses, as doing this can lead us to dangerously inaccurate explanations of our horse's behaviour and to managing and training them in ways that are ineffective, dangerous and bad for their welfare.

I am 100% behind the idea of avoiding anthropomorphism. Like most of you, I've noticed that horses are a bit different from people, and we shouldn't make assumptions about their motivations, needs, or feelings based on our own. Indeed, we know that their needs are often significantly different from ours.

To keep it simple, I’ll just deal with emotions here, and start with a real example.

I'm chatting to a client, and she says she feels her horse was grieving when her field-mate died. Then she apologises and says that another trainer has already corrected her for saying this, telling her that she shouldn't attribute human emotions to horses.

This isn't an isolated example – I hear this quite a lot – people are defensive, apologetic or a bit embarrassed to say they think their horses feel love, grief, happiness – a whole range of emotions.

So, this other trainer was quite right, in my view, in saying that we shouldn't attribute human emotions to horses. BUT who said that grief is an emotion that belongs to humans? Well, humans said that of course, and we've got an impressive track record for claiming ownership of things that should not be exclusively ours J

How humans claimed ownership of emotions is beyond the scope of this article – and, to be honest, beyond the scope of my knowledge! Philosophy, science, politics and religion have all influenced our reasoning over many centuries. In the 17^th century, Rene Descartes argued that animals are automata that might act as if they are conscious, but really are not so – all their behaviour can be explained in purely mechanistic terms, and to this day academics are still putting forward arguments that animals do not necessarily even experience pain!

Maybe we can’t ‘prove’ what emotions our horses feel, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. We don’t even know much about the emotions other people feel – how do we know that two people who say they feel upset are feeling the same thing? But we listen, we observe, we draw on our own experiences and we (hopefully) do our best to understand what other people are feeling.

So fine, don’t attribute human emotions to horses. But be very sure that the emotion you are talking about is definitely exclusive to human-kind before you decide your horse couldn't be feeling it! 

And don’t let people make you feel airy-fairy or sentimental for considering that your horse may have a more complex emotional life than we generally give them credit for.

Who knows what makes a horse happy?

On the way up to where my horses live, there are two ponies in a small paddock. They have been there for the 9 years that I've been there, and I know they don't go out. I've always felt a bit sorry for them, imagining they have a rather dull life. But actually, although I could not say for sure that they are 'happy', they certainly show no signs of discontent, and are progressing into a healthy old age.

So, I was thinking about them the other day when I was talking to someone who was feeling guilty about not getting her horse out much, as she had read that feral horses can cover large areas every day, while her pony was stuck in a comparatively small paddock. Her pony has company, ad lib hay and grazing, and 24/7 turnout.

It seems to me that we often confuse two things - giving our horses a natural life, and giving them an 'enjoyable' life. There is a big overlap between the two but they are not the same thing.

For example, if we observe a population of feral horses, and all of them travel at least 8 miles a day, it doesn't actually tell us anything about whether they enjoy doing this! If someone had observed me 2 winters ago, they would have seen me walking to visit my horses, about 1 mile through deep snow, every day - if they then concluded that I enjoyed this and arranged life for me so that I could do it every day, I'd be distinctly unimpressed - I did it because I had to :-)

Likewise, horses may travel to find water, good grazing, protection from the weather or from flies. They may also do this because they enjoy it, but we shouldn't assume so. We can think about what is physically or mentally good for them, what is natural, and what is enjoyable - all different things and some fairly impossible to measure! I'm pretty certain that many horses do enjoy wandering far and wide, but I also think that some would be perfectly content to do the equine equivalent of staying home and watching TV.

Yet again, it is down to assessing the individual, and trying not to make assumptions, whether they are based on traditional horse management methods, natural behaviour, or human preferences. There is a baseline from which, I feel, you should always start - that horses need adequate turnout, equine company, and lots of forage, but beyond that the ways in which we can enrich our horse's lives are many and varied, and very individual.

So, who knows what makes a horse happy? Your horse knows, and if you listen to him you may find out too :-)

(with no apology for using the apparently anthropomorphic term 'happy' - more on that later...)

Are you too heavy for your horse?

I just read a piece in a horse magazine about the maximum weight of rider that a horse should carry. This is a topic that has cropped up in the equine press quite a bit recently, and it would be easy to get confused. The British Equestrian Veterinary Association (BEVA) say that riders should weigh no more than 15% of their horse's weight. A recent study in Japan might lead you to believe that this figure is actually 29%!

To take a practical example, say your horse is 15.2hh and weights 500KG. BEVA would say the rider should weigh no more than 75KG (11 stone 11), the Japanese study would say the maximum weight was 145KG (22 stone 11)! A huge difference, and not very helpful.

The Japanese study looked at one breed of horse only, in walk and trot, and so it would be dangerous to generalize from this. But can we find some general ‘rule’ to work out how much weight a given horse can carry?

The short answer is no - every horse is an individual, and there are so many factors that determine how much weight an individual can carry that it is, in my opinion, impossible to generalise. 

Considering a practical example of the weight carrying abilities of humans may help to clarify my point of view. 

Two brothers, Jack and Jim, used to deliver hay to me. They were both in their 80’s, probably about 5ft 8 ish, medium build. They would merrily unload 100+ small bales of hay and stack them in the shed, at an impressive speed. So they were able to carry much more weight than you would expect, and for much longer. Why?

Mainly, I guess, because they had been doing it all their lives. Their weight carrying technique was clearly good, they had the right muscles for the job and so on.

I’ve seen bigger, younger, fitter people who definitely couldn't do this without risking an injury.

The same applies to horses, I think. You can’t just look at their weight (or height/breed/build) and say how much weight they could carry. You need to look at their physical condition, the work they are used to, their weight carrying technique and so on. 

Looking at a couple of my horses may (or may not, who knows!) be helpful.

Benson is in his 20’s, is quite arthritic, and has been in light work only for years – including 2 long breaks for tendon injuries. This picture was taken after a full year of rest. You can see he is putting a lot of weight on his front end even without a rider. On a walking hack, he can comfortably carry a 13 stone person but I wouldn't ask him to carry this weight if he was trotting and cantering in the school. So I would not even ask him to carry 15% of his bodyweight.

I would however still ride him – he’s not one to exercise himself in the field, and during his extended periods of rest, he has become noticeably stiffer and more on the forehand, so I think that light hacking or light schooling with an appropriate rider is good for him.

At the other extreme, Elvis the exmoor pony is in good shape physically. I don’t know his exact weight, but he’s carrying something like 20% of his body weight here, and I’m quite comfortable that that is not too much for him.

So, I don't believe there is a nice neat formula to tell you how much weight your horse can carry

The best advice I can give in this area, is the usual - listen to your horse. I only worked out percentages when I was writing this, and never think about them normally! I know, for example, that Elvis can manage my weight because he can walk, trot and canter in a forward, relaxed manner with me on his back. If he seemed to be getting tense or struggling with his work in any way, weight might or might not be the issue - and my focus would be on working out what the issue was and resolving it. 

For Humans who have behaviour problems when Loading their Horses!

Horses that are difficult to load seem to bring out the worst in us.  

Often we approach this problem by simply trying to make the horse go into the trailer. Pressure is applied to the horse’s face, mouth, hind end, sides, escape routes are blocked, and often, depending on our level of skill in the questionable art of making horses do stuff they really don’t want to do – we ‘succeed’.

Until the next time..

‘Making’ a horse go into a trailer is sometimes necessary – in an emergency situation you may have no other option. But don’t confuse it with reliable training.

Our goal when dealing with loading problems is for the horse to be relaxed and comfortable about going into the trailer every time we ask him to. If we can ‘make’ him go into the trailer, but he is tense and worried about it, his behaviour will never be consistent.

This brings up a very important point in all horse training – if the horse is worried, he will be looking for ways to feel better, and that will probably be his main focus. He won’t learn well, and he will be unpredictable as he tries to make himself feel better. His efforts could include rearing, running away, planting, backing up, kicking, barging – you name it.  

So, often what goes wrong during training is that we focus on the ‘into the trailer’ bit and forget about the essential ‘relaxed and comfortable’ bit.

The first loading case I ever handled is a classic example. By the time I got involved, 5 other professionals had been out to work with this horse, and the owner had just about given up hope. All had got the horse into the trailer, some had repeated the loading several times. All had provoked some pretty extreme behaviour from the horse, but, if you like, had won the argument and made the horse load. Unfortunately, once the owner was left alone, the problem was no better than before.

Despite this lack of success, it took quite a bit of effort to convince the owner that short, calm sessions, in which the horse took a step or two more towards the trailer was rewarded for his progress would work – she wanted to see him in the trailer during every training session. Fortunately she gave it a try and within about 10 days he was loading perfectly, and has done so ever since.

So, when training, we need to be very clear about what progress towards the goal is. A session which consists of having a big fight with your horse, and ending up with a sweaty, anxious horse inside a box, is most probably not progress.

A session during which everyone (human and equine) keeps calm, and the horse gets closer to the trailer, or further up the ramp, than he has before without getting worried is progress – and is safer for you and your horse, good for his welfare, and good for your relationship with him.