Hillydale Horse Welfare and Research

11/12/2024

This is an evidence based assessment of the question of whether it is likely that horses want to, or gain any benefit from competiting.

https://theequineethologist.substack.com/p/do-horses-want-to-compete?

Taking an honest look at horse sport from the horses' perspective

19/11/2024

What's more important ? Protecting the viewers from the reality of what racing does to horses, or protecting the horses? If as many human athletes died at the rate that racing kills its "athletes" the Olympic Fames would have been banned.

So much is what is wrong with this industry on display here.

https://7news.com.au/sport/horse-racing-tragedy-as-three-horses-die-at-same-course-on-same-day-c-16800883?utm_campaign=7sport&utm_content=Sunrise&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawGpVGVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSG_PDmmQ5SGEECUCKCbkkikQfmgiIrVJzxQmzyH9Rsg_N6M709mgcV-GA_aem_qO-qdoDy_4-mH3AoOjU6vQ

‘It’s heartbreaking. I’m very emotional.’

04/11/2024

I wrote a thing.

Racehorses take centre stage during the Spring Racing Carnival but how exactly are they treated during their daily lives?

20/10/2024

Another important and informative presentation from Cristina Wilkins on the topic of how curb bits actually work and how they are likely to be experienced by horses.

There's been some new research doing the rounds in which the study authors, and many in the equestrian community, are concluding that curb bits might be kinder for horses, because peak rein tensions are lower on curb bits (when used with a snaffle bridoon) than on snaffle bits used in isolation.

A key problem with the study is that the researchers only measured rein tension- the tension applied by the rider/horse on the reins/rings of the bits. What they didn't measure, is how much pressure is felt on the tongue/bars of the horse's mouth. That is-how much pressure was actually exerted on the mouthpiece- the part of the bit (along with the curb chain) that directly interfaces with the horse's body.

While this question remains to be definitively answered, Cristina's pilot experiment and investigation of the characteristics of the lever action of curb bits dispels some long held assumptions as well as demonstrating that the amount of pressure applied to the mouthpiece of a curb bit can by four times the amount of pressure exerted on the reins.

So while it feels "lighter" and "softer" to the rider, the horse is feeling four times the effect. This makes it highly motivating for the horse to respond to escape or avoid escalations in pressure.

So rather than being "kinder", curb bits allow riders to exert considerable pressure for very little effort- which is the whole point of a lever.

Using the rein tension felt by riders does not tell us what the horse is experiencing and if we are going to make claims about what's better for horses, we need to be able to quantify what the horses are actually experiencing.

Sadly, this important fact is missing from much of the discussion about the findings of this study and many have made a range of claims about the putative welfare benefits of curb bits that are not supported by the type of evidence that was collected.

This is a must watch presentation.

This presentation is about the mechanical action of curb bits, like the ones in double bridles. Curb bits are very powerful, second-class levers of the 'nutc...

05/10/2024

A simply brilliant article about animal welfare- with direct relevance for horses. What's meaningful for animals is how we provide them with good welfare, not just what we know how to measure.

PDF | On Nov 1, 2017, Jake S. Veasey published In pursuit of peak animal welfare; the need to prioritize the meaningful over the measurable | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

25/09/2024

Freckle at 20. Freckle was sent to me to be sold. His then owner described him as quirky which turned out to be an accurate description of his personality.
After a tricky first ride he seemed to find me predictable enough that subsequent rides were trouble free for me at least and I was able to ride him bitless with ease. So I offered him for sale including video of him calmly jumping in a halter.

We had a number of people come out see him and after going calmly for me, the wheels would fall off when the buyer hopped on. Even with very relaxed experenced riders Freckle exhibited considerable anxiety, rushing, jogging, throwing his head around and so on. He seemed destined to not be sold.

One day a buyer came out to try another horse and her husband rode Freckle while we went on a trail ride. Freckle went very calmly with the husband and they offered to buy him to use as a loan horse for a riding group.

We negotiated a price and Freckle's owner agreed and a date was set for both horses to be collected.

But what should have been a good day for my business filled me with dread, because I knew how anxious being ridden by unfamiliar riders could make Freckle feel.

So I rang up the owner, explaining my misgivings on the deal I had just made on her behalf and she made me an unbelievably generous offer to give me Freckle. She lost the sale price and I lost the commission and I had to have a very uncomfortable conversation with the buyer who was understandable pretty peeved, though did end up taking the other horse.

That was 9 years ago. Freckle's been living here with his friends, retired for 7 of those years and free to come and go as he pleases. I'm supremely grateful for his previous owner who cared more that her horse ended up somewhere where his quirks could be accommodated and who trusted me enough to be that home, despite the financial cost to her.

22/09/2024

Getting your eye in. Beautiful horse. Am sure the rider would never knowingly want to harm him but this kind of riding is completely normal in many equestrian activities.

21/09/2024

Interesting choices here. There's still a way to go before horse welfare is prioritized in equestrian sports.

I doubt very much that these riders want to hurt their horses or cause them harm. But there's a lot of equipment being used here that has a high potential to negatively impact the welfare of their horses.

19/09/2024

Yes to this.

19/09/2024

Timely advice.

While operant conditioning provides a 'toolbox' for trainers, there are other factors that influence the outcome of learning and therefore the learning modality that a trainer might choose. It is critical to remember that animal training is largely dependent on motivation.

In the natural world, there may be a number of conflicting motivations, and the most compelling one will be responded to.

This is an important concern for safety. While it is true that food can be a highly effective primary reinforcer, and may out-compete the motivation for avoidance of aversive stimuli to some extent, it is unlikely to out-compete the motivation for a flight response in strongly frightening situations.

In this light, one might see that negative reinforcement and positive punishment could out-compete positive reinforcement and negative punishment for relevance. However, this does not account for the insecurity of the particular animal, which may also have an influence on the outcome.

For example, a well-trained horse motivated through positive reinforcement may be less likely to be fearful than one poorly trained through negative reinforcement in challenging circumstances.

Given the high death and serious injury rates of humans in horse–human interactions, the importance of positive, negative and combined reinforcement protocols in challenging situations needs to be explored further.

An excerpt from Equitation Science, 2nd Edition - Andrew McLean, Paul McGreevy, Janne Whinther Christensen & Uta König von Borstel.

18/09/2024

Really great advice here.

https://www.facebook.com/61550888874234/posts/122209542224029629/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

15/09/2024

Training that puts the horse's experience at the centre. This approach is the future of sustainable recreational horse use.

15/09/2024

This one's for the history buffs- A treatise against the use of bearing reins and harsh bits in Victorian England:

"Bits and Bearing Reins- with observations on horses and harness" by John Forham Fowler. Went through at least 7 editions, published in the late 19the century.

Making all the same arguments being made to today.

How sensitive are the mouths of horses. How insensitive human hands are in comparison.

How harsh bits hurt.

How pointless fashions cause harm to horses (heads up not down as is the case today).

How good people look away.

How status and power influence whether authorities will act against those causing the harm.

Free to download.

https://archive.org/details/bitsbearingreins00flowrich

14/09/2024

Words are the easy bit. What if, the very essence of the sport is bad for welfare? What then?

14/09/2024

Just a bit of "fun"....

14/09/2024

Loves his job....