Madi Holmes Animal Training

26/06/2025

It’s sad to think about how many horses lack the space to pick up a canter, or in some cases, a trot in their turnout situations.

For many horses, the only time they get to move faster than a trot is under saddle, at the instruction of a rider.

Then, people wonder why horses are explosive and difficult sometimes.

One of the biggest contributors to behavioural problems under saddle is unmet needs.

The abundance of pent up energy created by a lack of ability to move.

Horses would be much sounder, calmer and sure footed if they all had the space to practice free movement at all gaits.

19/06/2025

If anyone has any personal dealings or witnessed abuse, you can report it! They're investigating 🔎 because Nico didn't deserve that!

FEI PRESS RELEASE | Please see the link below for information on the launch of an FEI horse abuse investigation into Australian athlete Heath Ryan.

https://www.equestrian.org.au/news/fei-launches-horse-abuse-investigation-heath-ryan

Equestrian Victoria Equestrian Queensland Equestrian NSW Equestrian Western Australia Equestrian South Australia Inc Equestrian Northern Territory Equestrian Tasmania

14/06/2025

I appreciate that we can all agree (most of you, anyway) that Heath's treatment of Nico was wrong.

Now let's talk about riding in general 😏😂

Horses, like every species, have some basic biologically driven needs. These are described and encompassed beautifully in the Five Domains Model by DJ Mellor.

While we should always have these needs in mind when making decisions regarding our horses, we must especially consult them when having issues with our horses.
We must also consult the Humane Hierarchy by Dr. Susan Friedman.

Seemingly neither of these paths were explored by popular equestrian Heath Ryan before he allegedly used a whip on a warmblood gelding by the name of Nico, in excess of 40 times.
The PPGA is strongly against any use of force or punishment in training, and is dismayed and appalled by the video footage of Heath Ryan on Nico. There shouldn’t be a world where this behaviour is tolerated, condoned, justified or thought appropriate. EVER.

In the most basic sense, a horse's needs can be drilled down to the 3 F’s

Friends
Forage
Freedom

In Heath Ryan’s response to the video, he explained that Nico had been well cared for but had always been a ‘problem child’. He expressed that Nico had been rugged, regularly ridden, and had his own paddock, to say that Nico had ‘wanted for nothing’.

When examining a horse's needs per the Five Domains Model, we can see that Heath Ryan’s examples don’t align with what we know to be true.
While under specific circumstances rugging might be advised, it is not necessary and can often lead to more problems than it solves. While freedom to move is needed, what’s really required by the horse is the freedom to express normal behaviours. Riding is not the only way to achieve movement and isn’t suitable for every horse. As horses are herd animals, the freedom to move should encompass its social needs and enrichment. Individual paddocks are strongly discouraged.

The possibility of Nico’s behaviour being health related isn’t addressed by Heath Ryan in his facebook post about this situation. But a thorough medical assessment should be conducted well before any training methods are employed as per the Humane Hierarchy. Some of the things that should have been done include the horse being scoped for ulcers, x-rayed for kissing spines, lameness tested and more.

This situation also brings up the simple question of horse ownership. The horse Nico was given two options - perform, or be sent to slaughter. This gives the impression that a horse like Nico only has value if he’s able to be ridden to a competition level.
It’s unfortunate that anyone who’s met a horse could feel that way.
The unridden equine is still a sentient being who is infinitely capable of bringing joy and value to those around them. And more importantly than what they can do for us, is what we should be doing for them.
Every horse deserves to live with freedom from pain and punishment, in a species appropriate way.

Mellor DJ. Operational Details of the Five Domains Model and Its Key Applications to the Assessment and Management of Animal Welfare. Animals (Basel). 2017 Aug 9;7(8):60. doi: 10.3390/ani7080060. PMID: 28792485; PMCID: PMC5575572.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5575572/

Written by the PPGA Equine Sub-Committee

14/06/2025

Horseland has joined the group!

Any guesses on who's dropping him next??

13/06/2025

I've seen a lot of discussion overnight about whether Heath was justified. Whether it was a one off mistake. What other options the horse had, and more.

Let's keep it really simple here.
Heath said before being dropped at his place, the horse wanted for nothing.
"Nico before he came to me always had the best of best homes. He wanted for nothing. He was in wonderful condition, he was always rugged, he had his own paddock, he was regularly ridden and he was loved."
He also said Nico was facing imminent death if he didn't change his behaviour.
"That video was a life or death moment for Nico and of that I was very aware. I felt I genuinely had to try my very hardest to see if Nico would consider other options."
I haven't seen a single explanation as to WHY this was a life or death moment for Nico. WHO was so intent on slaughtering this horse if he couldn't provide any monetary value.

I do know that Heath's list to describe how wonderful Nico's home was, is wildly off base and out of touch.

What DO horses need?

If we look to the Five Freedoms of animal welfare we have the following:
* Freedom from hunger and thirst
* Freedom from discomfort
* Freedom from pain, injury or disease
* Freedom to express normal behaviour
* Freedom from fear and distress

Which of those did Nico have?

If we look to the more updated Five Domains Model we have:
* Nutrition
* Environment
* Health
* Behaviour
* Mental State

What assessment was done to Nico in regards to the above?
From Heath's account, the horse was dropped at his place on it's way to the knackery and he had ONLY the option to ride him, or send him on to death.
I strongly contend that Heath had every opportunity to say that this horse needed space, time, a more appropriate living situation, and that maybe Nico wasn't suitable for competitive sports.
Instead, he immediately mounted the horse and made the conscious choice to whip him with full strength, repeatedly.

What Nico needs is just what every horse needs. In the simplest of terms, he needs the 3 F's - Friends, Forage, and Freedom.
He was denied all 3 of those.

Heath has a temporary suspension from all Equestrian Australia events and membership benefits while an investigation is conducted.

I strongly encourage anyone appalled by Heath's behaviour to keep following the EA on this. Let them know this is not horsemanship. This is not behaviour fit for Australian Riders. This is not what we want to see.

12/06/2025

"Nico before he came to me always had the best of best homes. He wanted for nothing. He was in wonderful condition, he was always rugged, he had his own paddock, he was regularly ridden and he was loved."

Heath Ryan is so completely out of touch with what horses need.
This is an Olympic Horse Rider.

He was always rugged? Great, horses grow their own coats, majority of young and healthy horses have no need for rugs and over rugging is a huge problem in this country.

He had his own paddock? Wonderful. But did he have any friends in that paddock? It doesn't sound like it. Horses NEED company. To keep a horse alone is to deprive him of socialising, mutual grooming and safe sleeping.

He was regularly ridden? Is this supposed to be a point towards the horse being cared for? Horses don't NEED to be ridden. And since he had severe behaviours while being ridden I'm willing to bet a lot of money that Nico in fact hated being ridden.

He was loved? Then why was he on the way to the knackery? You can't have this both ways. He can't have come from an amazing home and also been a few days away from slaughter.

Heath Ryan, Olympic Equestrian, couldn't even make a list of things that horses need, to prove his point here. His behaviour isn't acceptable under any circumstances, but definitely isn't under the conditions he's provided here.
In a moment when he should have his tail between his legs, apologising profusely, he's choosing to blame the horse, blame an ex employee, and double down on the idea that his actions helped this horse. Watch the amount of times the spurs hit the horse in this video, watch the horses head and tail especially. Happy? Not in this lifetime.

12/06/2025

Heath Ryan would have you believe that Nico's options were him, or death.
I think we all know that's not true. At what point do we need to expect the breeders of these horses to be responsible for them for their entire earthly life? Heath has acres and acres on which Nico could have lived. He could have found a quiet family who wasn't looking for a flashy performance horse with whom he could live out his days.
But to Nico's owner and to Heath Ryan, Nico was a potential pile of money. The only thing holding him back was his complete unwillingness to MOVE. So, Heath whipped him. Not once or twice, but dozens of times.
The video shows a violent act. Enormous force was behind those lashes.
And this wasn't just a once off, with amazingly special circumstance and an impossible horse. You know it happens all the time in Australian arena's. I know it happens all the time in Australian arena's.

I dipped a toe into the performance horse world once. I was 17, and I applied for a working pupil position at Ryan's.

I was meant to be there for four weeks, starting on the 15th of December, 2009. I started the same day as a young QLD girl, who went on to work there for around 12 years.

I never completed the four weeks.
The days began early, the hours were long, and it consisted primarily of grunt work, as I expected.
I was a lot more active back then, and the physical work didn't put me off - I fu***ng loved horses.
But I despised how they were treated at Ryan's. And I despised how I was treated at Ryan's. Immediately, the girls working there, ranging from teenagers to young adults, began to bully the newcomers. I have specific and vivid memories of how horrible it was to be working with people who would relentlessly mock you for any gaps in your education. It was isolating and the competitive environment was established at the very top and filtered down through the ranks.

But worse than that, was the horses. I saw them whipped. I saw them restrained to be serviced while they screamed in distress. I saw bloody sides covered in cream and rugs from the severe and unrelenting use of spurs. I saw horses being treated as valuable commodities but not sentient animals and I was the odd one for wanting to spend time with the horses in the paddock, hand feeding them and loving them in the only ways I knew how to.

The horse I rode was a beautiful big bay called Squirrel. I've thought of him often over the years and I hope he eventually escaped the inappropriate lifestyle the Ryan's offered, of individual paddocks and frequent, harsh riding.

Horses deserve better. Nico deserved better.

09/06/2025

I knew I wasn't making it up that hay keeps horses warmer! 😂🐴

⏰ 𝗛𝗮𝘆 𝗢’𝗖𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸

🥶 Brrrrrrrrr…..

🌾 I am regularly asked what the best time of day is for a horse to be fed, and the answer is generally ‘whatever time is most convenient…’ however during winter, what time of day you feed hay in particular can be an important management tool for weight loss prevention and temperature regulation.

🔥 In order to keep warm during the cold, horses will burn energy to maintain their body temperature through thermoregulation. What is interesting, is that a horse has a built-in fermentation vat inside them known as the hindgut or large intestine. The predominant purpose of the hindgut is to break down fibrous matter and convert it into energy and nutrients that can be utilised by the horse. This biological process is called microbial fermentation, and a by-product of fibrous matter being broken down is… heat.

🐴 Food moves rather quickly through a horse’s stomach and small intestine (1-2 hours on average) however, it can remain in the hindgut for up to 36-72 hours during the microbial fermentation process. Food produces more heat in a horse's hindgut when it first enters as this is when the most active breakdown of fibrous materials occurs, releasing a significant amount of heat. As the food material continues to move through the hindgut, fermentation decreases, and by the time it is ready to exit, most of the fermentable material has been processed, producing less heat.

🌡️ With that mini biology lesson out of the way, how does this information influence the most appropriate time to feed hay during winter? Given temperatures are generally lowest overnight and in the early mornings, it makes physiological sense to provide a horse with hay of a late afternoon or evening, so that by the time it reaches the hindgut, it can ignite an internal fireplace to help keep the horse warm during the coldest part of the day.

🌱 As an additional bonus, legume hays such as lucerne (alfalfa) will produce even more heat during microbial fermentation in comparison to grass hays as a result of the higher protein concentrations. Lucerne can be a really handy ‘extra’ tool for the harder keeping horses during colder months.

06/06/2025

The aussie force free horse training community isn't huge.

I find it sad that some people are so determined to be the victim they can't even have a conversation with fellow trainers but resort to making up stories behind their backs 🙄🙃

04/06/2025

Those sound like some really promising points that are being addressed. I'm excited to even see positive reinforcement mentioned by pony club! 🥕🐴🥕

Welfare Wednesday | Pony Club Australia recently released our updated Horse Welfare Policy, following a national consultation process with state and territory representatives and our Board.

The revised policy strengthens our commitment to the Five Domains model and reflects current best practice in horse care, training, and welfare.

Key updates include:
▪️ Emphasis on actively addressing horses outside the acceptable body condition range
▪️ New reference to removing boots in hot weather during transport
▪️ Coaches and officials must now monitor for all weather conditions, including wind and rain
▪️ Strengthened guidance around emergency planning and agistment contact details
▪️ Clear emphasis that anti-inflammatories must not be used to mask lameness
▪️ New explicit ban on failing to meet a horse’s foraging, movement, and social needs
▪️ Reinforcement that whips, spurs and reins must never be used as punishment
▪️ Stronger alignment with PCA’s training philosophy: positive reinforcement over punishment
▪️ New section on recognising pain through facial expressions

Read the updated policy here: https://bit.ly/456Xf8r

These updates support our ongoing commitment to clear, consistent standards for horse welfare in Pony Club.

02/06/2025

Another fun comment from the wonderful world of modern horse training.
Another person, a horse training professional, who thinks horses learn differently to EVERY other species on the planet. What a shame for our poor horses.

I love the distinction that treats work for trick training though.
As if a trick is a wildly different thing to any other behaviour we might ask for from our horses.

The cognitive dissonance is strong in this one.