Lauren Fraser Equine Behaviourist

17/01/2025

SCARED HORSES ARE PRETTY HORSES

My friend Katie and I share a love of horses, good discussions, and, as you'll come to learn, photo opportunities.

A while back, my old cattle dog, Fiver, needed to wear a 'cone of shame' after having surgery. Not thinking too much about it, I let Fiver out to come up to the arena with me. Fiver wandered off while I caught my mare Viveza. As you may have guessed by the picture with this post, Fiver wandered back into view just as I was bringing Viveza into the arena.

Viveza, to the best of my knowledge, had never previously seen a dog wearing a bucket collar, and she viewed this new beast as a potential threat. Her sympathetic nervous system, the 'flight or fight' response, was triggered, preparing her body to escape what her brain had just determined to be a potentially dangerous situation:

• adrenaline was released, increasing blood flow and nutrients to her muscles so that she could flee or fight as needed
• her pupils dilated to allow more light to enter her eye, so she could better see the threat
• her heart rate and breathing increased, better allowing for the delivery of energy and oxygen to her body during this encounter
• the unpleasant emotion of fear was triggered, causing her only to be concerned with getting away safely

While we couldn't see the physiological changes occurring inside Viveza's body, we could see changes in her body language. Her muscles became taught, she stood squarely, her neck arched, her head elevated, and her gaze fixed on the dog.

I managed the situation (I had accidentally created) as best as I could, getting Fiver in a building to minimize the chances Viveza suffered either a physical or behavioural injury.

After the metaphoric dust had settled, Katie and I looked at the picture she had snapped right as Viveza saw Fiver. One of us said something we have discussed previously, 'scared horses are pretty horses'. This wasn't meant to minimize the fear Viveza felt, nor do we think frightened horses are prettier than calm horses. Rather, we have talked previously at length about images shared on social media where the person sharing feels the image shows a 'pretty' horse--but all we can see are the signs of stress or fear.

Images of stressed or frightened 'pretty' horses aren't a new, social media phenomenon. Wander around a city, and you’ll see a statue of a long-dead general on a stressed horse. Visit a museum, and view centuries-old artistic depictions of frightened horses. For hundreds of years, people have been desensitized to images of stressed or frightened horses. It's totally normal, and accepted, for stressed horses to be seen as pretty.

When we learn more about horse behaviour and begin to train our eye to recognize signs of fear or stress, such images begin to lose their pretty status. And that's OK.

15/01/2025

HORSE MISBEHAVING? HOW TO FIND HELP

I thoroughly enjoy writing monthly articles for My New Horse. It is amassing a comprehensive library of practical information for new horse owners, and I'm thrilled to be one of the contributors.

The latest article discusses why horses misbehave and where to find qualified help.

If you're dealing with a 'misbehaving' horse, it's important to understand why he's reacting that way and how to get professional help.

21/12/2024

'HOW CAN I TELL IF MY HORSE LIKES ME?'

A seemingly simple question, with a somewhat complex answer!

A burning question for many new horse owners is, does my horse like me? This seemingly simple question has a somewhat complex answer.

04/12/2024

HELPING HORSE OWNERS IDENTIFY PAIN IN HORSES

Musculoskeletal disease (having to do with muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, joints, and cartilage) is a common cause of chronic pain in horses. Unfortunately, owners frequently struggle to perceive this pain in their horses, leaving it untreated.

Pain is an unpleasant experience, one from which horses are not exempt. Pain can also cause horses to behave in ways people don’t like. Thankfully, recognising pain is a learnable skill, and a new validated pain scale hopes to help with that. The musculoskeletal pain scale (MPS) was tested on 154 horses, and it was demonstrated that both horse owners and veterinarians were better able to identify musculoskeletal pain in horses when using the new pain scale.

While pain scales pose a promising way to hone the observation skills of both horse owners and veterinarians, most pain scales have not yet been tested extensively in clinical settings. As in human medicine, feasibility and reliability are critical factors in determining if a pain scale can be helpful in real-world settings. Some scales require more time than may be available to use in critical situations, while others require prior training by staff to achieve repeatable results.

However, given pain's negative impact on horse well-being, it's always better to err on the side of caution and try and determine if pain is present, rather than brushing it off and blaming the horse for misbehaviour.

You can read the full paper, Development, refinement, and validation of an equine musculoskeletal pain scale, here: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pain-research/articles/10.3389/fpain.2023.1292299/full

03/12/2024

LOVE YOUR HORSE (OR DONKEY) BUT NOT THEIR BEHAVIOUR?

This donkey recently struggled with feeling afraid to get a drink from the water trough. Even without winter coming, this posed a serious threat to his physical health.

But my client was able to implement the suggestions I gave her, and he is now feeling much more comfortable—and staying hydrated.

Sometimes all it takes is a little triage advice to make big changes and help horses (and donkeys) feel better.

02/12/2024

MISBEHAVING HORSES: TRAINING PROBLEM OR BEHAVIOUR PROBLEM?

Sometimes, horses behave in ways that negatively impact the owner’s goals. They may not perform as desired, or they may do things that are confusing, frustrating or even dangerous. In order to work towards a resolution, a good first question to ask is, “Is this a training problem, or a behaviour problem?”

My latest article, written for Horse Canada, is now online.

A good first question to ask when a horse is misbehaving is, 'Is this a training problem or a behaviour problem?'

16/09/2024

PULLING BACK WHEN TIED

Pulling back when tied is a common, and dangerous, behaviour that some horses perform. In my latest article for My New Horse, I discuss this behaviour, and some of the do’s and don’t’s of addressing the problem.

If you still have questions about your horse’s behaviour after reading the article, check out my new service designed to help owners get answers to their horse behaviour questions, fast. The Horse Behaviour Help Hotline:

https://www.equinebehaviorist.ca/horse-behaviour-help-hotline

If you have a horse that pulls back when tied, here’s what to do (and not do!) to manage this particular problem.

12/08/2024

'HERD BOUND' BEHAVIOUR

Many owners complain of herd-bound behaviours in their horses. A “herd-bound” horse is one that becomes upset or agitated by any change in proximity to other horses. For example, when a rider attempts to lead a horse away from the barn, the horse balks (plants his feet), spins toward home, or even rears. Or, a stalled horse weaves back and forth as a neighbouring horse is haltered and begins to run circles in the stall and vocalize loudly when the neighbour is taken away. This behaviour can occur with other horses in general or with one specific horse.

Why horses behave this way and what can be done about the behaviour is the topic of my latest article for My New Horse.

Do you have a herd-bound horse that experiences separation distress from other horses? An equine behaviorist explains why this happens.

07/08/2024

INDUSTRY STANDARD PREMATURE WEANING PRACTICES

Weaning is naturally gradual, whereby the physical and psychological bond between mother and offspring is ended. To date, there are numerous studies, across a wide range of species, showing the physical and mental harm that is done when animals are prematurely and forcibly weaned. The act compromises an animal's welfare and goes against best-practices for raising a physically and behaviourally healthy animal. Therefore, it should be avoided.

Premature weaning of horses (~4-7 months of age) is sadly still a common practice in the horse world. While young horses can physically be kept alive when weaned at this age, the practice is harmful in the short-term. It can also result in the creation of unwanted behaviour problems in the long-term.

While we have selectively bred horses to perform a wide range of activities for us, we have not been able to breed out the basic needs which they still share with their wilder relatives. Studying how horses behave under natural conditions gives us valuable information on how best we can provide for our domestic horses. For example, horses have evolved to need fulltime access to what I call the 3 F's of Friends, Forage, and Freedom: living in direct contact with other horses, having continual access to forage so that they can trickle feed, and having the ability to freely engage in a wide range of normal behaviours in their environment. When horses are denied access to one or more of these three F's, or when we interfere with their ability to engage in normal behaviours it results in stress, decreased welfare, and can result in the creation of unwanted behaviours.

To better understand the effects of weaning practices, researchers in France and Iceland examined how and when foals wean themselves when living under natural conditions. Of the 16 mare-foal pairs they observed, they found that all of the foals spontaneously weaned themselves at around 9-10 months of age. Two weeks prior to self-weaning, the mares and foals remained closer to one another than they did to others in the group, usually within 1-5 horse lengths of one another. Suckling bouts also didn't decrease in the two weeks prior to weaning, and the foals made no attempts to suckle once weaned. This self-directed weaning also caused no signs of stress to either party.

A frequent rationale for premature weaning is to preserve the physical condition of the mare. Interestingly, none of the mares in this study lost physical condition, despite the length of time mares and foals were together.

In summary, to quote the authors:

"Modern breeding practices generally impose strong constraints as compared to the conditions of development of foals in a more natural environment. One major aspect is the early artificial weaning, which is not just a stage of diet transition but also a stage of social separation. There is increasing evidence that such a practice, although carried out on a routine basis by horse breeders, leads to short- and in some cases to long-term severe negative outcomes.

There is therefore a clear need to better understand the factors at stake (e.g., cessation of milk intake, immature digestive system, maternal deprivation, absence of adult models, additional changes in feeding or housing…), to improve the domestic management of weaning and animal welfare."

You can read the full paper, 'Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices?' by accessing it at this link: https://tinyurl.com/PrematureWeaningHorses

Image by Hans Benn from Pixabay

12/07/2024

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR HORSE USING NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

My latest article for My New Horse is up. In this introductory article on using negative reinforcement (aka pressure and release), I discuss the basic premise of how and why it works, as well as some of the risks that can happen when people use it poorly.

Learn why negative reinforcement horse training—also known as pressure and release—works and how to use it properly.

13/06/2024

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR HORSE USING POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

My latest article for My New Horse is now live.

In this introductory article, I explain the basics of how horses can be trained using positive reinforcement. I also touch on the advantages and disadvantages when using this technique.

Positive reinforcement horse training is a low-stress technique that can help us teach horses how to happily perform almost any behavior.

19/05/2024

OUR MORAL & PROFESSIONAL OBLIGATION TO NOT WORSEN THE BEHAVIOUR OF HORSES

In January I started a podcast, Not Another Dog and Pony Show, with my friend and colleague, Matthias Lenz. Recently, I had cooperative veterinary care champion Monique Feyrecilde of Teaching Animals on the pod. One of my favourite talking points from this episode was when we discussed our moral obligation as professionals to not cause animals to be dangerous for others to handle in the future.

I’m frequently the ‘last resort’ for horses with behaviour problems. When I see a new client, they’ve often been to several other equine professionals, including trainers, without success.

In most cases, the horse’s behaviour has also worsened after these interventions. The horse who pulled their leg away from the farrier now rears and can’t be touched. The horse anxious about loading now rips the lead out of the owner’s hands and runs away when led towards the trailer. The horse who bolted on the lunge line now comes off the circle and attacks the handler. The horse who wouldn’t stand still at the mounting block now explodes and bucks hard.

The reason these problems worsened is that techniques were used to try and suppress the behaviour: the horse who pulled their leg away from the farrier was aggressively backed up every time they did so; the horse anxious about loading was hit with a whip every time they balked; the horse who bolted on the lunge had a chain put over their nose, and they were je**ed when they bolted; the horse who wouldn’t stand still was worked hard when they fidgeted and allowed to ‘rest’ next to the mounting block while the person tried to mount again. The horses all learned that trying to escape the source of things that caused them fear or pain wasn’t effective, so they had to try harder. They reared. They ripped the leadrope out of hands. They attacked, or exploded.

In every instance, this worsened behaviour made it more dangerous for others who followed to handle the horse – whether that was the horse’s owner, or the next professional hired to try and address the problem. This is because suppressed behaviour isn’t changed behaviour. You can make an unwanted behaviour appear to ‘stop’ by making the consequences for performing the behaviour much worse for the horse. But, you won’t have addressed why the behaviour was happening. You won’t have eased pain, or removed fear. In the same way you can make a beach ball temporarily ‘disappear’ by pushing it forcefully underwater, if you don’t address the reason why the horse's behaviour is happening, it will once again pop up – but with more intensity.

Our industry (horse training) is unregulated, which I have mixed feelings about. But one of the clear downsides of a lack of regulation is that anyone can hang out their shingle, without knowing about things like the effect of behaviour suppression, making it more dangerous for the next professional. The actions we take as trainers don’t just impact the horse in front of us, they also impact people. If we know that we can make horses safer for others to handle in the future, by choosing appropriate training techniques, don’t we morally have this obligation?

It’s certainly food for thought as we work with our horses this weekend. Here’s a link to the episode with Monique: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/YRjPI0yiJJb

17/05/2024

Understanding how horses communicate through body language is a skill anyone can learn.

My free article on this topic, now on the My New Horse website, can give you a head start on getting better at observing and interpreting horse body language. This skill improves human safety, can help us get better results when training, and strengthens the human-horse bond.

Learning to recognize how horses communicate improves human safety, training results, trust, and the horse-human bond.

15/05/2024

I've recently written a few articles for My New Horse - a great resource for new horse owners.

My first article is about how horses learn. When we understand these basics, we can get better results with our horses, while also minimising the chances our horses suffer behavioural injuries: lasting psychological damage that occurs after exposure to an overly stressful event.

By understanding how horses learn, you can handle, communicate with, and train your horse safely and effectively.

25/02/2024

The provisional event programme for Understand Horses Live 2024 is now available.

It is a packed weekend of lectures plus practical demos & training workshops on horse behaviour, physiology and training delivered by an international panel of experts - equine behaviour consultants, academics, vets, physios and trainers.

Lecture Day topics include: what’s new in behavioural management science; do horses love being ridden; the impact of artificial weaning; agonistic behaviours in wild horses; the challenges of managing equine obesity; how best to transport horses; improving horse training; interpreting horse behaviour.

Practical Day topics include: effective loading techniques, the science of measuring behaviour; the challenges of managing equine obesity; equine massage techniques; horse agility; equine scent work; surviving in the equine world.

Understand Horses Live takes place at Writtle University College in Essex, UK, on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of July.
Early bird tickets are available to buy now.

Can't wait!

Event programme for Understand Horses Live, 13-14 July 2024. A weekend of lectures plus practical demos & workshops on horse behaviour, physiology and training at Writtle University College, Essex.