JKHindmarsh Equine Services

17/04/2025

Exactly this! Dominant/Alfa/top of the pecking order; all outdated terms that don’t help us to work better with our horsey pals. Understanding learning theory, internal and external motivations and how to set up for successful interactions is the way I like to work.
Let’s keep progress rolling forwards with a growth mindset and aim to give horses a good life 🥰

The concept of a fixed "alpha" horse leading a herd through dominance has evolved significantly in recent years.

The term "alpha" is increasingly seen as misused and outdated when describing horse behaviour (similar to its decline in wolf science).

Historically, the "alpha" horse was perceived as holding a permanent top rank, claiming priority access to resources like food, water, and preferred locations, and asserting dominance by chasing subordinate horses.

This belief extended into human-horse interactions, with some training philosophies advocating that handlers must establish themselves as the "alpha" to gain the horse's respect and obedience and methods interpreted as the horse 'accepting' the human trainer as its leader.

Contrary to traditional beliefs that only the highest-ranked or oldest horses in a group lead, research demonstrates that any horse can initiate movement.

As for the concept of humans as alpha leaders - this brings its own set of problems. This approach relies on anthropomorphism, transferring human concepts like authority onto horses, which can lead to training techniques that elicit fear, over clear, consistent communication.

Adapted from: Equitation Science, 2nd edition - written by Andrew McLean, Paul McGreevy, Janne Whinther Christensen & Uta König von Borstel

Available for purchase on our website!

19/03/2025

I really feel that if we could change the way we use land for horses we could see massive, all encompassing benefits for horses but also for the local ecosystem. Surely there’s a collaboration waiting to happen with an environmental organisation!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BhtDUShKm/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Lack of turnout – and owners without basic knowledge – mean ‘most horses’ in England and Wales are not getting what they need. Read more via link below

02/02/2025

Last Wednesday I went back to Brack(enhurst campus). Since I completed my Equine Sports Science degree at Nottingham Trent University in 2013 there have been some huge changes. The horses now live out 🌱🌳🍁🍂 all year round, only coming in for teaching, individual care and tlc. Wherever the horses are, they always have access to other horses. All of the housing is social. ALL OF IT! The least social housing is American barn style stabling with barred windows between boxes - this would be a dream in many yards! 🦄
The horses were so relaxed, one lovely mare was sleeping flat out while two other horses were being clipped by students next door (these hairy friends were also dosing). It’s spectacular.

There’s more - there is a policy for riding the horses where you must use one aid at a time. I cannot even begin to express how excited I am about this. The implications for horse welfare are MASSIVE. I can’t tell you how much I love the way this yard is run and managed. I can’t stop talking about it. 🫶

07/12/2024

🎄I finally got round to putting up the tree! 🎄I hope everyone is finding some time to find a little sparkle in this season. The weather has been not so great and everyone is wanting to hibernate so times can be a little trickier this time of year.
👌Good advice I’ve heard recently: Take the pressure off, stay in the moment, practice some mindfulness and try and highlight the things you’re grateful for.
🥕🥰🐴🦄

01/12/2024

Brilliant to see this research being shared, the more we know, the better we can do 🥰🥕

Many domestic horses’ needs for space, forage and socialisation are not being med, a survey has shown – as it provides opportunity to improve equine wellbeing. The National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) has announced the publication of a “groundbreaking” two-part study that “delivers a com...

29/10/2024

The research, published in the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) journal, Animal Welfare, identifies essential needs and the profound impact of human interactions on horse welfare, offering practical recommendations for improving horses' quality of life (QoL).

13/09/2024

Super excited to be joining the amazing team on BEVA council 🤩🥳🐴

12/09/2024

Busy week of teaching vet students about horse handling and behaviour, and now three days of CPD and networking at BEVA congress!! 🤩

19/08/2024

What a well written article, highlighting some of the many avoidable health issues horses experience from the way we keep them. A hutch is not enough for rabbits, a stable is not enough for horses. 🐴

Keeping stabled horses happy and healthy indoors means ditching some of the more outdated ideas about stabling, suggests Kieran O’Brien MRCVS

01/07/2024

What am I so excited about? Is it my over glasses sunglasses? Well those are a game changer BUT…I’m actually overcome with excitement that is less than 2 weeks away!!! The line up looks INCREDIBLE and I’m so excited to hear all the updates in evidenced-based equine behaviour science! One small step for us, one big leap towards a 🤩🤩🤩 https://www.understandhorses.com/understand-horses-live-event-programme-2024

22/06/2024

Anti-mapping cat! After a brilliant clicker training session this morning, I’m working through mapping the academic requirements for CCAB (certified clinical animal behaviourist) per-certification review, or at least I’m trying to! My prior degree in equine sports science, my vet degree, CPD and research all need to be evidenced so there’s a lot to go through and clearly, Custard Pot thinks it’s time for a break 🙃

26/05/2024

Cross-industry collaboration and knowledge sharing between hoof care professionals and vets? Yes please!! 🥳🐴

Please take a moment to fill out this survey and share it with others who work with horses: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DQLPPWB

This survey is to investigate how we can improve cross-industry collaboration and knowledge-sharing between hoof-care professionals and vets, and we will be delving into this topic even further at my next webinar.

06/05/2024

A brilliant resource to help assess for subtle signs of discomfort or stress within our normal interactions 😊😊😊

Are you aware of the subtle signs your horse might be trying to tell you there is something wrong? Download our horse behaviour checklist to see if your horse is trying to tell you something.

20/04/2024

Oh my goodness, what amazing steps we’re seeing in the equine world! This is incredible work.
The better we can recognise early signs of stress, the more we can avoid creating it and adapt our approach to increase welfare and safety.
Something I’m so excited to be teaching vet students at The University of Bristol School of Veterinary Sciences and anyone who enters my vicinity 😂

WHAT IS STRESS AND HOW CAN YOU RECOGNISE IT IN HORSES?

Stress can be defined as the body's reaction to mental or physical pressure. Some stress is useful in a horse’s life to protect them from potential danger and allows a horse to learn and adapt to their environment. However, too much stress can cause a negative impact to their health and well-being.

The first step to reducing a horse's stress is to recognise the symptoms. However, the early signs of stress are often missed or ignored. Horses are all individuals and may show different signs of stress, they may also display more than one sign at a time. Horse owners and carers need to be able to recognise these signs to identify the cause and improve the horse’s situation.

The Horse Care & Welfare team at The British Horse Society have produced a really useful guide explaining what stress is, what causes it, how it can impact the horse, how to recognise signs of stress and what you can do to reduce it.

I have loved working on this project with the BHS and am so pleased this vital information is getting out to the wider equestrian audience. A massive well done and thank you to the BHS!

You can find the guide on the BHS website here: https://www.bhs.org.uk/horse-care-and-welfare/behaviour/equine-stress

29/03/2024

Brilliant post!

14/03/2024

Fabulous suggestions from the wonderful Clare MacLeod MSc RNutr Independent Equine Nutritionist 🥰🥕🐎🤓

COPING WITH CONFINEMENT
I'm hearing from many of you at livery who aren't able to turnout just now due to the state of the ground.

This confinement is challenging for horses and for owners, especially if you can't exercise your horse during the day due to work.

Here's some ideas to help your horse cope with confinement:
🐴 ideally exercise daily even if it's just a 10 minute walk in hand (remember that competition horses who are kept stabled all the time are often in hard work; it's quite unhealthy for horses to be stabled 24/7 without exercise)
🐴 adjust your riding/exercise plans to fit with what's possible even if you wouldn't normally just walk around the lanes - your horse's mind and body will thank you for putting their needs first!
🐴 consider paying someone else to exercise (ride, ride and lead, lunge, long-line or just hand walk) your horse, or share with friends if you are at the yard at different times
🐴 learn how to teach your horse some moves you can do in the stable e.g. back up, move hindquarters over, move forehand around, lift a leg, drop their head down, bridle from your knees (if safe!) (all these will engage his or her mind and will help your riding too!)
🐴 teach your not-easy-to-mount-horse to love the mounting block (with patience and rewards)
🐴 have long grooming sessions and consider learning how to massage your horse
🐴 find your horse's favourite scratching spots (even grumpy mares have them.. your challenge is to find them!)
🐴 chill out with your horse - have you ever just sat on a chair in your horse's stable without any demand on them to see what they do?
🐴 allow your horse contact with another horse daily (even separately paddocked horses will usually touch over the fence and it's good for them to have physical contact with another horse)
🐴 enrich your horse's stable as much as you can e.g. different types of forage placed/hung in different places; hang root veg/compressed grass balls/blocks; forage or high fibre pellets in a treat ball; bury pieces of carrot in clean bedding; give small (edible) tree branches for them to chew; some will play with toys (make sure they're horse-proof!)
🐴 keep your horse's diet consistent despite different availability e.g. use soaked grass pellets or chaff if they get pasture only now and again
🐴 try to get them out hand grazing daily or cut/pick them fresh green forage
🐴 consider adding soaked feed to increase the water content of the diet if they're on all hay and dried feed
🐴 you may need extra help with behaviour (leading / riding) from a qualified instructor because some horses will become more energetic/reactive/pushy/forward going when they are confined especially with minimal exercise

Longer term, it is worth considering if a livery yard that might stop turnout is right for you and your horse, or if you should find somewhere different that allows turnout, for next winter.

Feel free to share this with your friends, and post your other ideas below! 🐴🍏

21/02/2024

Brilliant study!!!! Advancing pain recognition with accessible tech! This will have great welfare implications. Custard Pot is very pleased for her fellow cats and their pain management 🎉🐈‍⬛❤️ Read it here 👉https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-49031-2

13/02/2024

Lovely piece about what horses really need for a ‘good life’. 😊🐴🥕

🤔 Most people don't understand what a horse really wants out of life

I read a lot of horse adverts from people who want to sell their horse because...
▶️ It doesn't have a job
▶️It's a field ornament
▶️They want them to reach their full potential with someone else

How many times have you read an advert which says the horse is 'wasted in his/her current home'? 😔
It makes me sad because I know that, not only is it a challenge for a horse to transition from one home to the next, but if the current owner truly understood what the horse's needs were, they could likely go a long way to providing for them without needing to part company.

The truth is that horses are not in it for the big win! 🎊 They don't care that they have a flashy trot or a speedy cross-country time ⌚️ Really, horses are seeking friends, forage & freedom.

So, the questions we need to ask ourselves are:
🐴 Can I help my horse feel safe by providing him with appropriate company?
🐴 Can I provide my horse with a high forage diet & fresh water?
🐴 Does my horse have access to a horse that they can mutually groom with & somewhere to scratch?
🐴 Can I provide my horse with an environment where they feel safe & comfortable enough to sleep well?
🐴 Does my horse have access to an area where they can self-exercise freely in walk, trot & canter?
🐴 Does my horse have an appropriate level of variety & mental engagement?
🐴 Does my horse have enough room to manage their own personal space without the intrusion of others?
🐴 Does my horse have a pair-bond (a preferred equine partner) that they can spend quality time with?

👉 Of course, there are times when we can't always provide all of the above - like for example when our horse is on box-rest or we need to manage other health conditions, but this is where enrichment comes in 🌿 By providing species-appropriate interventions, we can help horses to cope with the many challenges that life presents. Importantly, we can often do this without passing the horse on to a new home 🏡

So, when we're considering what our horses really want out of life... perhaps it's time to forget the ribbons & embrace something else entirely 🐴❤️

Share if you agree ⏩