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The Best Bits EAPER registered, LANTRA accredited equine bit and bridle fitting consultant. Ensure your horse has the best bit and bridle to enable optimal performance.

18/11/2025

🐴HOW OFTEN IS THE POLL THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE NECK IN MODERN DRESSAGE COMPETITION?🐴

The 2025 FEI Dressage Judging Manual states (page 3, point 5) that...

"The head should remain in a steady position, as a rule with the nose line slightly in front of the vertical, with a supple poll as the highest point of the neck, and no resistance should be offered to the Athlete."

There are 11 further references that the poll should be the highest point.

🐴IS ANYONE ACTUALLY CONFUSED ABOUT WHERE THE POLL IS ON THE HORSE?🐴

The 26th edition (2025) of the FEI Dressage Rules (page 47, 2.1.2) states....

"The crownpiece of the bridle must lie immediately behind the poll and may extend forward onto the poll but must not be fitted to lie behind the skull."

Debbie Symes (Sports Science Graduate, Dressage Coach and Advanced Dressage Rider) and myself have written an article on this exploring this issue in greater detail which is OPEN ACCESS - https://askanimalweb.com/the-poll-or-not/

18/11/2025

UNDERSTAND HORSES JOINS THE JOINT STANDARDS OF PRACTICE COALITION

We are delighted to announce that Understand Horses is now a signatory of the Joint Standards of Practice (JSOP). This coalition unites the leading organisations in animal training and behaviour that are dedicated to raising standards, advancing science-based practice and promoting a shared dedication to improving animal welfare.

We are especially proud that Understand Horses is the first and only horse organisation to join this coalition. This is an important milestone for the equine behaviour field and reflects our commitment to delivering high quality education for equine practitioners, professionals and horse owners – helping them develop the knowledge and skills needed to support the welfare and long term behavioural health of equines.

The Joint Standards of Practice provides a clear and consistent framework for responsible, humane and professional behaviour practice. By joining, we continue to uphold our mission to improve equine welfare through accessible, evidence-led education and ethical leadership within the profession.

We are really looking forward to contributing to this coalition and advancing a more compassionate, accountable and welfare-centred future for equine behaviour practice.

The JSOP is endorsed by International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, Association for Professional Dog Training International, Karen Pryor Academy, ADI - Assistance Dogs International, Grisha Stewart Academy and Empowered Animals, LLC, Science Matters Academy of Animal Behavior LLC, Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior and the IAABC Foundation.

Learn more:https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f22d2dec1bb293a2c8e59cc/t/691ca826c2ea2f1bc1eb2ebe/1763485734058/JSOP_2025.pdf

Helping Molly find her own balance
09/11/2025

Helping Molly find her own balance

07/11/2025

Horses are not designed to live in stables but if they have to spend time inside, we can greatly improve their lives and keep them happy and healthy with a little thought and willingness to challenge preconceived ideas of how they should be kept. Read more below

06/11/2025

One of my students asked why we don't use whips here, she has been to other barns who do and use them gently and fairly.

First, i'll start by saying this isn't a "whips are cruel, only bad people use them, it's abuse" speech. I believe knowledgeable people can and do use whips in a way that is gentle, fair, and provides guidance when a horse needs some clarity.

So why don't we use this tool if it can be used well?

Whips are not just a tool, they are symbol, they carry a meaning, a history, implications, and conditioned emotions. Not just for horses. Whips are a symbol of control and oppression through violence, force, and fear. Whether you're controlling a human or an animal, the whip is a tool of coercion and force.

It carries a meaning we do not want to be introduced into our relationship with our animals. When we hold a whip we hold a feeling of control, a feeling of force, a feeling of violence. We hold a means to coerce and manipulate our learner through fear.

Even when used gently a whip is a tool that is working through avoidance. The horse works to make the whip go away, either because it's irritating, uncomfortable, or painful - inherently or because it has been conditioned to be so. Even wild horses who have never seen one, even baby horses, know whips are something to worry about. If they weren't bothered by the whip, if it is desensitized, the horse would not work to make it go away. Simply put, if they didn't dislike it, it wouldn't work.

While they can be a useful tool of guidance they are unnecessary, there is nothing a horse needs to know that needs a whip. But i find if you are skilled enough to use a whip well, you are skilled enough to not need it. Anything a whip can do a target can do equally well from an opposite emotional direction.

A whip is a tool, a symbol, and a conditioned emotional response from human and horse that just doesn't need to be a part of our relationship with out animals.

*Disclaimer: i am referring to actual whips used as aversives, not a whip that has been converted into a target

06/11/2025

How do we build emotional resilience and confidence with a horse with R+ and food reinforcement? Many people struggle with horses who are insecure around food reinforcers, resulting in frustration, overarousal, and even sometimes dangerous behaviors around food.

Let's talk specifically about how we build our horse up to not just be able to use food in training, but to build their emotional comfort around valuable resources. All of our horses are rescues, some come from situations with great resource insecurity, but even horses who have not had an issue can be naturally insecure in their resources and overly defensive or anxious around food.

First we need to ensure the horse has access to forage 24/7. Horses are designed to trickle feed, meaning a little goes in continuously all the time. They aren't designed for meals. If they spend more than 3 hours without forage moving through their gut they begin to feel like they are "starving" even if they are obese. So a horse with resource insecurities needs to never be without forage. Slow feed low NSC forage if your horse is overweight, but never let them be without. A good gut supplement or checking for ulcers can also help, often horses with resource anxiety have gut troubles.

Next always train while they are full. I like to give my horses a bucket or low NSC chopped hay with some of the carbsafe pellets i use in training mixed in. I'll groom them and spend some snuggle time while they eat. Then train when they are full. It also helps to have hay or even this bucket of chopped hay available while you are training. If your training becomes less than stellar the horse has an option to communicate this other than frustration.

When training feed large handfuls of low calories, safe feed. This can be more chopped hay, hay pellets, or carb safe pellets. Good chew times will satiate the horse while training and ease the building arousal. As the horse becomes comfortable we can ease to a more convenient reinforcement. We also need to make sure our rate of reinforcement matches the horse's current speed. Make sure to give the horse effective ways to maintain a high rate of reinforcement and don't push for duration early in training.

Finally, use enrichment to build the horse's resilience and comfort with problem solving and working for food. Erichment puzzle feeders build a horse's confidence with new toys in their surroundings and their ability to sort out difficult challenges to get food. Without the human pressure. This actually teaches them how to problem solve and how to emotionally regulate through the learning process.

Why spend all this work to deal with a food issue instead of just not using food? Food is a valuable training tool we want to be able to use, but safely and kindly, if the horse is overaroused by it, it can quickly become coercive or overshadowing. We also have to face the fact that our horse has a very real emotional problem. Ignoring it by simply throwing away the food is not going to fix their emotional state or ability to regulate their emotions. This problem will creep into your training all the time and interfere with regular life until you fix it. Make your horse feel safe and confident around food.

31/10/2025

DOES YOUR HORSE BECOME STRESSED IF THEIR FEED IS LATE?

Most of us know horses who become restless, vocal or frustrated if their feed isn’t served on time — but perhaps with good reason.

A study by a team of researchers in Slovenia explored how feeding at irregular times affects horses’ behaviour and found they do become stressed if their meal arrives late.

Eight stabled horses were given ad-lib hay and a barley and oat mixture hard feed. For most of the week, breakfast was served at the usual 6 a.m.; on Thursdays it arrived early (5 a.m.) and on Saturdays it was delayed (7 a.m.). After eating, horses were turned out to pasture for the rest of the day. Their behaviour was observed for two hours around breakfast, beginning an hour before feed delivery, over a ten week period.

When fed early, horses were described as “not really awake yet” and ate less hay before their meal, so overall intake was reduced. When breakfast was late, signs of stress were clear: pawing, door-kicking, looking repeatedly toward the food source, and frequent whinnying. While some horse owners find this behaviour irritating or even funny, it is important to remember these behaviours are caused by frustration and stress and could be considered a measure of poor welfare. As lead researcher Manja Zupan noted, “A horse that cannot predict when he will get fed will have compromised performance and health."

These findings highlight that horses are excellent timekeepers. They learn daily patterns and anticipate routine cues such as voices, sounds of buckets or stable doors. Disrupting these routines — especially by delaying feed — can cause measurable stress.

It can be difficult for some owners to stick to a consistent feeding schedule. Life often gets in the way the horse’s mealtimes may be delayed. However we must consider that any change in their routine can affect horses adversely, especially if their species-specific needs are not met and their choices are limited.

Consistency matters. Those who are routinely fed at a specific time and then fed out of their normal time schedule (and perhaps watching other horses being fed first) can find this extremely stressful. So horses housed within sight of others should be fed simultaneously to prevent frustration.

If feed times must vary, then being fed early is preferable to being fed late. Ensuring your horse has access to ad lib forage will also go a long way to keeping them healthy and happy if you can’t get to the yard. Of course being turned out with friends and no need for 'mealtimes' is the ideal!

Of course, the ideal is as much turnout with companions as possible and continuous access to forage, with no rigid ‘mealtimes’ at all.

Study: Zupan et al., 2020. The Effect of an Irregular Feeding Schedule on Equine Behavior. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.

Helping our pony to find her own balance using positive reinforcement.
31/10/2025

Helping our pony to find her own balance using positive reinforcement.

30/10/2025

Vocal aids and no nosebands: British Riding Clubs introduce new rules to promote horse welfare.

Riders are now permitted to use their voices during tests, provided they are discreet do not distract others, and nosebands are no longer compulsory for competitors.

Many have praised the change and really welcomed it. Read the full story via the link in comments.

Back from the BETA Bits, Bridling & Saddlery Conference yesterday. Lots of fantastic presentations and always so much to...
29/10/2025

Back from the BETA Bits, Bridling & Saddlery Conference yesterday. Lots of fantastic presentations and always so much to learn.

Appointments still available for November and December 😁

28/10/2025

‘But my horse is well cared for’: equestrians conflicted over equine welfare versus long-standing habits. Read more below

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