Laura Pannewitz - Clinical Animal Behaviourist

12/08/2024

People ask me why I don't make 'content' for my social media very often. Because quite honestly there are people out there who make great stuff and I would struggle to make anything better!!😊
Connie has really hit the nail on the head here as to what is happening whenever a horse appears to be complicit in one situation but not in all.
We never truly know or understand the power we wield to control another. 💪🧠 Psychological control is real and it really works, so be mindful at all times of whether the beings you are with (non-human and human alike) want to do something or whether they just think that 'no' is not an option or not the best option in that situation.
And yes, even positive reinforcement (clicker training, food reinforcement etc) can have powerful control over a horse if they really feel motivated to get the food. If they are reluctant but can be persuaded with food, it's a bribe not a reward. But what I also know is correct positive reinforcement training should consider the feelings /emotional state of all involved and not utilise coercion for results.
I am not saying horses are always coerced but it is certainly a much more complex story than just 'we couldn't make them if they didn't want to do it'.

26/06/2024

This fills me with hope that one day, the word dominant will no longer be used to describe a personality or for anything which is really just learned (or not as the case may be) or communication.
Well done Pony Club Australia for leading the next generation to the correct knowledge of behaviour and use of language 👏

WELFARE WEDNESDAY 🐴 Today, we're discussing the fascinating topic of dominance patterns in horses.

The social dynamics of horses are intricate and reveal unique dominance patterns among individuals. While the idea of a strict dominance hierarchy has been popular, recent insights show that this concept doesn't fully capture the reality.

Instead, horses exhibit 'bilateral dominance,' meaning each horse understands their position of dominance or submission in relation to others for specific resources.

For instance, in a group setting, horse A might dominate horse B, and horse B might dominate horse C. However, horse C could dominate horse A, and horse D might dominate both horses B and A, but not C. This dynamic demonstrates that dominance is fluid and resource-specific.

One horse might be more dominant when it comes to food, while another could be more dominant in securing space. Although in some cases, a horse might appear dominant in all areas when paired with another horse, this is not the norm.

A common misunderstanding arises when terms like 'dominance' are used to describe a horse's behaviour toward humans, often attributing undesirable behaviour to the horse's dominant nature. However, what is perceived as dominant behaviour is usually a result of inadequate training. Horses do not see humans as part of their social hierarchy, nor do they understand human notions of 'respect' in the same way we do.

Successful trainers recognise this and take responsibility for their horses' learned behaviours, rather than attributing issues to dominance or disrespect. Embracing this perspective helps in fostering a more harmonious and effective training environment.

⭐This information is adapted from Pony Club Australia's rider manuals, which members study on the way to achieving their proficiency certificates.

16/06/2024

After a wonderfully positive visit from Shropshire Equine Physiotherapy I have included more core workouts for Kaya. 💪🥵

She is one of the most trainable horses in the world so sessions are usually short but progress is quick. However, one thing she is quite particular about is what she stands on. She may have trodden on my feet once or twice in her life (not bad for nearly 20 years together), she always walks around drain covers out hacking, prefers not to walk in water and gets a little windy about trailer/lorry ramps. You get the idea, she is always aware of where her feet are!

So we started with partially inflated wobble cushions so when her weight was on them she would touch the floor. Of course she was obliging of my latest strange request and I placed her front feet on the cushions.

It is interesting to step back and see her natural stance, which puts more weight on her right fore, made more evident by her ample belly pushing to the left🤭. Because of this her left cushion was less stable so her pectoral muscles had a little workout.

Over the next few sessions we will progress onto more inflation, squaring up the stance and using them under her hind feet. And when funds allow there will be a seesaw😉

07/06/2024

I thought it might be time to do a bit of an update and introduction to my services for all my wonderful clients - new, old and those I am yet to meet😀

📍I am located in the beautiful county of Shropshire🌳☀️

I am happy to travel more widely for consultations, clinics and lectures so please get in touch if you like what you see but are further afield. I love the excuse to travel and explore new areas 🌏💫

I am available for the following services:

➡️Behaviour referral service for Horses, Dogs and Cats who may need support to overcome a specific struggle. 🐴🐶🐱

➡️Training clinics and 1-2-1 training in everyday life skills for horses - to allow you both to live your best lives and enjoy each other's company ⚖️🗝

➡️Lectures and interactive talks. These can be tailored to suit your club, society, business or education establishment. I love discussing a range of animal behaviour, training, management and nutrition topics 👩‍🏫 This can include preparation for Pony Club badges and BHS exams 🏅

➡️Environmental assessment and enrichment - a great way to promote positive welfare and encourage natural behaviour by stimulating the whole range of senses🥰🧠👂👃👀

My passion is ensuring animals and their humans live happily and safely together. This looks different for each partnership and I love being able to help put the pieces together.

I work with welfare friendly, scientifically validated methods, mixed with some common sense and a whole lot of humour 😄😉

19/08/2023

This is something I am very passionate about (and quite vocal about at times too 😉). Identity and individuality matter greatly to all beings and the language used to describe ANY identity has a huge impact on the how that being is perceived. 😊

IS YOUR HORSE A HE, SHE OR AN IT?

I was at Hickstead watching the showjumping a couple of weeks ago, and the commentator regularly referred to the horses as ‘it’ rather than he or she. For example 'it’s dropped a leg’, 'it’s giving *insert rider name* a difficult ride today’ and 'it has so much scope’. This language could lead you to believe the competitors are riding machines…

In ordinary conversation when we say ‘it’ we are referring to a thing - an inanimate object or a piece of furniture maybe - but would we call a person 'it’? Maybe we would if we were annoyed with them, in a derogatory way.

If we refer to a horse as ‘it', aren't we ignoring the fact they have a personality and gender? Referring to them in this way depersonalises them and could make it easier for people to see them as simply a commodity or stock, without feelings or emotions. Is this the case here? In the competition world where horses are valued for how well they do their job and sold regularly, does the use of this term make it easier for us to remove ourselves from identifying with individual horses and their personalities? Does it make it easier to blame the horse for accidents or training problems, rather than the rider taking responsibility?

Labels matter. What we call our animals has a huge effect on how we, and others, perceive them. I am always concerned by horses being called ‘difficult’, 'stubborn' or 'moody' for example, as the horse then has an official label and people usually behave differently towards them - often with hostility. In many cases that can cause the horse’s behaviour to change. A human's attitude towards a horse can be a stumbling block when trying to resolve behaviour problems - it really is that important.

A horse called 'Boss', 'Mischief', 'Defiance' (yes I have met one!) or even 'Cheeky' may be seen in a negative light even before a human meets them and so they will act defensively around them – unfortunately that is the nature of human psychology.

In some languages this discussion would be irrelevant – in French or Italian a horse has a gender assigned already and so is a he or a she regardless. I used to think that was a strange idea, now I think it may be beneficial to the animal and how they are perceived.

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this.

21/06/2023

I saw this on another page, entirely unrelated to animals but thought it is very applicable.
Patience is the key. How often do we hear of horses being overfaced at a competition or in a new environment, which then undoes all the previous work put in? Or trying to force contact with an untouched feral and it ending up taking longer?

13/10/2022

Love this!

08/10/2022

I absolutely LOVE this graphic. Clear and to the point. Just as we allow (or should allow) individuality in our human friends we need to start ensuring our animals are given the same consideration. We also need to make sure we cut ourself some slack when comparing our successes with our horses against other people or other horses. 😊

10/08/2022

This is also true for horses. Yes they can get a bit grabby if you just launch in with treats with no preparation, but you also don't just jump on a horse to ride them without preparation on how to respond appropriately to the tools being used.

First of all what is a 'treat'? It can be anything that your dog REALLY likes. It doesn't even have to be food. A treat for me is to get to spend a whole day in my workshop... That's a really big 'treat' for me. It's just something an animal REALLY likes and would like to receive again, again, and a...

11/04/2022

Yesterday I received an email I have been waiting for for ages - I have been granted Pre-Certification approval for becoming a Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB). This means I satisfy the academic requirements and can start gathering evidence of my practical ability in behavioural consultations! 🥳
Which leads me onto also saying that my MSc is now complete and I graduated with a Distinction in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare. 🥳🎉 This happened last year but I (as you already know) am so rubbish at FB - I promise to try harder.

This means I am now able to run both training classes again (now I have time) and offer behavioural referrals. 😃🐶🐹🐴🐎🐕‍🦺

24/10/2021

So pleased with Melanie's win as Behaviour Trainer of the Year. Her acceptance speech hits the nail on the head as to why we do what we do and how the change is coming slow and steady.

05/09/2021

Perfect ☺

🤓🐴

02/06/2021

I saw this on another post. As a teacher (humans as well as animals) I know how hard it is to assess understanding, but it is something we can all take a minute to think about in our animals - do they REALLY understand what you are asking? How do you know they understand? 🤷‍♀️

20/05/2021

This month's agility involved Lilly having to walk under an archway of flowers - out of desperation and lack of options I made it out of cow parsley. She had a thorough investigation but followed the cue to walk under for a treat rather than stop for a snack. She really does love training that much 🤩

24/03/2021

This is great - very nicely explains the difference between an emotional reaction (fear) and a behavioural response. It is important not to anthropomorphise but imagine in your own situation, if something makes you jump you have NO control over that reaction in the moment, so being told not to be silly, 'it is just a plastic spider', doesn't change your reaction to something takign you by surprise. BUT once you know it is a plastic spider (and trust the person presenting it) you are able to control your response (behaviour) in subsequent and expected presentations of it. This is training - your horse's brain has comparable neurobiology so we can use our own experiences in this situation to understand what is happening on a chemical level in their brain when they spook (an unconscious emotional reaction). An intense training session will 'show' them that the item is not to be feared and therefore no avoidance behaviour is needed at the time. But it won't stop the innate survival mechanism kicking in next time something makes them jump. Having a strong relationship of trust with the human who is involved when they do spook means the horse will still jump / startle, but then will look for guidance and call upon their memory bank - so fill that bank with thoughts of 'in the event of a startle, standing still and/ or putting my attention onto the human is the behaviour that gets me a nice experience'. Punishing a reaction only creates fear, which then creates increased vigilance and emotional arousal, which then makes them more jumpy and increases avoidance behaviours - not an ideal combination and certainly not what most people set out to achieve.
Happy horsing everyone, and cut yourselves and your horses some slack, we all get spooked by things that seem silly to other people 😱

Personally, I am an advocate of using food rewards with horses – especially when they learn something new or during veterinary procedures (where possible). When it comes to using food rewards with the horse who is afraid, many owners are worried that they can reinforce the horse’s fear. The sam...

12/03/2021

I have had a number of projects on the go and quite frankly am rubbish at FB so have not kept you updated! 🤭

In the interests of keeping it real this is one of the attempts at a video I was making with Lilly - clearly Kaya felt that both my technique and the camera needed checking to ensure they met her exacting standards 👀😇

27/01/2021

Interesting read.

Bravery matters to equestrians but the pursuit of bravery leads riders to behave in ways that may be detrimental to equine welfare.

22/01/2021

A very valuable list of criteria to consider before starting with a new trainer. How many actually know the science behind equine behaviour? Behaviour is a complex interaction between neurological and physiological processes which motivate a horse to perform a behaviour in the presence of stimuli within their environment (internal or external). It is NOT them doing it just to spite you or to assert dominance over you!

What methods work best for equines? 9 elements to look for in a training method or approach

1. Avoid any method based on dominance.
2. Any training should take account of the animal’s true nature and individual character.
3. Training should be based on the science of behaviour.
4. Any approach should always consider pain and the environment first as a cause of the behaviour.
5. All training should be based on small steps and a correct approach to shaping behaviour
6. An approach that correctly uses positive reinforcement and focuses on rewarding the correct behaviour
7. A process that includes a written plan
8. An approach that is based on building a relationship before working on behaviour
9. One resonates with you your values and principles

If you want to explore these ideas in more detail here is a clip from a recent webinar explaining them
https://youtu.be/GkI1mCEykuI