Alex Le Grand - Animal Behaviourist & Saddle Fitter

06/07/2024

This has been a project many, many months in the making. Very proud and excited to finally relaunch the NAC branding, website and course offering.

If you're looking for accessible, science-based courses on behaviour, welfare, management and training then take a look at what we have to offer.

We have a load more courses being added soon.

Exciting times 🎉

🎉 NEW COURSES - NEW WEBSITE! 🎉

Exciting news! 🌟 We’ve just launched our brand-new website, featuring an amazing collection of online, instant-access courses on animal science, welfare, behaviour, and management. 🐾📚

Our courses offer incredible value, packed with expert insights and practical knowledge to enhance your skills and career in the animal care field. 🌟

To celebrate, we’re offering an exclusive sale! 🎊 Get £100s off on our new courses until 12th July. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to expand your knowledge and skills! 🚀

Check out the new courses now: https://the-nac.co.uk

20/11/2023

The NAC is a multi-accredited education provider within the animal behaviour and welfare sector. As tutors on the NAC courses, we take pride in providing education to our students to the highest standards.

We are passionate about providing education on a wide range of topics across the animal industries and as we are currently developing more courses to be released soon, we thought it would be a good idea to share why it is that we are so passionate about what we do.

We are passionate about providing pathways into the industry and increasing the number of suitably qualified and accredited professionals that can help improve the standards of animal welfare on an industry-wide scale.

We are lucky within this field to have The Animal Behaviour and Training Council, a voluntary regulatory body that provides industry-recognised standards across the behaviour and training sector for all manner of roles. With these high standards comes the requirement for a high standard of education to meet them.

There are a handful of recognised courses ranging from accredited courses to higher education degrees and there are also a number of organisations that can provide a recognised assessment pathway to getting onto the ABTC register.

However, compared to the availability and different types of courses on offer in other industries, there is still a distinct lack in the animal behaviour and welfare sector.

We are working with Ofqual-regulated awarding bodies such as NOCN and industry-recognised bodies such as the ABTC to produce courses that help students learn applied science relevant to their desired profession.

It is our aim to provide courses that not only provide students with high standards of education specific to our industry, but are also accredited by multiple bodies, with certain courses going further and providing a pathway to practitioner registration with the ABTC.

02/11/2023

Ever thought about becoming a certified horse trainer but not sure where to start? Take a look at our new equine training instructor diploma. The first ABTC recognised and UKRS accredited Level 4 equivalent course that teaches you how to teach owners and professionals to train horses using the scien...

19/10/2023

What Is Equine Learning Theory?

Equine learning theory is a branch of animal behaviour which focuses on understanding how horses learn, process information and adapt their behaviour based on different encounters. When something in their environment changes, like a sound or action, it's called a stimulus. Understanding the principles of learning theory helps people train and communicate with their horses better, making their experiences more positive.

Here are some key aspects of equine learning theory which are often applied in horse training:

Habituation: Horses habituate to a repetitive, non-threatening stimulus, becoming less responsive to it over time. This adaptation helps them filter out irrelevant information and, simply put, the horse just ‘gets used to it’. An example of this is a horse that gets used to traffic noise next to his field.

Sensitisation: This refers to an increase in a horse's response to a particular stimulus after repeated exposure. Although it can lead to heightened reactivity or fearfulness towards that stimulus, sensitisation can also be applied in horse training to make a horse more responsive to cues or aids, such as a leg aid.

Classical Conditioning: Horses can associate neutral stimuli with specific outcomes and, over time, develop anticipatory responses. An example of this is ‘loading a clicker’. Initially, the sound of the clicker is neutral and carries no meaning. However, after a while, the horse learns to make the link between the noise of the clicker and the arrival of food.

Operant Conditioning: This term describes a process where behavior is strengthened or weakened by consequences. Behaviours followed by rewards are likely to be repeated, while those followed by punishments are less likely to recur. In this way, behaviour is shaped through these consequences. An example of this is a pony that gains access to extra grass by breaking through the fence – the more successful she is each time, the more likely she is to try again in the future.

Generalisation: The process of generalisation refers to a horse's ability to apply knowledge or skills learned in one context to new and similar situations. It reflects the horse's capacity to transfer its understanding from one experience to another, like learning a canter transition in one corner of the school and transferring that learning to another corner of the school.

Understanding equine learning theory is crucial for effective training, communication and establishing a positive relationship between humans and horses. It helps trainers design appropriate and ethical training methods that consider the horse's cognitive abilities, motivation and natural behaviours. Incorporating these principles allows trainers and handlers to work effectively with horses, fostering a more cooperative partnership.

11/07/2023

Alex is a qualified animal behaviourist and saddle fitter, working under referral for over 10 veterinary practices across the South East, helping owners to resolve behavioural issues in their horses (or dogs). He specialises in working with vets to resolve behavioural issues where there is a strong medical component (such as an ill-fitting saddle).





Alex Le Grand - Animal Behaviourist & Saddle Fitter

26/06/2023

I'm pleased to announce that I am now registered as a qualified saddle fitter on the Equine Fitters Directory.

I'm really pleased to see an independent body dedicated to the regulation (albeit voluntary) of the industry.

I qualified formally back in 2020 as a Level 4 Advanced Fitter and a Level 5 Educator and Assessor in 2021. However, the Equine Fitters Directory only launched a very short while ago and it's great that there are multiple education providers that have been recognised during the process.

https://www.equinefittersdirectory.org/directory/alex-le-grand/

15/06/2023

05/02/2023

Really good write up from International Academy of Saddle Fitters on the use of half pads.

From a behavioural perspective, there are many horses that I have worked with who have generalised the association of the saddle as a whole to the anticipation of pain from a previous injury, medical component or ill-fitting saddle which then causes problematic behaviour.

At this point, it's gone beyond just fixing the saddle and making sure it is fitting correctly, as the horse is now associating the saddle as a whole with the anticipation of pain and just making the pain go away doesn't stop the behavioural issue.

To stop the saddle feeling similar, I sometimes might put a half pad underneath to dry and distribute the pressure and reduce the horse's ability to feel the two very defined panels of the saddle on their back.

It's great to see research coming out that helps to shine a new light on various aspects of saddle fitting. It's even better that a training provider is sharing this information!

This can be a controversial topic in the saddle fitting world and there are lots of opinions on the use of saddle pads. The main purpose of the saddle is to distribute the weight of the rider and minimise pressure points and peak forces on the horses back. In simple terms high pressure equals bad .....

24/12/2022

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thank you to all my clients for this year! It's been a great one and I am looking forward to seeing you all next year.

10/12/2022

Who am I?

I am a qualified animal behaviourist and saddle fitter. I work under referral for over 10 veterinary practices across the South East, helping owners to resolve behavioural issues in their horses (or dogs). I specialise in working with vets to resolve behavioural issues where there is a strong medical component (such as an ill-fitting saddle!).

As well as offering behavioural consultations, I offer groundwork training and teach lessons on the importance of behaviour and biomechanics and how improving your position within the saddle as well as your understanding of how your aids impact your horse's behaviour, can improve your horse's performance under saddle.

I specialise in working with 'difficult to fit' horses or cases where the saddle is part of a behavioural or medical issue. Common cases include working with horses who display unwanted behaviours under saddle, and working to resolve these issues with both remedial fitting and the implementation of a behaviour modification programme. Another common case is fitting to aid the redevelopment of muscle and topline where previous saddles have, perhaps, contributed towards muscle atrophy (muscle wastage). I am also an Assessor and Educator for the IASF and lecture on their saddle fitting pathway courses.

Finally, in Nov 2021 I took ownership and became the managing director at the Natural Animal Centre. We run a mixture of accredited and non-accredited courses on animal behaviour for owners and professionals alike.

My Qualifications and Accreditations are as follows:
- BSc (Hons) Animal Behaviour & Welfare
- IAABC Certified Horse Behaviour Consultant
- ABTC Registered Accredited Animal Behaviourist
- ABTC Registered Animal Training Instructor
- Registered as a Qualified Fitter on the Equine Fitters Directory
- IASF Level 4 Advanced Saddle Fitter
- IASF Level 5 Assessor and Educator
- ISES Practitioner Member
- APBC Provisional Member

If you have any questions or would like help with your horse's behaviour or saddle, please get in touch.

04/12/2022

Great day tutoring for the International Academy of Saddle Fitters 👍

24/11/2022

We are getting very close to our start date! Tutors and students alike are super excited!

We would like to take a moment to thank everyone that's come on board for this first year of the Equine Training Instructor Diploma. We have been blown away by how many of you have joined us, we have far surpassed the goal we had for first year student numbers and we are very grateful.

People have joined us from all over the world (Australia, Canada, USA, and from around the UK!) for so many reasons, from BHS coaches taking it for professional and knowledge development, owners wanting to learn more about their horses and behaviour professionals taking advantage the courses ABTC recognition and Animal Training Instructor standard to add to their CV and allow them on to the ABTC register.

With only 1 week left until enrolment closes, we still have a few places left for this year's class. If you've been umm-ing and arr-ing if you want to join or if you have only just found out about the ETI this is your final chance to dive head first into the equine behaviour industry. Head over to our website and book a call to find out if this is the course for you!

https://naturalanimalcentre.org/animal-behaviour-courses-2/becomehorse-trainer/

22/11/2022

I am very proud not only to have been one of the original students with this fantastic organisation but to also tutor on the saddle fitting pathway and owner courses.

It is so fantastic to be part of a saddle fitting training provider that wants to get the help and knowledge of an ABTC Registered Accredited Behaviourist. There are very few organisations that do this and in today's world where 95% of the ridden cases I see are to do with poor saddle fit, it's vital that there is education at the source.

If you are looking for more information on saddle fit as a horse owner or you are looking to train as a saddle fitter, look no further than the International Academy of Saddle Fitters.

06/09/2022

Brilliant post from Catherine at Thinking Horsemanship. There are too many people who think that getting a behaviourist out is 'unnecessary' or that they 'know what they'll say already'.

Just as you wouldn't expect your farrier to look at your horses teeth, don't expect riding instructors (who are great at their job, teaching you to ride) and/or don't expect that just because you are an excellent, well-established rider, that you don't need a behaviourist if your horse starts to display problematic unwanted behaviours.

Our job is to look a the cause and work our way up, not just train or treat the symptoms.

But I’m An Experienced Rider, I Don’t Need A Behaviourist, Right? (TL;DR Wrong)

There can be a bit of a stigma attached to the idea of needing a behaviourist. Maybe it’s ok to need one if you are a novice, or under-confident. But not if you are experienced, confident and have got a sufficiently good seat that you can stay on while all manner of “bad behaviour” goes on underneath you.

But maybe it’s not about you.

Maybe it is more of a welfare issue for your horse.

When a behaviourist comes to visit your horse it is not to criticise, or be a better rider, or to take the place of a riding instructor, or to provide alternative means of controlling your horse. Instead we think about what might be causing the horse to behave in that manner.

When horses behave in a way that is potentially dangerous to humans - bucking, rearing, biting, kicking, bolting - it is commonly because they are shouting that they cannot cope with something life is throwing at them. As a novice, nervous rider you might feel out of your depth fairly early on when a horse does this and ask for help. But it is less common for a confident, more experienced rider to do so - you can sit to these behaviours and wait for the horse to concede. And your “stickability” is impressive! But it is still worth taking a step back to ask what it is that the horse is trying to tell us.

Maybe the horse is struggling with something in the home environment or a lifestyle that does not meet the horse’s ethological needs. Maybe there is a pain or dietary issue, maybe there is a fear issue. Or many other examples. Often we think the horse is being silly or naughty but to the contrary, more likely that the horse is trying really hard to suppress his or her concerns - because, let’s face it, that is what the equine industry expects most horses to do. But as with humans, when we suppress our concerns, there is a knock-on effect on our mental health.

The behaviourist would help to unpick all these issues. We assess the environment and lifestyle and identify improvements that could help the horse. We work through possible causes of the horse’s concerns and establish what the horse is genuinely ok with - without suppressing anything - and help to recreate a training program that respects what the horse is emotionally ready for.

Recognising whether a horse is experiencing fear and stress is not something that we are usually taught. It is not part of normal riding instruction. It’s not part of stable management lessons. At the very most you may be taught how to deal with the “problems” that the behavioural manifestations of undiagnosed fear and stress cause. And in a study I did with some colleagues, it turned out that experienced and/or professional equestrians are not necessarily better at recognising fear and stress than anyone else (Bell, Rogers, Taylor, Busby, 2019, https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/12/1124/htm).

So learning about behaviour is not just for novices and people who don't have the skills to control a horse who is “behaving badly”. It is for anyone who is even trying to control a horse who is "behaving badly”, for anyone who needs to learn that horses don’t “behave badly”, for anyone who cares about the welfare of their horses, for anyone with the humility to recognise that we need to listen more attentively to the emotional needs of our horses. That’s pretty much everyone.

26/08/2022

We are 1 week away from enrolment for our brand new diploma formally opening! Enrolment opens on the 1st September. If you missed the early bird discount, don't worry - you still have some time to sign up before the early-bird price goes away!

Ready to start your horse training career and get onto the ABTC register? Don't delay - sign up today!

https://naturalanimalcentre.org/animal-behaviour-courses-2/becomehorse-trainer/

22/07/2022

Very excited about this one! Come and join us and learn to become an equine training instructor. To top it all off, become ABTC registered at the same time.

You must have at least one year's experience working in the equine industry or owning/caring for horses full-time and/or give proof of a relevant level 3 equivalent qualification.

07/07/2022

Irritating post alert...

I have never had to post about this one before but it seems to be a reoccurring issue and as a small business, it could become problematic if it starts to pile up.

Payment terms on our website state that session payment is due before or on the day of the session. I invoice for all sessions, often prior to the session or on the day of the session.
If for any reason there is a delay in invoicing then payment is expected on receipt of that invoice.

In some circumstances, extended payment terms are agreed with clients because, at the end of the day, I provide services that are often critical to animal welfare. I would hate for any animal to be denied behavioural help or saddle fitting help as a result of financial uncertainty.

However, I currently have over £1.2k of invoices outstanding, some of them over 2 weeks overdue despite automated invoice reminders being sent out and polite chasing on my part.

I regularly purchase tack on behalf of clients as agreed beforehand and bring them to a session to be purchased. However, there are a number of people in the last 3 weeks that have 'bought' the item but have not yet paid. This obviously leaves the books unbalanced.

Please can I ask that people pay their invoices on time. You wouldn't be able to walk into the supermarket and assure them you'll pay later, so please don't expect the same from me.

30/06/2022

Just a quick note about flocking...

I recently saw a saddle that had the capacity to fit the horse well, however due to the awful old flocking in the saddle, it was slipping to the right, hurting the rider's back, limiting the horse's extension and range of motion in the shoulders, etc.

The saddle hadn't ever been completely reflocked in 6 years. Not only this, but when I completed the reflock, I pulles out many different variations of synthetic and real white wool. Stuff that looked good and also stuff that looked like it had just come out of hobbycraft.

When you are getting your saddle checked by your fitter... please ensure you know what flocking goes in your saddle and ensure that any top ups are completed with the same type of flocking, i.e. you cannot put white wool and jacobs wool in the same saddle as they have completely different densities and respond differently to the pressure of the rider and horse.

Please also ensure that your flocking is checked and completely re-flocked regularly to keep your saddle as even and balanced as possible.

This saddle was re-fitted following the reflock and the rider could have been convinced she was sitting in a different saddle. Horse was no longer reluctant, horse was happy, moving well and the rider had no back pain.

The image below shows the balled up lumpy stuff that was pulled out.

31/05/2022

Exciting Update! Launching TODAY, you will be able to purchase the Equiculture Sustainable Horsekeeping Course on our new custom-built NAC LMS Platform. View the courses available here: https://naturalanimalcentre.org/animalbehaviourcourses The course is for anyone who owns one or more horses/ponies...

29/05/2022

Exciting Update!

We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Equiculture. Jane and Stuart have been hard at work bringing their courses over to our new NAC Learning Platform.

Launching this week, you will be able to purchase both the Equicentral AND The Horse Rider's Mechanic Courses from our learning platform.

We are especially excited as these two courses fit very nicely with our ethos of...
..Positively Influencing the Wellbeing of Animals Worldwide...

Thank you to Jane and Stuart at Equiculture for trusting us with their fantastic courses.

We also have a number of VERY exciting new courses launching very soon. Please keep an eye on your inbox if you are signed up to our mailing list, and this page to be sure to hear as soon as the new courses launch very soon!

For now, thank you all for your patience in waiting for our new suite of courses to be released.

The NAC Team

25/05/2022

Hi All,

I am currently booking for July and August with very few spaces left in June so if you need saddle checks or sessions soon please get in touch so you don't miss out.

I am getting very few last minute sessions coming up so booking further in advance is best.

Thank you!

30/03/2022

What does a clicker trained loader look like?

Well, it looks like this... 👇👇

24/03/2022

THE BACC IS RECRUITING!

Over the next week, we will post job adverts for a variety of exciting voluntary roles to find some fabulous people to join us - helping animals to help humans.

Volunteering helps animals and humans lead fulfilling lives – and it has many personal and professional benefits for the volunteer, too. Volunteers can peek into potential fields of interest, develop practical skills, and work their way into paid positions in animal welfare organizations. Also, volunteering allows you to use your areas of expertise and experience to help a charity that would not otherwise have access to those values.

See the influence you can make first-hand, rather than funding others to do it for you. Look out for our volunteer vacancy posts over the next week.

17/03/2022

I am a third-year BSc (Hons) Animal Behaviour & Welfare student and this questionnaire is part of my dissertation.
I am investigating the public perception of the impact of saddle fit on the behaviour of horses.
To complete this questionnaire, you must be 18+.
It should take approximately 5 minutes to complete this questionnaire, and all responses collection will remain anonymous in guidance with GDPR regulations.
Please feel free to share far and wide!

I am a third year BSc (Hons) Animal Behaviour & Welfare student with Kingston University. This questionnaire is part of my dissertation. I am investigating the public perception of the impact of saddle fit on the behaviour of horses. To complete this questionnaire, you must be 18+. It should take ap...

09/03/2022

Thank you to the International Academy of Saddle Fitters for asking me to contribute to their recent blog post.

We all love our horses and the last thing we want to do is see them in pain. We are very quick to whip out the first aid box or call the vet when there is a visible injury (like a cut) but many horse owners overlook a much more sinister injury – the trauma caused by an ill-fitting saddle. In this ...

03/03/2022

I enjoy varied days like today. Lots of behaviour work and saddle fitting mixed today.

Had this great loading session with Pepper who until last session took quite a bit of time and coercion to get her onto the trailer.

We spent the first session on Sunday dealing with the fear element, counter conditioning with rewards and habituating her to the trailer calmly and gently and by the end of Sunday's session she was walking on and off happily.

Today we picked up where we left off and she left today's session being loaded confidently with her owner.

22/02/2022

*Bookings*

Hi All - Quick note to say I am pretty much nearly fully booked for March and quite a bit of April. Now taking advanced bookings for both saddle fit and behaviour sessions for May.

If you would like a session - please can I ask that you get in touch sooner rather than later so that I can try and fit everyone and so that you're not disappointed when I can't fit you in.

I do my best to fit everyone in and give people the earliest slot available, however, it's become increasingly difficult simply due to clients asking for short-notice sessions. I will always squeeze someone in if I can and I always block out certain times during the week for the inevitable 'emergency' behaviour case but if you could give me as much notice as possible that would be great.

Thank you!