Foundation Equine Training

07/10/2025

🌟 10 Things I Won’t Teach or Tolerate — Rule #5 🌟
Whips Aren’t Weapons

Whips are an extension of the rider’s arm — not a cudgel for punishment. I will never teach or tolerate people whacking their horse because it “did something wrong.” That’s not training. That’s confusion, escalation, and poor welfare.

Here’s the reality: a whip is a precision tool. It lets you safely touch a part of the horse’s body you can’t reach with your hand, encourage a bit more lift in a leg, refine a step, or shift weight sideways. It’s an instructional aid — not an instrument of revenge.

Using the whip as punishment makes no sense, and often makes things worse. If a horse is tense, scared, or already doing something you don’t want, hitting it will raise its arousal, erode trust, and teach the horse that the world (and you) are unpredictable. You’ll get speed, shut-down, or panic — not learning.

And the “that’ll teach it” whack after the fact? Practically useless. If anything, you may be reinforcing the unwanted response because you’re cuing a reaction that’s already in the horse’s repertoire (for example, a kick). Training to evoke a kick is different to punishing a kick — punishment here is nonsensical and cruel.

So: use the whip to clarify, shape, and guide. Never to punish. If you feel the whip is needed because something “went wrong,” stop, analyse why, and retrain the response calmly and systematically. That’s actual horsemanship.

07/10/2025

03/10/2025

🌟 10 Things I Won’t Teach or Tolerate — Rule #3 🌟
Ditch the Dominance

Dominance theory has no place in modern horse training. It’s been debunked time and time again — yet I still hear people say things like “You need to be the alpha mare” or “That horse doesn’t respect you.”

Here’s the truth: horses don’t live in a rigid, army-style hierarchy with a “grand chief” at the top and everyone else ranked neatly below. Their social structure is fluid. Horse A might push Horse B off the hay pile, but Horse C can turn around and push Horse A away in another situation. It’s context-dependent, not a fixed rank.

So when humans claim we need to “show dominance,” it’s both inaccurate and harmful. It’s preposterous to think your horse would mistake you for another horse — let alone an “alpha mare.”

And the welfare risks are serious. Framing behaviours as “dominance” usually leads to blaming the horse and justifying the use of force: hitting, chasing, yanking, intimidating. That’s not training. That’s abuse dressed up as horsemanship.

👉 If a horse steps into your space, he’s not being dominant. He simply hasn’t learned to stand still. The answer isn’t to “dominate” him — it’s to train him, calmly and clearly, until he understands what’s being asked.

Science-backed training replaces myths with clarity. It takes away the blame and builds better relationships. Let’s leave dominance theory in the past where it belongs.

02/10/2025

01/10/2025

🌟 10 Things I Won’t Teach or Tolerate — Rule #2 🌟
Spin Class Is Cancelled

One thing you’ll never see me teach is turning your horse in a circle to stop it.

Think about it: for centuries, horses carried us into battle, across continents, through hunts and competitions — and not once did anyone need to spin them in circles to stop. The whole idea of “disengaging the hind leg” by yanking a horse around is a modern invention, and honestly? It’s one of the worst habits I see riders pick up.

Here’s why:
👉 You can’t do it on a hillside, in a hunt field, or in a competition arena.
👉 It’s unsafe — horses often start linking spinning with fear, and some will even begin spinning on their own.
👉 You’re actually more likely to fall off in a circle than you are in a straight line.

Yes, I teach an emergency stop. But it does not involve spinning your horse around. If your horse can’t stop in a straight line, it’s not properly broken in. Period.

Keep the line. Keep the training clear. And please — stop the spin. 💯

30/09/2025

29/09/2025

🌟 10 Things I Won’t Teach or Tolerate — Rule #1 🌟
Stroke It, Don’t Poke It

One of the biggest myths in horse training is that banging a horse on the neck is a reward. You’ve all seen it: bang, bang, bang after a test or round, as if the horse is supposed to know that means “good job.”

But let’s stop and think about it. A naïve, unhandled horse — one that hasn’t been taught to “put up with” human habits — doesn’t find a thump on the neck comforting. In fact, most find it aversive. Over time they may learn to tolerate it… but tolerance is not the same as reward.

What do horses actually seek? Comfort. Connection. Out in the paddock, horses don’t go around whacking each other — they rub and scratch. This is called allo-grooming, and it’s their natural way of saying “I like you” or “well done.” That’s the kind of reinforcement they truly value.

🔬 And science backs this up. Researchers reviewing footage of horses being patted hard on the neck after dressage tests found the horses often accelerated away from the pats — a clear sign they weren’t enjoying it. At best, a hard pat might act as a “safety signal,” but it’s certainly not soothing or rewarding.

So what should we do instead?
✅ Start young horses with calm rubbing and stroking until they relax into it.
✅ Scratch at the wither area until they show signs they’d like to groom you back — that’s when real bonding happens.
✅ Pair that with a soft “good boy” or “good girl” so the horse begins to associate your voice with comfort and dopamine release.

There’s little to no evidence that a whack on the neck is ever rewarding for a horse. Stroking, rubbing, scratching — those are the reinforcers that work with the horse’s brain and body.

✨ True horsemen know this. And if we want to train ethically, we should too.

23/09/2025

The 13 Second Rule - Learn It

When a horse startles, their orienting reflex kicks in - they shoot up to 18hh, lock onto the source, and you swear you can feel their heart pounding through your saddle. Then comes the investigatory reflex - ears, eyes, nostrils all screaming: “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!”

Here’s the important risk management bit: horses are actually brilliant at working out if something’s a real threat. What usually screws it up is us. Riders grab, yank, panic, and - congratulations - you’ve just turned a startle into a full-blown rodeo or bolting freak out. That is because your response made the startled horse feel 10000% more threatened.

Dr Andrew McLean showed that if we stay calm, a horse’s heart rate can start lowering in about 13 seconds. That’s it. Thirteen measly seconds. So breathe and start counting, wait for the ear flick or head shift, and only then step in.

Because your calm buys recovery. Your panic buys chaos.

This is Collectable Advice 31/365 – Save it or Share it (no copying and pasting).

IMAGE📸: Incredible image captured by the amazing Lynn Jenkin.

21/09/2025

When confusion shows up as hyperreactive behaviours in various quantities, these are termed conflict behaviours.

It is important to differentiate between conflict behaviours and discomfort behaviours.

Discomfort behaviours are not accompanied by any symptomatic level of hyperreactivity—for example, jaw movements or tail swishing.

Conflict behaviours are the horse’s hyperreactive attempts to resolve conflicting stimuli.

Conflict occurs when the horse is trapped between opposing motivations, creating stress and the motivation to escape, fight, or become apathetic.

Apathy is often the final outcome, when escape or aggression no longer frees the horse from the conflict.

Andrew Mclean - Modern Horse Training: Equitation Science Principles & Practice, Volume 2

16/09/2025

05/09/2025

04/09/2025