Horseways

06/12/2023

Inga diskussioner om utrustning eller hård ridning 😀

Dags för sista showen ikväll då för mig och Glimt🫶🤩
Tack för bilden 🙏

05/12/2023

HÄSTFÖRETAGARFORUM 22 februari | Svenska Mässan, Göteborg 22 februari | Svenska Mässan, Göteborg För och med företagare i hästvärlden Hästföretagarforum arrangeras varje år i samband med Gothenburg Horse Show och EuroHorse och vänder sig till alla som är intresserade av företagande i...

05/12/2023

The old food debate

The photo shows my dog's (Mac the Doberperson) reaction to the verbal command 'sit' with and without the addition of positive reinforcement in the form of food (a pig's ear, yum). Other than the fact that he's performing the requested behaviour in the second photo, what's the main difference between the two?

I've increased his emotional level, yes? He's more focused in the food photo. It was good news when I was training Mac - food was very rewarding for him, it raised his emotional level and got him into the engagement zone. He would trial behaviours almost faster than I could request them - sit, down, up, shake, talk; his entire repertoire would come out in seconds (it wasn't that big!).

Food is very motivating for a dog because they are programmed that way. In the wild, where food is scarce, a wild dog can eat 2kg of meat in 15 minutes (actually I think Mac attempted this every evening with his dinner). They don't know where their next meal is coming from - this makes food very motivating.

Horses, on the other hand, graze for 17 hours a day. Umm, that might make food a little less motivating for them, no? Even the loveliest bit of carrot or handful of oats will never motivate the horse in the same way as almost any type of food does the dog.

I'm not suggesting that you never use food to train your horse, not at all, I use it myself for some things. I'm simply opening the discussion about the pros and cons of it; what we can and can't do with food.

Next time I'll go into this with some examples but in the meantime, pop down to the comments and tell me if you use food to train your horse and if so what behaviours, in particular, do you use food for?

Kandoo Equine - creating calm and confident riding partners
Visit https://www.kandooequine.com/

04/12/2023

04/12/2023

Great to see some riders out being VERY VISIBLE in the village. Nice to see the younger rider between the two adults and with an adult leader. Safer for all.
And drivers reacting appropriately 🙂

04/12/2023

Separation Anxiety

When I asked you to tell me what you were having trouble with or what you'd most like to work on with your horse, anxiety came top of the list.

It seems many of you have horses that are anxious and you're not always sure how to best deal with it.

Anxiety manifests in many ways and this time I'm going to talk about the horse that hates to be left alone or the 'barn sour' horse, suffering from separation anxiety. I received various questions around this theme, including the horse that rears and spins when it can't see its paddock mates, the horse that calls out when ridden alone and a number that didn't want to be left alone in the paddock. They are all basically the same problem and there are a few things you can do immediately to start to ease the problem.

Again, we have to break it down as much as we can for the horse so first of all, we need to know exactly what's causing the problem. Let's say it's the lack of 'friends in sight'. Work out how far from the paddock mate your horse is happy to be without getting anxious and then start there. Breaking it down means that you work your horse where it's comfortable and then move a little further away (not much!) and work him/her until they're comfortable there and so on.

You must have the horse mentally engaged in the lesson. If he/she is thinking about their mates back in the stable and not how interesting your lesson is then you won't be successful. Think of it as a great challenge to be the best possible teacher you can be. Lift your energy and praise to help engage the horse.

Despite using a ton of positive reinforcement, I rarely train with food treats and this is one situation in which I would keep food away. An already anxious horse is not going to want food and it will only serve to confuse the issue. Stick with a clear pressure-release-reward sequence with lots of praise and scratching for rewards after your release.

I'll talk about the food reward a bit more next time but in the meantime, what are your thoughts on it? Leave me a comment below and let me know.

Does your horse shy, spook or suffer from anxiety at times? Help him/he out with this FREE Workshop: https://www.kandooequine.com/gold

03/12/2023

I tider där vattenbrist blir allt vanligare behöver vi lära oss hur vi säkerställer vatten till våra hästar. Nu finns en möjlighet att..

02/12/2023

What is desensitisation?

You can desensitise a horse to something he or she finds offensive (like aerosols, or clippers).

Habituation, where the horse no longer reacts to something, is the learning process behind desensitisation.

Techniques include methodologies like approach conditioning (chasing scary objects), gradual desensitisation, and overshadowing.

Our short course: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 is an essential one-hour theory-based course for riders, coaches and trainers of all levels and disciplines.

Providing you with a thorough introduction to how horses learn, as well as equine ethology and biomechanics, this equine course, How Horses Learn is designed to teach you the fundamentals of successful horse training.

it is an interesting and enjoyable journey with interactive features, animations and knowledge checks throughout.

Topics covered include:
- Desensitising.
- Pressure-release.
- Positive and negative reinforcement.
- Classical conditioning.
- The horse's mind.
- Differences between horses and humans.

https://esi-education.com/courses/how-horses-learn/

02/12/2023

Dark breeches are to be allowed in competition in a move aimed at "breaking down barriers" to participation... what do you think of the change?

Read more via link below

01/12/2023

PLEASE DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!

This is being shared in various groups. I am fairly certain this isn't new and has done the rounds before!

THIS IS NOT SCIENCE! 😱
THIS IS NOT EVIDENCE! 😱
THIS IS NOT ETHICAL! 😱

There is NO EVIDENCE THAT double cream is an effective treament for acute laminitis based on observations in one horse and one pony! The conclusion in this "abstract" is not valid.

If you suspect acute laminitis >>>>> GET A VETERINARY DIAGNOSIS!

To "experiment" with non-evidence-based treatments in severe and painfull conditions such as laminitis is cruel and will likely cause uneccesary suffering.

01/12/2023

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01/12/2023

Svenska Ridsportförbundets genomför en enkätundersökning för att ta reda på bilden av ridläraryrket bland unga hästintresserade. Är du mellan 16-27 år vill vi ha ditt svar!

30/11/2023

📸 Visa det här inlägget på Facebook https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/equine-ethics-and-wellbeing-commission-report-presentation-fei-general-assembly-844596?fbclid=IwAR3gIGxzOUYb1l5OSxsdhlG-fXzIWWSJ8wIv0VKgHsfvku7qjhxwmuBAndg_aem_AY8-h-XFqEkBzTYf8Dat1eRIc4uhldGb0sBJVGEpZkfZxddb6Oms0nj7FdxUImbm-2E

A blueprint for the way forward to ensure the future of equestrian sport was set out at the FEI general assembly, following 18 months of work and research by leading figures. Professor Natalie Waran presented the FEI-appointed Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission’s (EEWC) final report at the gen...

29/11/2023

Nu är det en dryg vecka sedan ”Helgstrand-gate” slog till och hästsportmedia har knappt skrivit om något annat under den gångna veckan. Även i nationell stormedia har nyheten uppmärksammats stort, bland annat med den här utmärkta debattartikeln av sportjournalisten Malin Fransson på DN (länk längst ner). Svenska TV4 meddelar idag att de har köpt in rättigheterna och kommer att sända dokumentären i sin helhet.

Kommer du att titta? Varför eller varför inte? Och vilka konsekvenser hoppas du på att dokumentären ska ge för hästsporten? Kommentera gärna.

Länk till Malin Franssons inlägg i DN: https://www.dn.se/sport/malin-fransson-ar-det-ratt-att-anvanda-hastar-i-sportsammanhang/

Om TV4:s sändning (datum har ej meddelats): https://www.tidningenridsport.se/operation-x-visas-i-sverige/

29/11/2023

During our time running the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre, we had many horses that we had to fix floating/trailer issues; they pawed, kicked, scrambled, panicked, some laid down, some would not load, some would rush out, and others would not get out at all.

Besides analyzing their behaviour problems, we also considered the basic responses of these horses in-hand and under-saddle from a clinical perspective.

People would say "Oh, he's crazy, hates the float, doesn't want to leave home" etc etc, instead of just saying he actually doesn't lead forward into the float." When we can recognise the actual behaviour for what it is, developing training strategies is simple.

- Dr Andrew McLean, CEO of ESI

29/11/2023

Plus originalkommentarer 😊

29/11/2023

Shivers – what is it?
There is a disease that right now poses a far greater threat to the future of sporthorse breeding than WFFS ever did, a disease that is spread through some of the most famous, and most used, sporthorse breeding lines. Find out more:
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2023/11/shivers-the-disease-that-threatens-sporthorse-breeding/

29/11/2023

Kul affärsidé! 😀

28/11/2023

Det svenska samhället förlorar 54 miljarder kronor på varje årskull av ungdomar som inte tar gymnasieexamen. Det visar en uträkning i en ny rapport.
- Bygger vi starka och trygga barn, behöver vi inte fixa så många vuxna, säger Stina Liljekvist som är ordförande i Skandias stiftelse Idéer för livet i TV4-nyheterna.

Det finns flera framgångsrika exempel på hästunderstött lärande som bidrar till att fler unga klarar skolan. Ett exempel är Lära med hästarar som fick ta emot priset “Årets idé för livet” av Stiftelsen Idéer för livet 2022. Utbildningen har hästen som lärare och innefattar övningar som barn och häst gör tillsammans. Utifrån utvecklad metodik och framtaget utbildningsmaterial strävar Lära med hästar att nå ut till bland annat skolor runt om i hela Sverige. Heja er!

28/11/2023

Change and learning

Often, with learning, comes change. It's that change that's the hard part, of course.

Over the last 20 years, I've changed a lot about what I do with horses, how I train, manage and ride my horses as well as what I teach and how I teach it. I've moved from taking horses in for training to 100% teaching owners to train their own horses. I've almost stopped teaching or indeed using the round-pen at liberty because it's so difficult to teach people not to chase the horse. I've removed various bits of my bridle, haha, often taking the scissors to the leather before putting it on the horse. I've also removed various words from my training vocabulary. I've forced myself to question, examine, test and measure everything I do with my horses and everything I teach and changed anything that didn't stack up in favour of the horse.

Isn't that the wonderful thing about learning? The fact that we can grow, change and improve?

What have you changed? Pop a comment below - let's make a list. The beneficiaries are the horses.

Dr Kate Fenner - equine scientist, researcher and horse trainer: https://www.kandooequine.com/premier-about-kate