01/10/2025
As stewards of the horse, I think we have to be very careful, open minded and non judgemental when we are trying to find things to support and justify our training or management methods. Or when we are trying to help others see that there might be a better way. And that can be hard for a lot of reasons.
Sometimes, we find a trainer or study that supports what we want to believe but, it doesn't always make it right or true. Studies are important and wonderful but, they can also have downfalls. Whether it's because they are done to fit a narrative, who is paying for the study, whether there are too many variables involved, whether the study size is too small, whether new information has since changed old studies, etc.
We have to be willing to admit that we might be wrong and are willing to change what we're doing when that happens, for the benefit of the horse. I have seen that progression first hand in my own training methods. My training methods are vastly different than they were 15 or 20 years ago. My horses and countless hours of research have shown me changes along the way. And many times, I thought I was really on the right track only to have it lead me to another path that led me to another and another.... It is constantly evolving.
My focus for the last several years has been behavior and biomechanics. I use the term biomechanics loosely to also include biotensgrity, fascial work, etc even thought they are all technically a little different. And there is now so much published science behind behavior that we know certain methods and ideas are clearly outdated and ineffective, even abusive in some cases. But there are still no black and white with some of it, behavior or biomechanics, which can make it difficult at times.
Let me give you an example with my Arabian gelding Maryak. He is turning 33 this year. I have had him for 21 years. I've been in horses for close to 40 years to put it in perspective. In 21 years, he's been there through a huge evolution in my own training and learning. And he came with his own set of issues when I got him that we had to work through. But he has truly always been a horse worth his weight in gold!
Whatever I asked, he always complied. And therein, looking back, was part of the struggle that I didn't recognize at the time. Compliance is very tricky. There are times we want and/or need compliance in life. Whether it's to treat a horse in an emergency or whether it's trying to get your 10 year old son out the door and off to school on time! Lol!
But we don't want compliance to the point that we shut down individuality or expression. Or send a horse over threshold.
A couple of years ago, Maryak had started doing an interesting behavior during his R+ sessions. When I would click, he would give this little wuffle (a low pitched, rumbling sounding nicker). At first I was puzzled. But, it also seemed adorable! And others thought it was adorable! We all thought, in our very human way because vocalization is a very human thing, that he was happy and it was because he loved R+ and loved the training! He certainly didn't appear to be showing any obvious stress signs. His head wasn't raised, he didn't swish or flick his tail, he wasn't licking, chewing (outside of eating his food) or yawning. And then, fairly soon after, he would seem disinterested in any more food, even high value rewards. I just chalked it up to his brain was full and he was done with training for the day. I know I've certainly felt that way when I'm learning new stuff!
Looking back, I'm just like "duh, Jennifer!" at what was actually going on. And I'm sure others will read this and think "duh!" But, at the time, I hadn't put the pieces together yet. Sometimes, the downside to training your horses by yourself all the time is that you don't see things as obviously as someone else might until much later.
So let's talk a little about vocalization and horses first. In years of watching my own herd, I have noticed that there is actually very little vocalization that goes on in horses that are emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy. (Emotionally, mentally and physically healthy are key....) There are numerous studies of wild horses that corroborate this finding. In a nutshell, horses tend to communicate primarily through energy and body language. It's instinctual for survival.
Humans tend to communicate primarily through vocal language. It's one of the big differences between the species. A human can be saying one thing and their body language is literally saying the exact opposite. That's why we have kinesicists. A kinesicist is someone who studies human body language and interprets body language cues to understand someone's emotions, intentions, and underlying messages. And those may be very different than the words that person may be speaking.
Horses don't do that. What you see is what you get. And sometimes what you don't see is what you get. But that's more often because the human is just not able to see something yet. You know that old saying, once you see it, you can't unsee it? You have to know it first in order to see it. And that's not something to hold against people. They don't know what they don't know. It's why we're constantly trying to educate ourselves. 20 years ago I didn't know half the stuff I know now!
So, even in play, most horses, again, if they are emotionally, mentally and physically healthy, make very little verbal communication.
As I write this, I'm watching three of my horses playing. They are biting, rearing and chasing each other and yet they are not making any vocalizations. In fact, the only time I usually hear my horses vocalize during play is if one of them takes it a little too far and pushes another one over their threshold. Because these three are pretty well adjusted, there is little to no pushing anyone over threshold. They are able to communicate how much or how little they want to play through their energy and their body language.
In general, the only time I usually ever hear vocalization in my herd is when one or more them are stressed and over their threshold. And stress isn't always 'bad'. It's just information. In an emotionally, mentally and physically healthy horse and herd (there's that trio again), they can experience nuanced levels of stress and down regulate themselves. But sometimes bad stress is unavoidable and they can't down regulate in their own. As in the case of Maryak losing his closest companion a few years ago. When I had to put my then 33 year old Arabian mare down, I was unprepared for how stressed Maryak would be over losing her. I knew there would be stress but it was far more than I realized. He has lost two more companions over the years and, each time, I have had the vet sedate him, in addition to other management, to make the transition easier.
So back to Maryak and his wuffle. What I since learned since those initial sessions is that, when he wuffles, he's actually getting close to or going over threshold. Going over threshold can actually be very soft and nuanced. His wuffle was low and fairly quiet. It's not always big, obvious reactions. So, for someone else watching, it could be hard to tell that Maryak was over threshold because, his body can look relaxed. His head is level with his withers, he's got a neutral spinal alignment, he's standing squarely on all four corners (legs), his tail is hanging loosely. For him, the change in his body posture, if I continued to push him, would come AFTER he was already over threshold. The wuffle is his indicator that, mentally, he has reached his threshold.
Part of that is because his 'normal' is a healthy posture. What if you have a horse that does not have a healthy posture? First, it's important to recognize what a healthy posture is. Does your horse have a neutral or negative spinal alignment, meaning is his spine (not the top of his back but his actual spine) more parallel to the ground or does it angle downward, toward the ground, from his pelvis to his withers? Are his four legs vertical, or perpendicular, under the four corners of his body or do they angle forward, backward, in or out? Is his pelvis in flexion or neutral? All of these things are important because it has an effect on the horse's baseline and their threshold. Much in the same way that humans that have chronic pain or discomfort get 'accustomed' to it, horses do too. But, it also means that we, and horses, can handle less stressors before we go over threshold if we live with chronic pain or discomfort and we can be more reactive when we do go over threshold.
I've also seen this in the case of geldings that drop their p***ses during training. There is some controversy going around right now about whether dropping in geldings during R+ training is a good thing or not. My experience has been that it is a sign that the horse is stressed and over threshold. So it's not something I want but, if it happens, it's good information for me that my horse is over threshold and allows me to adjust my training or my management practices. If it's coupled with a horse that has body dysfunction, and therefore some degree of chronic discomfort/pain, it can take even less for them to go over threshold. They can drop fairly early in a training session and stay that way for an extended period of time than a horse that has a healthier body posture. I have one gelding that, due to multiple surgeries to remove multiple melanomas and then being out of work for an extended period of time, ended up having a lot of body dysfunction. He had always had a naturally very healthy body posture. When we first started back in to work, it didn't take much for him to go over threshold and drop his p***s. He never did that before the surgeries. As his body started getting healthier again, he started dropping less and less. He's just one example. But, several geldings that I have seen that drop during training also have significant body dysfunction. Is there a correlation? I think so, but that's just my opinion and my experience. I haven't looked to see if there are any actual studies to back that up. Maybe I should do one?
There are far more and far varied nuances to body language in horses than any one person or any one study can know. I know some truly amazing horse people that are very gifted at reading equine body language and know a ton but, I don't know a single person that knows and understands every single aspect of equine body language 100% of the time. Partly because we're not horses and partly because what is not normal for horses has been normalized for so long that people think it's normal when it's not.
So where does this leave us? I thought I was on the right track when my horse gave me a certain behavior but, I have since learned that I was not. So that led me on to another path and another and another.........
Offering private instruction and clinics in Equine behavior, biomechanics and Dressage.
