EquestrianTraining.com

10/02/2025

DO HORSES REALLY ENJOY BEING TOUCHED, OR JUST TOLERATE IT?

Touch is part of almost every interaction we have with horses – grooming, routine handling, tacking-up, vet visits, even a pat after a ride. Touch is also a routine feature of equine-assisted services, yet surprisingly little is known about how horses themselves experience it. Do they actually enjoy it, or does their experience depend on having the choice to engage – the freedom to say yes, or no?

A recent study compared two situations using therapy horses who were regularly involved in equine-assisted services. In the ‘forced touch’ condition, horses were tied up and touched continuously on different body areas (neck/shoulder, body, hindquarters) using patting, stroking, or scratching. In the ‘free-choice’ condition, horses were loose in a round pen and could only be touched if they chose to come close enough.

The results showed clear differences. Horses showed more stress-linked behaviours – oral movements, restlessness, and tail swishing – when touched without the option to move away. When free to choose, they often carried their heads lower (a sign of relaxation) and spent over half of the session out of arm’s reach. Stroking was more often linked with relaxed, low head carriage than scratching or patting, and touches on the hindquarters produced fewer stress responses than touches on the neck or body.

The researchers also looked at how the horses responded to different kinds of people. Around experienced handlers, horses were more likely to hold their heads high and showed lower heart-rate variability – signs of vigilance or anticipation, perhaps expecting work. In contrast, their responses with less experienced people were generally more relaxed.

Touches on the hindquarters were linked with fewer stress behaviours, while touches on the neck and body produced more tail swishing and less relaxed postures. Horses were also more likely to lower their heads – a calmer signal – when touched on the body or hindquarters than on the neck.

Why does this matter? Horses in all kinds of contexts – riding schools, competition yards, therapy programmes, or leisure homes – are routinely touched and handled. These findings show that the manner of touch, the part of the body involved, and above all the horse’s ability to choose whether to participate all shape how she/he/they experience the interaction.

The welfare implications are clear: allowing horses more agency in how and when we touch them may reduce stress, strengthen trust, and make interactions safer and more positive for everyone.

For me, the sad part of these findings is that horses are rarely given a choice about when or how they are touched. And many people don’t recognise when touch is causing the horse stress.

Study: Sarrafchi, A., Lassallette, E., & Merkies, K. (2025). The effect of choice on horse behaviour, heart rate and heart rate variability during human–horse touch interactions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science

09/23/2025

The toxicity of the “ride them through it” and “be a gritty rider” mindset…

The horse world has built a culture around the idea that the epitome of being a good rider is being able to ride a horse through anything.

A refusal to get off.

That endangering yourself (and in many cases, also the horse) is a badge of honour.

That it’s an inherently admirable trait to evade groundwork and try to do everything from in the saddle, even when the horse is showing you that they are struggling.

This belief system has led to many people growing up putting themselves in unnecessarily dangerous situations with their horses.

I was one of those people.

I took immense pride in my ability to ride through horses broncing, rearing and otherwise panicking.

I am lucky I didn’t end up with worse injuries than I have. I put myself in a lot of dangerous situations that were avoidable.

All because I was taught a narrative that to get off the horse is to be weak.

That dismounting was a failure. That it was letting the horse “win.”

But, training isn’t a battle.

And if your training resembles a battleground, you’re doing something wrong.

Creating lasting confidence in horses often involves meeting them where they are, not forcing them to work through increasing stress until they either fatigue physically and stop fighting or mentally shutdown.

We should be encouraging riders to know when to stop when they or their horses are struggling with anxiety and lack of confidence.

We shouldn’t be trying to push people to ignore the alarm bells that their brain is sending them and ride through it anyways.

Ground work is a powerful training tool.

Getting off the horse, even if just for a short pause, can be a powerful reset.

It can allow both horse and rider to regulate.

We need to do away with the archaic “cowboy on” mentality that leads people to believe that they need to endanger themselves in order to become a good trainer.

The best trainers and riders are the ones who learn to operate in a way where they avoid stressing horses to the point of explosives.

Where they can develop a horse without the extreme anxiety.

The best trainers make training look quiet and easy.

Sure, it might not be as entertaining and dramatic to watch.

But it is infinitely better for both horse and rider.

09/23/2025

💡 Despite the high risk of head injury in equestrian activities, helmets are still under-utilised by adult riders - and the risks are many, including life altering eye injuries.

A retrospective study recently conducted at a major academic medical institution in the southeastern United States identified 73 horse-related ocular injuries from 50 patients, with a mean age of 37 years, between 2015 and 2023.

The most frequent cause of eye injury was being kicked by a horse, which accounted for 50% of the cases. Falls represented 28%.

The spectrum of injuries included orbital fractures, which appeared in 58% of incidents and constituted the most commonly encountered trauma.

Eyelid and periocular lacerations made up 16% of cases, while traumatic optic neuropathy and corneal abrasions each covered 5%.

Severe open globe injuries were the least common injury, and these usually resulted from horse kicks.

Due to the mechanism and severity of these injuries to the face, nearly one-third of affected patients required surgical intervention, and many experienced long-term complications, such as chronic pain and vision loss.

Despite the clear risk when working with horses, helmet use and compliance with protective gear in equestrian activities remains low, with only about 9% of adult riders (Stanfill et al., 2020) consistently reporting helmet use.

❓Has working with or handling horses ever resulted in an eye injury for you or someone you know? Would protective gear have helped prevent this injury? Share your experience in the comments below.

📑 Cullen Moran, Maya Harrington, Jonathan Barnett, Laura Wayman, John Bond.Horsing Around: A Retrospective Study of Equestrian Related Eye Injuries in the Emergency Department (2025).

09/23/2025

For me, helmet safety is not abstract, it is personal. After experiencing a traumatic brain injury many years ago, I know how quickly life can change.

This US Safety week I want to remind you that wearing a helmet is not optional and I’m proud to have been partnered with Charles Owen for all these years.

09/19/2025

09/08/2025

08/29/2025

The sense of smell in horses is exceptionally acute, thanks to the vast amount of tissue dedicated to olfaction within their nasal passages.

When a horse inhales, air is warmed and circulated under pressure, allowing scent molecules to condense and settle onto the sensitive lining of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) for processing.

This enables horses to analyze and remember complex scents with remarkable precision—the VNO’s sensory cells can separate chemical cues almost down to the individual molecule, performing like a biological mass spectrometer.

Horses often display the flehmen response—curling back the upper lip and drawing air into the nasal passages—to intensify their perception of certain scents, especially pheromones and markers of other animals.

This action, apart from being a sign of olfactory investigation, may signal abdominal discomfort such as colic.

The ability of horses to differentiate between myriad scents supports their advanced recognition memory and plays a crucial role in their behaviour and communication.

This ability also is the reason why horses are increasingly being trained and used for scent-based search and rescue (SAR) as "air scent detection" animals in wilderness and missing person searches.

While historically valued for covering rough terrain and offering searchers a higher vantage point, horses’ natural olfactory abilities are now also being actively harnessed through dedicated scent detection training, similar to methods used with dogs, with progressive training methodologies and emerging certification standards guiding their deployment.

📖 Adapted from information in Modern Horse Training: Equitation Science Principles & Practice, Volume 1 by Andrew Mclean

🛍️ Available for purchase from our webshop

07/28/2025

06/28/2025

Once upon a time, during the era of the classic long-format three-day event—with its demanding steeplechase and roads-and-tracks phases—Thoroughbreds, particularly those from staying bloodlines, were the benchmark for eventing excellence.

Their innate stamina and endurance made them the ideal choice for covering long distances at speed and maintaining focus through gruelling cross-country courses.

Despite a recent and persistent perception that Thoroughbreds are less suitable for elite eventing, a research study released this month has debunked this myth.

A comprehensive 2025 study analysing all global CCI5*-L results from 2014 to 2024 found that purebred Thoroughbreds remain outstanding in the cross-country phase, being “significantly more likely” to jump clear inside the time compared to non-Thoroughbreds.

While Thoroughbreds tended to accrue more penalties in dressage and show jumping than warmbloods, they consistently outperformed other breeds in cross-country, particularly in completing rounds without jump or time faults.

Importantly, there was no significant difference in overall penalties or completion rates between Thoroughbreds and other breeds, confirming a level playing field at the sport’s highest level.

Interestingly, even the studbooks of top eventing breeds such as the Holsteiner and Selle Français are comprised of 45.8% and 52.7% Thoroughbred blood, respectively, underscoring the enduring value of Thoroughbred genetics.

Wastage—where Thoroughbreds are retired from racing due to injury, temperament, or lack of speed—remains a major welfare and ethical concern.

However, with solid evidence of their capability at the highest levels, rehoming organisations and adoption programmes can confidently promote ex-racehorses to a broader audience.

This opens more doors for second careers, not just as companions or leisure horses, but as competitive athletes, and encourages trainers to invest in these horses, knowing their potential extends far beyond the track.

Full details of the study: Walz KR, McCormick ME, Fedorka CE. The Thoroughbred Theory: Influence of Breed on Performance at the CCI5*-L Level of Eventing.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/12/1796

05/01/2025

Today I've put on my brave pants because equine welfare is important to me.... as is being kind, compassionate, supportive and understanding to my fellow riders. This topic is emotionally charged, but it's a conversation that is necessary and sticking our heads in the sand won't help ourselves or our horses.

🧠 Fat Shaming vs. Equine Welfare: Let's Clear This Up 🐴

In the equestrian world, conversations around rider size can quickly become uncomfortable. But here's the thing: talking about load limits isn’t about fat shaming — it's about equine welfare. There’s a big difference between targeting a person’s body shape and discussing what a horse can physically carry without risking pain, injury, or long-term damage.

📣 Your amount of body fat or how much you weigh does not need to be discussed. In fact, a tall muscular person can weigh more than a shorter person who has higher adipose tissue (bodyfat).
This is not a conversation about anyone’s worth, appearance, or character. It’s about physics and biomechanics (which is measurable and does not change), and the welfare of our horses.

📊 The Research Is Clear
Multiple studies support the 20% rule: horses should carry no more than 20% of their bodyweight, including tack and rider. Beyond this point, horses begin to display observable signs of stress and unsoundness — regardless of how balanced the rider is or how well the saddle fits.

🔬 Key Findings

✅ Clayton (2020) found that even with a balanced rider and appropriate tack, horses showed increased gait asymmetry, higher heart rates, and signs of discomfort when load exceeded 20% of their bodyweight.

✅ Greve & Dyson (2013) observed that exceeding this threshold often led to lameness, saddle slipping, and altered movement patterns, even in well-conditioned horses.

✅ Powell et al. (2008) demonstrated that horses carrying 25–30% of their bodyweight had significant increases in muscle soreness, heart rate, and fatigue compared to those carrying 15–20%.

⚖️ Yes, There Are Other Factors Too
It’s not just about the numbers. Factors like the age of the horse, their back health, fitness level, the type and duration of activity, and rider skill and balance all matter. A fit, skilled, and light rider may impact a horse less than an unbalanced one — but weight is still weight, and the research shows even the best riders cannot eliminate the risk once past the 20% threshold.

🤝 No Room for Bullying
There is absolutely no place for abuse, bullying, or humiliation of riders. Conversations around appropriate rider-horse matching must be sensitive, kind, and thoughtful. It’s essential to create space for honest, supportive discussions without shame.

🐴 But We Must Do More to Protect Our Horses
Our horses can’t speak up when they are struggling. It is our duty to advocate for them, to keep their welfare front and centre, and to ensure they are not placed in situations where physical harm is inevitable.

If you’re unsure whether you're within your horse’s safe load limit, consider:

✅ Weighing yourself and your tack

✅ Knowing your horse’s actual weight (not just guessing)

✅ Speaking with a vet, bodyworker, or qualified saddle fitter

✅ Exploring different breeds or horse types that better match your riding needs

🥰Let’s keep these conversations kind, factual, and horse-centred.
Protecting our horses is not up for debate.

04/30/2025

True!!!

04/30/2025