EquestrianTraining.com

11/04/2025

Cues are discreet, previously unrelated signals—such as voice, posture, or gestures—that are learned by the horse through classical conditioning.

Unique, standardised cues may develop for particular equestrian activities or sports. The most important criteria for selecting cues are that they should be easy for the horse to discriminate, unique to each desired response, and avoid overlapping or overshadowing other cues or signals.

Whether you choose visual cues, such as your posture, or aural cues such as your voice, the most important thing is to be consistent and avoid creating higher arousal.

Research has shown that negative, emotionally charged vocal sounds—for example, screeching or growling—can lead to negative affective states in horses, and there is anecdotal evidence that fast, erratic human body movements may also lead to negative affective states in horses.

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

📖 Available for purchase on our website!

11/04/2025

10/23/2025

💡A systematic review and meta-analysis by the Universities of Bologna and Turin delivers fresh insights into how horses and ponies allocate their time each day and what this means for their welfare and management.

By integrating data from fourteen different studies between 1979 and 2020, and analysing the time budgets of 364 horses under wild, natural-living, and stabled conditions, the research team set out to understand the influence of management, social settings, diet, age, and s*x on core behaviours—feeding, resting, standing, and moving.

They found that free-ranging horses spent significantly more time feeding (about 56% of the day) than stabled horses (38%), and that horses kept in groups or grazing also dedicated more time to eating than those fed hay indoors or kept alone.

Female horses and ponies were observed to feed and rest for longer periods than males or larger horses.

In contrast, horses in confined or isolated settings stood still much more and moved less, patterns that in the wild would be unusual and may signal compromised welfare.

The study confirms that management systems allowing horses to exhibit natural foraging, social bonding, and voluntary movement are strongly linked to better welfare outcomes.

Based on these findings, the authors advocate for husbandry that replicates natural conditions as closely as possible such as providing constant access to roughage, group turnout, space for exercise, and varied environments for physical and behavioural health.

The review also highlights the importance of detailed monitoring and encourages further research using emerging technologies to support ethical and sustainable equine care.

📖 Time-activity budget in horses and ponies: A systematic review and meta-analysis on feeding dynamics and management implications,
Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, M. Lamanna, G. Buonaiuto, R. Colleluori, F. Raspa, E. Valle, D. Cavallini.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105684.

10/16/2025