Jumping Bean Mustangs LLC

02/06/2024

Now that I have finished my Master’s, I can officially share my project! I built a website that serves as a literature review aimed towards beginners in the horse world. Citing 154 sources, you can learn about horse behavior, welfare, and training! I plan on adding more sections as time permits such as training aids and more.

Enjoy and please share to your horse loving friends ❤️

The Goal of this Website This website was developed to provide a scientific literature review geared towards beginners in the horse world. The science behind behavior and welfare is important to know when caring for and training horses, but the research articles can get pretty tough to read,

31/05/2024

I’m excited to announce that I am opening up my schedule to clients! I am offering the following services:

-In person +R training
-Remote and In person Behavior Consultations
-Behavior Modification Planning and Editing

I am based in the Key Peninsula area and can travel up to 20 miles for in person sessions. I bring over a decade of experience with and 2 degrees focusing on horses. I have also refined my training skills through practice in many species including pigs, monkeys, and chickens.

I believe a horse should be listened to in order to build a real team. This involves looking at the horse’s entire life to solve the true problems while causing minimal stress.

Book your first remote consultation for free!

04/05/2024

In total, this took about 20 minutes from introducing the saddle pad to walking around with the saddle pad on.

We did all of this at liberty with positive reinforcement. I used alfalfa pellets as the reinforcer and offered hay in a net separately. We worked in his paddock next to his buddies. He had the choice to engage in the training, eat, or hang with the other horses.

Learning only occurs when the learner is willingly engaged.

No ropes, clips, or whips were needed. Just some food, a pad, and a lil science-based training 🙂.

27/04/2024

Introducing the newest addition to the family, Kota 🥰 he’s a 3 year old BLM Mustang out of the Sand Wash Basin HMA in CO. He was gentled by Bri McDonnell and he’s such a sweet baby. I can’t wait to watch his growth and see him become a lesson horse for kiddos! He is going to be instrumental in teaching the upcoming generations on the importance of positive reinforcement and ethical handling. Welcome, Kota❤️

11/08/2023

Making progress with our canter transitions! 🥰

04/06/2023

17/02/2023

Good performance does NOT indicate good welfare. Do right by your horse first, and they’ll do right by you later. It should not be the other way around.

A common defence we hear from people trying to claim that upper level horse sports, namely the famous upper level riders in said sports, cannot possibly be engaging in harmful, frightening or painful training tactics is because their horses are winning.

There’s this belief that a horse at the upper levels could not possibly perform the amazing athletic feats that they do unless they’re joyful about it, completely pain free and free of fear or discomfort.

But there is 0 evidence of this.

And there’s a lot of evidence of these very same horses being forced to do things in the name of competition. Even just the act of continuing to ask again and again following a jump refusal — be it in competition or training— is the act of not taking your horse’s ”no” for an answer, suggesting to the horse that their really is no choice involved and that they should just jump.

Similarly, when horses buck, rear, spook or otherwise engage in unwanted behaviours that could be perceived as consistent with them expressing their dislike and/or discomfort of the task, they may be reprimanded for it or at the very least forced to work through it.

Because of most horse training methods not honouring the “no” when horses offer it, we really cannot make sweeping claims that upper level horses wouldn’t do their jobs if they were stressed because there is no evidence of this whatsoever.

There is, however, a lot of evidence depicting trends of stress at the upper levels of horse sports. So, we have reason to believe upper level athletes are stressed because of these studies, but also by utilizing the tactics tested to measure such stress ourselves: like the Ridden Pain Ethogram and the Equine Grimace scale, both of which have been found to be very accurate.

Claiming that upper level horses wouldn’t be winning if they’re unhappy is a copout that can be used to justify ANY training method that results in a winning horse.

If we’re using winning, aka achieving human goals, as a measure of ethicality, it serves only the humans because we’re basing our entire belief of what is fair to the horse off of what helps us get winning results.

This, if anything, provides further incentive to justify unethical practices because the riders are getting what they want: good show results.

We cannot use winning as a measure of ethics. There is no evidence that this is an accurate means of determining welfare AND it is a huge conflict of interest because it’s measuring the welfare of the horse based solely on their ability to perform well, which effectively removes any desire to look further into potential welfare issues if the horse is offering the performance their rider wants.

Horses can and will still perform even when in distress. They’re flight animals and it’s in their nature to mask pain, stress or lameness because outwardly showing this would make them vulnerable to predators.

They also try to choose the path of least resistance, meaning if there is no easy way to say “no” to working and they’ll be continuously asked and pushed to work through their attempts to highlight their lack of desire to work, they learn the easiest way to get through it is to just do the work.

Welfare needs to be judged off of measures that do not unfairly benefit one side of the equation, us humans.

Measuring equine welfare based on how well the horse performs in competition is not a fair measure at all and seeks only to benefit humans in allowing them to write off any potential concerns in equine athletes who are doing well I competition.

Competition also doesn’t currently reward good welfare. Adequate welfare and happy and stress free horses are not a requirement TO win. So, we can’t use winning as a measure of whether or not horses competing are under stress.

We need tangible evidence for claims before we make them, otherwise said claims can cause further harm to horses by offering humans an easy way to justify any and all of their training practices simply if they can compel a horse to win.

Some relevant citations for this:

Horse Owner perception of stress vs behaviourist perception study:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787818301102

Conflict behaviour in competition horses:

https://horsesport.com/magazine/equine-welfare/conflict-behaviours-and-dressage-scoring/amp/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080617300552

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787822000843

Stress levels not linked to competition results study:

https://thehorse.com/158016/horse-stress-levels-not-linked-to-competition-results-study-shows/

The Ridden Pain Ethogram:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787822000685

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7341225/

Equine Grimace Scale:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Horse-Grimace-Pain-Scale-with-images-and-explanations-for-each-of-the-6-facial-action_fig2_260950013

08/01/2023

We’ve been taking things slow since the cross country move. Bean has a lot of muscle to build back up from his time off. Slow progress is good progress! Today was just a groundwork day with easy moves and some ground poles 🥰

13/12/2022

07/12/2022

When I hear someone say, "My horse deserves a better rider" it breaks my heart a little bit.

Because you know what?

Recreational riders are the BEST thing that has happened to horses worldwide.

DON'T feel bad for not competing, or working your horse everyday, or that so-and-so is riding at a higher level than you are.

DON'T feel guilty if you don't want to show.
Or jump higher.
Or jump at all.
Or canter.
Or even ride!

What matters TO YOUR HORSE is that their physical needs are met and their mental and emotional well-being is cared for.

And caring is what most amateur owners can do better than ANYONE else.

Most horses don't NEED or WANT to be ridden at a professional or competitive level. With few exceptions, most horses left to their own devices just want to hang out in the field with their friends eating.

It's great to want to improve your communication and riding skills.

And If your goal is to do more athletic and difficult things, then yes, you owe it to your horse to learn to be a good dance partner and pilot for him

AT THAT LEVEL, BUT...
.. No one sets that level but you. And you CAN be good for your horse at ANY level.

No shame, backyard horse owners!

You shall inherit the earth.
________________________________________
Kendra DeKay
Equestrian Ethos
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

01/12/2022

“Regular positive reinforcement training increases contact-seeking behaviour in horses” Larssen and Roth, 2022.

Every day, we find more evidence of positive reinforcement being the overall best training method for you and your horse ❤️

27/11/2022

Bean hasn’t had a bit in his mouth for about 2 years now, but we hear all the time about horses ”needing” certain bits or using a bit if you don’t trust the horse. Bean would buck and bolt and toss his head all the time with the bits that I tried (snaffle, Mullen happy mouth, etc). The best thing I ever did for him was take out his bit. Eventually, we’ll start schooling in a happy mouth again for dressage portions of 3-day eventing, but the past 2 years without a bit have allowed us the space to grow together.

Listen to your horse. Don’t write off their behavior as just “being dramatic”. Horses react to stress and pain. They aren’t trying to be dramatic. If they’re reacting negatively, trust them and find out what’s wrong. I promise it’ll help your relationship 🥰

25/11/2022

This is why I don’t recommend starting full work for horses under 6. You can do light saddle training before then and LOTS of ground work and Liberty until then. It’s never too late to start training.

24/11/2022

Just a glimpse into one of our rides, mistakes and all!

When Bean accidentally steps on the pole, it was completely my fault, and I realized I needed more outside leg to straighten him out and balance.

Our biggest improvement in the session is general collection in the trot and canter. His extended trot is to die for!

VC: Whitney Quick 🫣

22/11/2022

21/11/2022

2 years of a good diet, lots of groundwork and Liberty training, and a solid exercise plan that focuses on Bean communicating with me, so I can adjust our session accordingly. If there was a day he needed a light session, or no session at all, that’s what he got! If he ever runs away from the halter, our session is just loving him in the halter. The goal is to create positive growth, not to punish them for being a sentient creature capable of feeling emotion, wants, and needs. Slow growth is good growth!