Project Happy Athlete (PHA) focuses on training happy animals in a genuinely ethical way.
28/11/2020
A scientific open access article about horse-human interactions.
"It is unlikely that horse–horse social status translates to analogues of human–horse interactions, and the concept of leadership as advocated in many training manuals proves to be unreliable in the horse as evidenced by several studies. Thus, horses' responses to training are more likely a result of reinforcement during which correct responses were clearly and consistently rewarded rather than a result of humans attaining high social status and a leadership role. Knowledge of horses' natural behavior and learning capacities are more reliable in explaining training outcomes than anthropomorphic explanations and the application of dominance and leadership concepts that can jeopardize horse welfare and human safety."
Dominance hierarchies in horses primarily influence priority access to limited resources of any kind, resulting in predictable contest outcomes that p…
12/11/2020
5 reasons not to ride your horse today
There is so much more you can do with your horse, instead of tacking up and riding every time. If you need a valid reason not to ride, you can pick one from the list below;
1 You want to work on your friendship and spend time getting to know your horse better.
Just sitting with your horse while they graze or eat their hay can be really good for the both of you. It tells your horse you appreciate them for who they are and not for what they can do for you. It can give you a new perspective on your horse and the things you ask him to do for you. It can help you see him as a friend and also encourage your horse to see you as his friend. That can only be a good thing, right?
2 You feel stressed, tired or otherwise unwell
Did you know that just being near your horse can make you feel better? Horses, especially those who are barefoot, are naturally grounded and connecting with them can help you feel grounded too. Furthermore, your horse has a natural healing energy that can help you rebalance. All you need to do is just be open and enjoy his presence calmly and with no expectation, judgement or hurry.
3 Going for a walk together benefits the both of you
Did you know that gentle walking is very good for both you and your horses health? Why not take a walk together, side by side, exploring the nature, the smells, the sights and everything you might have missed while riding? Walking is good exercise for you and it is very beneficial for your horse too. Going out together like this also strengthens your bond and gives you a different sense of togetherness.
4 Groundwork is fun and useful!
Desensitising, pole work, going over different materials, through narrow corridors and exploring different objects is all part of training that helps your horse become more confident, curious and playful. These skills and confidence certainly come to good use under saddle too.
5 You do not always have to achieve - it is ok to take a day off to relax with your horse
Being with horses does not have to be about getting better and doing more. We tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves and our horses, thinking things like "We need to keep training every day to improve " "Everyone else is doing so much more than we are " " My horse is not educated enough" and " We should be further in our progress than we are"
This kind of pressure is not necessarily healthy and it can lead to headless overtraining where the horses (and the riders!) real emotions are overridden. Analysis paralysis can be a real enemy too - where we overthink and complicate too much and take all the joy out of being and doing things together.
Maybe next time you go to the barn, just hang out with your horse, invite them to be your friend and enjoy each other. Laugh, breathe, chill... no expectations, no rush, no pressure. You will be surprised!
Photo by Luna V
03/06/2020
Training whatever Madde wants to do in liberty 🥰 (canter transitions it is!)
Picture Marle Muuronen
29/05/2020
Have a lovely weekend ❤️
23/05/2020
Happiness in pictures. Nothing special, just hanging out. ❤️
Pictures by Verna Vilppula
15/05/2020
Some liberty work with my mare Madde yesterday ❤️
pictures were taken by Emma Kallioniemi/ Picallioniemi
28/04/2020
We practised standing still for the first time!
I was supposed to train with one horse only, but they were both so motivated and lined up nicely by themselves, I decided to try training with both of them.
Things went really well and horses seemed to have fun ❤️
21/04/2020
Fiona practised leg yield yesterday for the first time! 🙏🏻
She is familiar with many basic skills needed to do leg yield, like
- stretching towards the reins
- moving the frontlegs sideways
- moving the hindlegs sideways
- carrying the front of the body
- and most importantly, staying relaxed ❤️
17/04/2020
Have yourselves a lovely weekend! Remember to have fun - in a way that it is fun for both you and the horse ❤️
14/04/2020
My lovely mare Madde and I working today. We did our warm-up from the ground and then had a short ride. I haven’t been riding Madde properly for a year, because she has been recovering from stress after moving a few times and suffering what we think was laminitis last spring.
After half a year of just being and doing groundwork on her terms, she allowed me to ride her again. My goal is not to ride weekly, but to use it as a one way of doing gymnastics. That is if Madde shows me it is okay.
My goal is to keep her happy and healthy. She shows me how. Glad to have Madde as my teacher ❤️
11/04/2020
// Friday Facts: Habituation 🐴 //
Habituation is the process whereby the horse becomes accustomed to a stimulus and ceases to react. It is a simple form of learning and is found throughout the animal kingdom. Because evolutionary survival depends on how efficiently animals utilise their resources, habituation is a learning mechanism that prevents animals from wasting energy in running away or avoiding things in their environment that are harmless. In the natural state, animals habituate to other harmless species, and to such things as windblown foliage and shadows.
In the domestic situation, horses habituate to features of their environment, such as cars, trains, low-flying planes, dogs, children on bikes, and rustling plastic bags. The police horses that calmly stand in front of screaming crowds at the football have been carefully habituated to the many different stimuli they may encounter in their daily work.
Some stimuli are quite challenging. If the stimuli have one or more of the following characteristics, habituation may be slow or difficult to achieve.
If the stimulus:
- is too strong or painful (e.g., the shock from an electric fence);
- is new (e.g., camels or emu);
- is too close (e.g., electric clippers inside the ears);
- appears suddenly (e.g., kangaroos jumping out of nearby bushes);
- moves, especially if it moves erratically or moves towards the horse (e.g., a child with an umbrella)
What has your horse learned to habituate to?
21/03/2020
We did something new with our 7 year old pony Fiona today: she learned to cross the poles by sending her from trainer to another.
We also started adding ques for different colours of poles (blue and pink) and I am hoping some day Fiona learns to go away from the trainer and cross a pole by its colour. Fun, fun, fun!
21/03/2020
Some liberty work today ✨
17/03/2020
Compassion is something we need now more than ever ❤️
08/03/2020
Sunday thought 🔎
A relationship is built in every mutual meeting. Positive, pleasant emotions build a happy relationship. Negative, unpleasant emotions weakens the relationship.
A relationship is a two-way street, so the animals emotions count as much as the humans. What do you do in everyday life to make the animal feel pleasant and comfortable around you?
04/03/2020
Asking for things when riding a horse is just as much training different behaviors for the horse as other types of training from the ground. The better we can set the goals, chop them in pieces and reinforce the behaviors that meet the criteria, the better the horse can do what we want them to. For the riding to be fair for the horse we need to be able to pay attention to both the horse’s mental and physical requirements.
When riding, it is crucial to have clear communication with the horse, known as aids or cues. The better the horse can differentiate aids from each other, the better it can do what we ask them to.
Fair riding is all about not adding more strength to our aids when the horse is not doing what we asked them to. Fair riding is about raising the motivation and capability of the horse to be able to carry out the things we want them to. The rider should not deny, add more strength or stop the horse from doing behaviors. The rider should be talented in using different kinds of reinforcements to be able to make the horse truly successful and motivated in riding.
When the riding is based on good quality, highly motivational training, it doesn’t matter what kind of equipment the rider is using to give directions to the horse. Good training decreases the need for control and increases the sense of control for both the horse and the rider, no matter what the horse is wearing.
04/03/2020
In 2017 we did a playful test asking Madde what she wanted to wear. She chose a halter over bitted bridle and a neck rope over a halter. Even though this was just a funny thing to do, it really opened my eyes to see that she can make decisions.
Now, asking Madde's opinion is a part of our everyday life. She gets to decide what she wants to wear (a halter, bitless bridle or a neck rope), where she wants to go and whether she wants to be ridden or not ❤️
04/03/2020
Spending time with horses a few days ago. It starts to look like Spring and the horses are really enjoying it! 😍
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Project Happy Athlete International
Project Happy Athlete started as a tiny blog in 2017. Soon it started growing to a big community in Finland and today, in 2020, I am working full-day as an Animal Trainer.
Back in 2013 I bought a horse, Madde, then a 5-year-old mare to start competing in showjumping. She was reactive and difficult, but we managed to win many competitions just by going fast and not touching the poles. One day in 2014 I began to think if my horse is really enjoying the jumping. My riding instructors kept sayin I should be using stronger bits, but Madde started rearing if she felt uncomfortable. I realized, Madde actually hated jumping and that's why she kept running so fast, not listening to me at all.
That day was terrible for me. After realizing my horse hated jumping, there was no turning back. My biggest dream was to compete in high-level competitions, and all of a sudden I had to decide whether to change my plans or buy a new horse. I did love my horse, despite the fact that she was extremely difficult, but we had our moments when I was grooming her or just hanging out.
After a huge meltdown I decided to keep my mare. I moved her to a stable where she was able to hang out with other horses in huge fields by the river. It was scary, but it was worth it after I saw how happy Madde was. I started trail riding more often and found out we both enjoyed it a lot. I tried some horseback archery, but Madde was way too fast for it. I wanted to try everything new, so I also started riding bitless every now and then. Madde worked pretty well with them, but for some reason I thought I could never give up on bits completely.
In 2016, I was introduced to clicker training. It was fun! I first taught Madde some Spanish walk (obviously), also found out it was not maybe the best trick to teach your horse with poor trainer skills. I taught her to “smile” and to go “back”. She was happier than I ever thought she could be. I started wondering where clicker training could take us. Could I teach everything using food as a reward? Why is it so effective?
I gave up on bits in 2017. I sold or threw away all of them. I saw my horse getting more relaxed than ever and she moved better than ever when ridden. I also started training riding with a neck rope and my horse enjoyed it as well. Clicker training, riding bitless and using a neck rope required a lot more training than just putting a bit on a horses mouth, but I loved it. I still love it. Madde and I became more attached than ever.
Now, my horse is 12-years-old and living the happy life in the same stable. We do everything using positive reinforcement, now-a-days I don’t ride her that often but if I do, we use bitless bridle or neck rope. Everyday I ask her what she would like to do and she gets to decide. We do a lot of long walks, gymnastic training or just something fun. My horses main job is to be a horse.
This story led me to a place, where my Facebook followers in Finland started asking me for training advice. Eventually I studied and became an Animal Trainer and now I have my own business and also work in a Finnish dog training company Pawsiteam, which is focused on positively training dogs. In this page you will also meet my sisters 7 years old pony Fiona, who has been positively trained since she was 3 years old and my lovely Jackrussel terriers Tove and Dua, also positively trained. Tove is 4 years old and Dua is 3 years old, they are half sisters.
I train animals in Finland, hold horse training courses in Portugal and just started selling online courses about genuinely positive animal training. Welcome in our world of Happy Animal Training!
