Intellectual Equines

20/09/2025

Horses maintaining harmony

A while ago a line in a facebook post jumped out at me – “Horses are bad at saying no”

Variations of this theme had been plaguing me for a while. A biggie is the old “but they are 600kgs, you can’t force them to if they don’t want to” (most of us know, or SHOULD know, that statement is inaccurate!)

And some observations of my herd.
Horses happily munching on hay piles. Occasionally a horse will move to a different pile, sometimes occupied. With no visible body language shown by the ‘encroacher’ the horse being approached will often just seem to ‘choose’ to move ‘happily’ to a different pile.

I understand there can be a hierarchy surrounding limited resources, but I expected yielding hay would be shown not voluntarily, but as a response to body language displayed by the incoming horse? That doesn’t always seem to be the case.

Another discrepancy – horses that appear to ‘love’ their job?
Before learning about ‘learning theory’ I too could have believed this. With traditional training, I have seen horses being lunged for 20mins, ridden horses performing half pass or flying changes. Horses performing often difficult behaviours that are clearly for the riders pleasure, and not benefitting the horse.

Sometimes the horses displeasure is apparent - The swishing tail, pigroot, or open mouth evasions. Then there are the more subtle signs, more noticeable once you learn how to ‘see’ – the facial tension, tight ears, triangulated eyes; so many horses though just appear to get on and do the job, seemingly without complaint. Why?

Its not like the horse is ‘paid’ for performing.
What does he get for this? Why does he comply? Traditional horse training is based heavily on negative reinforcement. The horse is reinforced for performing a behaviour, by the cessation of a cue that is generally not pleasant for the horse.
Why does he appear to enjoy this?

Some possible explanations I found while reading research papers – (apart from the fact that horses are such stoic, amenable, lovely, generous and giving creatures, that is!)

Drews 1993
Dominance is an attribute of the pattern of repeated, agonistic interactions between two individuals, characterized by a consistent outcome in favor of the same dyad member and a DEFAULT YIELDING RESPONSE of its opponent rather than escalation.

Dominance and Leadership: Useful Concepts in Human–Horse Interactions?
Elke Hartmann, Janne W. Christensen b, Paul D. McGreevy
Dominance hierarchies in horses primarily influence priority access to limited resources of
any kind, resulting in PREDICTABLE CONTEST OUTCOMES that potentially MINIMIZE aggressive encounters and ASSOCIATED RISK OF INJURY

So a survival mechanism.

A means of getting along, being cohesive, fitting in with the herd, which is safety for the herd animal. And avoidance of injury will always keep you alive longer.

This is often what we can see when we watch humans training horses.
Apparent compliance.

The horse has learnt how to avoid the unpleasant / aversive act by the human, learned how to comply to avoid/ escape the punishment. There are minimal OVERT body language signals to see.

Instead of appreciating the horse for the kind and sentient being that he is, we humans take advantage of this apparent compliance; this performing to avoid the aversive, and we anthropomorphise – we claim he ‘enjoys’ his work as we cannot see his unhappiness, neither physical nor emotional.

Written By Vicki Conroy of the PPGA Equine Sub-Committee

05/09/2025

Open space to roam with friends and sufficient resources for all herd members

“They do it to each other” and “they hurt each other more than we ever can” is used so many times as an excuse to punish or inflict pain upon a horse.

There are many arguments against this mis-information, and YES IT IS mis-information, but the biggest argument in my mind (which I don’t see argued enough) is – domestic horses that exist in stable herds, or free roaming wild horses, actually DON’T do it to each other.

Affiliative interactions and responses significantly out number aggressive ones {1}
Humans would do well to observe, practise, and USE, affiliative behaviours with their horses.

Horses have evolved to exist In stable social groups with enough space to roam freely, with access to sufficient grazing and water. How do you resource guard a big open grazing space? Instead of resource guarding the water supply, some horses will stand sentry while the others drink.

Horses have evolved to be herd members. There is safety belonging to a herd. More eyes to scout for predators, and more choice of target if the predators do come. Physical confrontations among horses can cost energy and risk injury. Instead of chasing each other away, some horses will stand guard while others in the herd sleep. When you are large and getting up takes time, this makes sense.

And importantly – no early weaning; no forced separation of herd mates; no isolated horses in solitary confinement; no housing in pocket handkerchief sized pieces of land; no enforced stabling; no feed that runs out; no limited resources. No people with aggressive scary practices.

Open space to roam with friends and sufficient resources for all herd members. The goal for all equines.

Basing human horse interactions on horses stressed by poor housing, is like basing your community development plan on behaviours exhibited by inmates in the local jail.
Not going to be the best role models!

Horses are pacifists, cohesive, harmonious, they get along; a goal for all humans!

1 1 {Affiliative interactions and responses significantly out number aggressive ones (p

02/09/2025

How well can you truly read what your horse is saying?

As we all know, horses evolved to be subtle in their cues to avoid conflict and stay safe within a herd as prey animals. But how subtle is "subtle"?

We as humans aren't hard-wired like horses and miss quite a few cues. By the time we understand, the horse has escalated several times into more obvious communication to us. These come in the forms of displacement behaviors and calming behaviors. It's important while observing these that we take into account the context, nuance, and overall behavioral analysis to create a clear picture of what the horse is saying and doing.

1️⃣ Displacement behavior: actions a horse will perform when experiencing emotional conflict or high stress to attempt to regulate

2️⃣ Calming behavior: actions taken to minimize the high emotional states of distress, excitement, etc. they or others are in, to try to create a more soothing or peaceful environment/ interaction

Subtle signs can be as small as slow, methodical blinks as a calming behavior or a release of tension or stress such as with neck shaking or jaw stretching. The causes can range from trying to calm an intimidating trainer, regulate themselves in a new environment, or communication in herd dynamics to avoid conflict.

Below, some subtle signs coming from the eyes, mouth, and neck are listed. How many are you able to identify from your own horse?

➡️ Blinking - blinking and then repeating as a calming signal is typically in a pattern if you take the time to observe. It many times also accompanies other signals such as head or neck turning.

➡️ Half closing eyes - ex: blink, close for a second, half closing eyes for 2-10 seconds to help avoid conflict. This is also common to see in horses in pain, depressed, or in a stage of learned helplessness.

➡️ Looking away - this mostly happens when standing still. Looking away as a calming signal involves taking a break from a specific stimulus. The horse may move their head, but often beginning signals are just through the eyes while the head stays in place - looking to change the viewing direction, or even turning more "inward" with dull eyes similar to what we can see in learned helplessness.

➡️ Licking / Chewing - chewing without food or licking and chewing are both also calming signals. By this point you may also see other subtle signs of calming behaviors such as blinking, looking away, tense facial features, etc. This can happen after a stressful training situation as they try to calm themselves, or even when staring into the distance quietly, and then when they "come back to reality". It's important to know licking and chewing does NOT mean a horse is learning, processing, or has digested information: just that they recently experienced tension and are trying to release it to move back into a state of rest & digest.

➡️ Yawning - along with the obvious reasons for yawning, it can also be a calming signal. It's important here to look for other calming signals to understand context here. A jaw stretch may accompany it, which looks very much like a yawn or the ending to a yawn: the tongue stays in the mouth, and the jaw may move a bit (think their mouth may look a bit misaligned - top and bottom jaw are moving in different directions to stretch out).

➡️ Neck turn - this is a more dramatic form of the head turn or looking away. Just as it seems, the horse will be moving their head and/or neck away while keeping their body relatively still. Sometimes horses may also turn to look at something interesting or when ahead of you turn to look and see if you are following - while it's possible to look off into the distance as additional displacement signals, the context here again is needed and can be determined by observing other signals

➡️ Neck shake - a neck shake will only involve the head and neck, and is typically to help shake off any tension they may have had recently

Next time you go to see your horse, see if you can notice any of these behaviors from them or their herd mates!

25/08/2025

How light are your cues?
Or
The myth of non-escalating pressure

Positive reinforcement (R+) is so different to the normal way most people interact with horses.

It is often so hard to know where to start – what do you do? How does it work? How does it all go together? Often we ponder this question after interacting with our existing horse.

It is always a great thing to ponder, and ultimately enact!
There are so many benefits to switching from traditional horse training (negative reinforcement) to R+. SO MANY. It is more than the sum of its parts.

Often when doing initial research we may find a method of adding R+ on to traditional training. This is often referred to as ‘piggybacking’

This can provide many benefits.
Your cues can become lighter, you focus on what you want the horse to do, you learn how to write training plans, you learn how to break behaviour down into smaller pieces, all good things that benefit the horse (usually) You also add click and reward. The click tells the horse which behaviour we are working on, the reward tells him he got it right.

A lot of horses seem to be really happy with this training approach, and it is far better than the alternative traditional training. But….

Prior to starting R+ knowing how your horse has been trained in the past is also relevant. Knowing if he carries any baggage. Knowing his triggers and what he struggles with.

Traditional training IS Negative reinforcement.
Negative as we take something away, reinforcement as it makes the behaviour stronger.
So – if the behaviour becomes stronger after something is taken away, it stands to reason that the horse DIDN’T LIKE that which was taken away.

Traditional training is often labelled ‘pressure and release’ The pressure (say heels in the horses side) causes the horse to move away, to try to escape the discomfort. When he moves the pressure is removed, that removal makes the horse feel better, so the behaviour of moving is reinforced by the pressure being taken off.

Horses are amazingly stoic animals.
The only thing they gain from complying with the human, is the discomfort the human applied is now taken away. Yet they perform, and they often appear to do so willingly. So many riders and owners claim that their horses enjoy their jobs. Yet their training works because it makes the discomfort go away.

Now on to ‘non-escalating pressure’
I think this method /terminology arose as people struggled with how to get away from traditional training, they struggled with how to get the horse to perform a behaviour without pressure. They wanted the pressure to be ‘non-aversive’ (good aim but incorrect application!)

How do you get a horse to move forward without adding that uncomfortable leg pressure? Actually – if that leg pressure doesn’t work, what do you do? The majority of answers here traditionally is ‘make the pressure stronger’ if a little bit worked, then a little stronger will work better? ‘Tap with the whip’ is also often an answer. No response to leg cue, tap with a whip (more aversive pressure) will often get you the result.

By the way – what happened here isn’t the horse knowing the answer but refusing, and when he feels the whip replying with ‘oops I’d better do what they want, they are serious’ The response occurs because the whip HURTS more, so he moves to get away from it.
Vicious cycle starts here.

Except for non-escalating pressure of course. Good effort trying to find a non-aversive way to get the behaviour, but here is where we get to the myth part of ‘non-escalating’.

People think they can apply a light cue - good thought except it may already be associated with an aversive when it was taught previously. If you are in the lucky position of teaching it ‘new’ you can apply a light pressure. If that pressure is not aversive to the horse you may not get a response.

The recommendation here for ‘non-escalating’ is to maintain the light cue and just wait. I wonder what part of ‘maintaining pressure’ people think is not escalating? It goes on longer! Time escalates!

As a non-contact person, let me tell you that a stranger touching my arm is going to get a squirm and a move-away. Might be a light touch, but it is still aversive - the learner here decides what is deemed aversive and what isn’t – NOT the teacher!

If that touch comes from someone I know, I may ignore if for 30seconds. The touch may not become harder, but it DEFINITELY escalates. It is subject to DURATION. It stays there, the longer it stays the more I squirm, the more that touch BECOMES aversive, even if still very light.

DURATION needs to be factored in here – if you add duration you ARE escalating.

If the stimulus remains neutral to the receiver then no response will be elicited. Clue here is ‘neutral’!

If the stimulus causes a reaction (movement) then the stimulus WAS aversive. If it was neutral, nothing happens. LIGHT stimulus can still be aversive.

So just think what is driving this behaviour and be truthful – was the horse working to make that cue (however light) go away? Or was he working to obtain an appetitive??

BIG DIFFERENCE

Was your horse previously taught with traditional training? If yes then chances are high that he will have some bad memories of what happens if he doesn’t respond. Implied threat.

Much better to teach movement with R+, then when behaviour is solid add a verbal cue, then later add a light touch cue (that will look like a traditional cue)

Then you can be sure that your horse is working for the appetitive, not to avoid discomfort.

04/08/2025

Honouring our horses communication

My horse is hard to catch is a common problem we hear.

There are many solutions put forward, or suggestions as remedies to fix this ‘problem’. ALL are geared to helping you catch your horse, so you can then continue with enjoying what you wanted to catch them for in the first place. Like riding for example.

None (or rare) are the suggestions on questioning WHY your horse doesn’t want to be caught in the first place? Generally it is because he doesn’t like what happens after he is caught.

I’ll repeat that.
Hard to catch horses generally DON’T LIKE what happens to them after they are caught.
Behaviour is driven by consequences. Horse behaviour in avoiding being caught is clearly expressing unhappiness about the consequence - what happens after they are caught.

Why aren’t we taught to respect that?
Taught to address the cause of the horses’ dislike, instead of how to manipulate the effect?
We are taught tricks to help catch our horse, but not WHY they don’t want to be caught, and how to change that association for them, into ‘good things happen’ after you are caught?

Why aren’t we taught how to help our horse like things we do to them, and with them?
Actually, why aren’t we taught to interact with horses in a way that horses like to be interacted with in the first place, instead of teaching horses how to accept what humans want, even when horses dont??

We need to respect our horses feelings and behaviours. We need to listen to their (body language) communication and respond accordingly. Horses too are sentient beings with needs and feelings and emotions, and their choices (or not) need to be honoured.

Changing the way we train can have a profound effect on how our horses view our interactions.

Switching from traditional training (negative reinforcement) to positive reinforcement training
changes the motivation for our horse. He is no longer working purely to avoid an aversive, he is now working to gain an appetitive, to gain something he wants.

The consequence to his behaviour is now good.

Good consequences not only change behaviour, they also change perception and attitude about the process. The feelings change from ‘do I have to?’ to ‘I WANT TO’ – to active happy participation.

Suddenly your horse will be catching you at the gate.
He will be nickering with pleasure when you start a ‘training’ session, which he will now view as a fun shared activity rather than a ‘schooling’ session. Sound better?

Soon your problem will be - how can you end your session without disappointing your horse!

Written By Vicki Conroy of the Equine Sub-Committee

26/07/2025

Soliciting - performing a behaviour uncued, in the hope it will generate reinforcement!!

Sneaking my head around the corner for a pony peak while getting hays ready (during a drought with no available grazing) I spotted my gelding Dustin interacting with a coil of poly pipe, that was out on the ground ready for running out to a trough later.
Human emotions – but Dustin comes across as a cheeky adolescent boy. Always investigating, often seeming to get in to things he shouldn’t. He often mouths things and picks them up.
Initially it looked like investigative behaviour; I watched a little longer –
I assume what he was actually doing was what I refer to as “soliciting,” which in my house means performing an un-cued behaviour, in the hope it will make reinforcement appear!
I often teach ‘stand on a mat’ as part of training.
It is helpful for teaching country (paddocked) ponies about a change in floor surfaces, it can be a step in the preparation for loading, walking into a crush, and many other behaviours.
My soliciting assumption is based on Dustin looking straight at me whilst performing the behaviour – as if to say ‘look I'm doing it – where is my reward?’
Would you agree that could be his motivation?

Written By Vicki Conroy of the Equine Sub-Committee

25/07/2025

21/07/2025

Again, that's what horses naturally need to have a serene life, as they deserve 💚

Picture credit: Equine Behavior 2016

21/07/2025

06/07/2025

More than the sum of its parts

What if training your horse could change your whole life? ✨

It sounds dramatic… but it happens all the time.

A client recently shared something beautiful with me:
“Positive reinforcement has completely changed how I interact with everyone. It’s not just with my horse but with my dogs, my husband, kids and grandkids.”

This is the ripple effect of R+.
Once you learn how to build connection through trust, curiosity, and clarity…
…it doesn’t stay in the barn.

You start pausing more.
Observing instead of judging.
Asking instead of assuming.
Listening instead of reacting.

You begin to see behavior not as “good” or “bad,”
but as communication.
A need.
A request for understanding.

And suddenly…
your whole world feels a little more compassionate.
A little more curious.
A little more safe for everyone in it.

That’s the quiet magic of R+. ✨
It’s not just a way of training.
It’s a mindset.
A way of being. 🌱

25/06/2025

Interactive, or shutdown?

There are always fors and againsts in most things. Pros and cons.
There are pitfalls to clicker training!!

A bright, happy, interactive horse that is invested in her time spent with you – or a compliant, dull, disinterested horse, that does the minimum to get by? No question?

In traditional training, many horses that are perceived to be ‘well trained’ or ‘well behaved’ are actually shut down. This means that they are often too worried to ‘offer’ behaviour. When they have done so in the past, they have been reprimanded, or discouraged from doing anything other than what is explicitly asked of them, when it is asked. They become unenthusiastic and indifferent to the process, and their main concern is not getting the answer wrong – their goal is avoiding the aversive.

Positive reinforcement (R+) for horses sounds ideal on paper.
Humane, ethical, science based, force free, fear free horse training.

This results in an eager horsey participant. One who enjoys spending time with you and engaging in learning the behaviours you are trying to teach. One who actively participates, happily tries to find the correct answer. These horses have been encouraged to think for themselves, to problem solve, to become an active part of the training process, and not just an automaton.

Horses that have been exposed to force free training have choices. They are invested in, and enjoy, both the process and the outcome, and they try to find the right answer.

Finding the right answer is fun, AND it makes good things happen for horses.

This can mean though, especially if, like me, you have multiple horses and minimal fencing, that they can actually become annoying pests! They seek out your company. They like to spend time with you – often regardless of whether that was your agenda or not!

Currently I cannot take my dogs for a walk around the paddock, nor go alone, without first taking out hay to distract the horses, and keep them occupied.

Otherwise I feel a bit like the Pied Piper, or wish that I had put the behaviour of ‘following me’ on cue – so when I don’t request equine company on my walks, my horses leave me alone!

They are so inquisitive, so interactive, such good company and such fun to do things with, (or just to watch, to spend time with) that I feel guilty for wishing, just occasionally, that they would leave me alone, to go for my walk in peace!

Pic is my ‘rear vision mirror entourage’ from my last walk around the paddock!

22/06/2025

HORSES SHOW DISTINCT FACIAL EXPRESSIONS WHEN ANTICIPATING POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE EVENTS

New research has shown that horses display different facial expressions and behaviours depending on whether they are anticipating a positive or a negative experience.

The study aimed to explore how horses express their emotions using facial expressions and behaviour, and whether these could be linked to positive or negative emotional anticipation.

Twenty mares were trained to wait in a designated area (a starting box) before being led to one of two possible outcomes: a positive experience (access to pasture with other horses) or a negative one (being taken alone to an unfamiliar environment). This setup allowed the researchers to observe how horses behave when they expect either a desirable or undesirable situation.

Over multiple sessions, the team recorded the horses’ behaviour, facial movements (using EquiFACS – the Equine Facial Action Coding System), heart rate, and cortisol levels. They also used a network analysis tool (NetFACS) to study which facial expressions tended to occur together in each context.

The researchers found clear differences in the horses’ responses depending on the type of anticipation. When expecting a positive event, horses more often showed behaviours such as head shaking, stepping back, sniffing, and pawing. They held their necks higher, performed more half-blinks, and showed increased mouth movements.

In contrast, during negative anticipation, horses showed less behavioural variety. They were more likely to hold their necks at a medium height, keep their ears back and flattened, and exhibit more nostril movements. Their behaviour was generally more withdrawn and they appeared more tense.

Interestingly, while heart rate and cortisol did increase slightly in the negative condition, these physiological changes were not as marked as the behavioural and facial differences — highlighting just how important it is to observe the horse’s expressions and body language alongside traditional measures of stress.

These findings confirm that horses express emotions in nuanced ways and that facial expressions and behaviour offer valuable insight into how they feel. Understanding these subtle cues can help us better recognise emotional states in horses and improve how we manage and interact with them.

Study details: Phelipon, R., Bertrand, L., Jardat, P., Reigner, F., Lewis, K., Micheletta, J., & Lansade, L. (2025). Characterisation of facial expressions and behaviours of horses in response to positive and negative emotional anticipation using network analysis. PLoS ONE, 20(5), e0319315.