Tradition in the Equine Industry

The equine industry is one riddled with tradition, sometimes this can be useful but other times it can be detrimental to horses and humans.

For my first blog post I thought I would share a little about me and an introduction to where tradition needs to be overtaken by science in the industry. I am an Equine Behaviour Consultant based in Essex in the UK. I have a BSc (Hons) degree in Equine Behavioural Science and have spent my entire life engulfed in the equine industry. Throughout this time I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of the industry, and have made drastic changes in the way I look after and train my own horses.

Tradition is what the equine industry has been built on, but it is now causing detrimental issues for our horses. From restricted turnout to aversive training methods, it is what is taught to younger generations. Perhaps the most damaging use of tradition is that it often overthrows what science has taught us. I often hear the words "I have been training horses for 50 years, it has always worked for me why would I change now?" This is adding to the damage caused to our horses. Many believe that because they have done something a certain way for many years, means that the new information science is teaching us is irrelevant. This could not be further from the truth. We are constantly learning and we need to rely on science to guide this.

Research by Bell et al., 2019 depicted no association between professionals in the industry and their ability to recognise stress behaviours in horses. In fact, they often mis-understood stress behaviour for excitement. This research shows a clear lack of understanding of equine behaviour. It is concerning that many riders at the top of their sport are unable to recognise these clear signs of fear and stress in their horses and gives a clear indication that this information needs to be projected into the industry.

So is this affecting horses?

YES!

Horses are herd animals who find safety in numbers. However, traditionally, not only are horses exposed to little to no social interaction, but they are often given little to no turnout. These are basic requirements, just like providing our horses with species appropriate food and water. It is also common for training to be through aversive methods such as; the use of whips, spurs and strong bits. Training has been shown to be much more effective through positive reinforcement and creating positive associations with humans and the training we ask of our horses (Larssen et al., 2022).

The social license to operate (SLO) is at the forefront of the sport horse industry over recent years. This has the potential to cease horse sport all together if changes are not made. The majority of issues causing the SLO surround inappropriate training and management of horses. There are a variety of small changes we can make TODAY to improve our horses lives and still enjoy all of the activities we do. For example, ensure your horse has access to; ad-lib forage, friends, lots of space (ideally, at least 1 acre per horse). Try introducing some more horse centered learning approaches, by using all of the online resources available to understand 'equine learning theory'. Reduce the amount of aversive training methods you use in your daily training, try introducing some positive reinforcement to increase your horses positive associations with you and riding!

The equine industry has a long way to go but I do believe changes are happening, for the better!

Don't forget to explore the training methods and qualifications your trainer has. Why not make the swap to a qualified positive reinforcement trainer who understands how your horse learns and thinks.

References:

Bell, C. Rogers, S. Taylor, J. Busby, D. (2019) Improving the Recognition of Equine Affective States. Animals 2019. 9(12), pp. 1124. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9121124

Larssen, R. Roth, L, S, V. (2022) Regular positive reinforcement training increases contact-seeking behaviour in horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 252, pp. 105651. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105651