Nottingham...

A unique sanctuary of True Horsemanship

in East Lansing, Michigan

New year thoughts from Cheryl

Recently I read Temple Grandin's book, Animals Make us Human.In this book the reader is given a new perspective on how animals think and feel. In the chapter on horses Ms. Grandin explains that since the horse is a prey species and their survival depends primarily on flight, their dominant emotion is fear. Successful training of horses will therefore depend on slowly exposing them to new and strange sensations and stimuli.

One of the most interesting points in Ms.Grandin's section on the horse was that both anatomical and behavioral research has proven that the horse's brain does transfer information from one eye to the other. The reason a horse may spook at the same object it has seen, but from a different direction is because the object in fact looks different and becomes a brand new scary thing.

Animals and especially horses are extremely sensitive to sensory based details. A common mistake is that people make when dealing with horses is confusing fear with aggression. Most behavioral problems that occur are caused by fear and pain, not aggression. Therefore the worst thing that can be done to a frightened horse is yelling or hitting him.

The author also pointed out that horses are herd animals with strong social needs. Simply being able to see other horses is not enough to keep a horse happy, they need to be able to groom one another. In fact several studies have found that when horses groom one another their heart rate is actually lowered. By providing your horse turn-out with other horses you will also improve the quality of his training and his overall well-being.

Repeated behavioral studies have shown that positive reinforcement is a much better way to train any animal. positive reinforcement can include stroking with firm strokes that feel like the mother's tongue licking her foal.(Do not use pats, because horses may interpret pats as hitting) Treats are another positive reinforcement that I use with all my lesson horses and my riding horses. Over the years I have brought many run-away ponies back under control with the crinkle of a peppermint wrapper! Research shows animals trained with positive reinforcement learn more quickly. Punishment, on the other hand, can stifle creativity and impede his innate problem solving skills.

Many years ago I remember Vi Hopkins saying to me, "Cheryl, never treat your horse as a slave or a servant, always treat him with respect and kindness as both your partner and your friend." I have been fortunate over the years to have worked with many great horseman that have always treated and trained their horses with positive reinforcement. My one hope is that in the future my students will also continue to treat their horses as friends worthy of their respect, kindness and love.

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