Behaviour in question

JOHANNA MACARTHUR, resident trainer at the Norfolk Horse Training and Equitation Club, provides Norfolk Equestrian readers with answers to some frequently asked questions on horse behaviour.

All training is affected by the horse's ability to learn both as an individual and as a prey species. The first thing to remember is that every horse will learn based on their past experiences, age and breed etc. For example, cold bloods will generally be less reactive to fearful situations than warm bloods and memories of previous handling or training - both good and bad - will affect their ability to process new information.

Secondly, as a prey animal, the horse's learning ability is influenced by their genetic make up. There are some behaviours that horses are naturally programmed to do as part of their survival mechanism. The most alarming for us is their instant reaction to fearful stimuli, called spooking. For the horse however, this is a unique life-saving response.

The very instant a horse is alerted to a potentially fearful situation, a part of the brain - called the hypothalamus - is simultaneously activated with the pituitary and adrenal glands (known as the HPA axis). This mechanism tells the horse to move its legs - FAST! This is also known as the 'flight' response.

It is this natural response that allows the wild horse to evade predators and remains one of the responses most dangerous to riders and handlers - when in flight response, the horse's ability to learn and listen is lost.

Many of us have been told for years that keeping a horse going is best when in a fearful situation. In fact the opposite is actually more effective in most cases. Successfully training the 'stop' command keeps the horse calm. By keeping the horse's legs still, you stop any further stimulation of the HPA flight response.

However, because the horse has evolved to out-run predators and adapt to living a continually roaming life, seeking out new pastures, nature has provided it with an excellent memory. This enables the horse to continually learn about its new environment in order to survive and makes it very easy to retrain.

Below are some questions we have been asked:

How can I train my horse to be calm and safe?

Teach the go, stop, back up and head down commands. To train all of these correctly you must be consistent every time you handle the horse, even when leading in from the field. To train your horse effectively, use a minimal amount of pressure to encourage the horse and release it the instant the horse starts to do the right movement.

I would encourage and reinforce the right movement every time with a reward, either a little scratch on their neck/withers, a very small food reward or just leave them a minute or two to stand still. Rewarding for a requested behaviour is known as 'positive reinforcement'.

Why do some horses behave badly?

The short answer to a big question is that horses, like us, are individuals, and some cope with life better than others.

To understand why a horse is behaving dangerously we need to analyse everything that is done with the horse. Horses can behave in a dangerous or unwanted manner for many reasons i.e. pain, memory, learned behaviour or daily conflict/stress. It may well mean that, as an owner, you need to address one or more of the following: pain/health issues, stable management, nutrition, tack, riding, ground handling, social species, contact etc.

Another reason why horses behave badly may be behind our long held views and terminology used to traditionally describe horse behaviour. We describe problem horses with vices as if they are in some way culpable and determined to undermine us at every turn. This may be why excessive force is deemed an acceptable necessity in traditional horse training and used to pressure or force a naughty horse to comply. But force only serves to create further conflict between horse and handler.

In fact we need to recognise that horses are actually often displaying learned behaviour in order to get them out of a situation they don't want to be in (rearing when they see a tractor and running home minus a rider springs to mind).

My 12-year-old horse hates the farrier. I have owned him for five years and every time the farrier calls, the vet has to come and sedate him. How can we overcome this?

Looking at it from the horse's perspective first, he is only responding to stimuli and through learned behaviour. I quite agree that, in the long-term, sedation does not help for many reasons, the main one being that a sedated horse is not given the opportunity to learn from the experience, and so things will never improve.

First we have to understand that fear is the root of this issue. Somewhere in his early training he became fearful - very likely he was then tied shorter, which caused him to feel trapped - he may well have been shouted at, smacked and twitched etc. as his behaviour became more dangerous and people became frightened of injury.

No wonder, then, that he rapidly learned what would happen to him as soon as the cheerful farrier appeared. Your horse anticipates what may happen to him, he has an unpleasant memory and has learned to respond violently to try and escape.

This is a problem that can be retrained. It will mean lots of time and patience and you will need to work closely with both the vet and the farrier and quite possibly a trainer who understands and promotes positive reinforcement training methods.

Firstly, you need to break the whole thing down into segments and you will need to do this at home with him on your own. Ask your farrier to show you how he holds the leg and puts it down and how you can re-create the tapping motion of the hammer.
On a quiet day when you have time, pick his feet up in the same fashion as the farrier and repeat this until he is relaxed. Reward him when he does the right thing.

Then, when he is relaxed, tap his foot lightly with a hoof pick or brush until he is happy to let you do so - remember to reward. Make sure you have a friend with you and wear a hat for safety. Do this over several days.

Hopefully your farrier and vet will lend you an old apron or vet's smock to make you look and smell like a frightening visitor to your horse. Take this stage very slowly - I would just rub the horse and ignore the dreaded feet. Maybe dress like this while you carry out your chores.

Remember the aim is to get the horse to be relaxed and calm around you. Once your horse is confident when you approach him, rub a leg.

Increase the touches on the leg getting lower and eventually pick up the hoof - keep rewarding!

When the horse is relaxed, move on to tapping the foot with a hoof pick and brush. Do this gently to the wall, sole, frog and heel. This must be done many times in a single day over the period of a week of so. Build to the point where you can tap a hammer on the wall of the hoof. When you feel confident with your horse, ask the vet or the farrier to pop by.

They must not touch the horse or get too close. Wait for the horse to relax and reward, arrange for one of them to call again the next day and do the same.

It will depend on the reaction of the horse as to how fast you can take this training. Everything must be done at the horse's pace based on his calm and relaxed manner. But you want to build up to where the vet and farrier can come and touch and reward the horse and leave.

Eventually ask the farrier to gently tap the feet with the hammer. If the horse is calm, he can increase the hammer taps but he must then reward and leave. If at any time the horse wishes to put the foot to the ground then let him. Never fight this urge, just wait a second or two and try again - remember to reward only when he has lifted his foot and is calm.

Eventually your farrier should be able to build up to taking off the shoes. As long as the whole process is calm and without conflict, the horse will learn to associate his hooves, farriers and vets as a positive (food) experience.

We strongly recommend that you ask your veterinary surgeon to check if your horse is displaying out of context or dangerous behaviour in case there is an underlying physical problem. Do also ensure that your trainer obtains your vet's permission to undertake any behaviour training with your horse.

• Johanna Macarthur is an advocate of Equitation Science and the methods used by the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre.
  
  
• Recommended further reading on equine behaviour for vets and owners:
  Why Does My Horse? and Equine Behaviour by Dr Paul McGreevy
  
  
• Useful contacts:
  Norfolk Horse Training Club at Sallyannweston@tiscali.co.uk
  www.australianequinebehaviour.com
  Norfolk Horse Training tel: 01263 838052
  Credit: McGreevy PD The Advent of Equitation Science Vet. J. (2006)