Wild Herber Horses, Arizona Young Horses Greeting During Training
Offering Practical Services
in Applied Behavioral Psychology, Ecology and Ethology of Horses
Equine Assessments
Identifying personalities, body suitability, learning style, stress tolerance, social skills and ability to do specific sports. – in person, media evaluations ( YouTube/Video) , or phone consultations. Please contact me for individual and group prices.
Equine Behavioral Issues – Problem Solving and Training Recommendations
Private consultations to determine why specific behaviors are happening. Determine if they are pain related, a cause of misunderstanding, fear/worry based, stress induced, retardation, conditioned response, or something else. We will get to the cause of the issue and solve it.
Some Background information of Horses as a species.
Horses are free roaming social herbivores who live in small to large groups of family and friends traveling often between 15- 24 miles a day. They are native to North America and spread throughout the world because they are very adaptable. Their ability to adapt to diverse habitats as well as diverse circumstances led horses to become domesticated with humans.
Domestic horses have not evolved past the needs of their wild ancestors. Safety and friendship are the same driving factors for domestic horses and the cause of many illnesses, breakdowns & training problems.(
The horse’s basic cooperative nature to “fit in” with other social creatures has allowed it to assist and entertain humans at a risk of loosing it’s own culture and being psychologically manipulated by another species.
Most horse behavior/performance problems are either pain, worry, or lack of understanding what the horse is saying on the human’s part.
Understanding functional equine society is the easiest way to both manage and train horses.
If you are interested in equine behavior, psychology and ethology and how it is applied to the management and training of horses, please let me know. I enjoy doing clinics, giving talks and working with people who really care about learning and will apply the information and pass it on.
Consulting, Clinics , Talks, Mentoring ………..
Please Contact me for more information or to discuss
The following outlines some basic horse knowledge which if understood can easily be applied to the management and training of horses.
A Horse’s World: priorities are safety, water, food, socializing and exploring -curiosity
How do horses perceive?
Sensory perception
- Sight
- Smell/taste
- Hearing
- Touch
- ESP
Ways of Communicating – 4 main ways
1) Body language – close communication
2) Sound – distance communication – some close
3) Sensory – touch, smell, taste – close/remote
4) Energetic/vibrational – close/distance/remote
Horse – Horse Social Relationships-Roles
- 1. Foal/Mother – nurturing, grooming, feeding, teaching – safety
- 2. Foal/Foal – playing, socializing
- 3. Foal/Stallion – teaching
- 4. Foal/two-year old or other horse – playing, teaching
Horse – People Interaction – Relationships-Roles
- herbivore/carnivore – prey-predator
- nurturing/grooming/feeding – maternal/social friendship
- riding/following/cooperation – leadership, safety
Main Problems with Horse-People Relationships
- Confusion about roles
- Confusion in communication
- Low interest
- Creates pain or discomfort (mental, emotional or physical)
- High intelligence/Awareness – Low cooperation
- Low intelligence – Learning disability
- High awareness – Low attention – A.D.D.”
Improving Horse – People Relationships
1) Identify horses’ “Horsenality” i.e. “I-Want-To-Please Syndrome”
2) Determine Sensitivity, Intelligence, Awareness, Communication, Cooperation, etc
3) Check for pain or discomfort – i.e. stress assessment
4) Learn Horse Language/Communication
a) My Space – Your Space -importance of spatial awareness & eye contact
b) Move Away – Stand Still – herd etiquette
5) Encourage interest, curiosity, attention – play horse games
6) Establish Leadership – Develop Trust & Cooperation
7. Make learning fun – play therapy to build relationships
