EBTA Publications

Equine Behaviour in Mind

Intended for people who work with horses and for owners who want to learn more, Equine Behaviour in Mind provides ideas for practical ways that changes can be incorporated into daily interactions with horses. This book advocates a mindful approach to working with horses, encouraging the reader to think in a horse-centric way. Academic behavioural research is used to underpin understanding of horse behaviour and changes that can be made to positively improve horses' lives. The aim is to provide both the theory behind behaviour-minded horse management and the practical application to enable impactful changes to be made. Real world examples and case studies are provided to highlight these points. Horse behaviour is discussed in a range of contexts, including breeding, training and competing. A behaviourally minded approach to teaching riding, to medical and dental check-ups, to rehabilitation and rescue, and to driving change for horse welfare in both developed and developing countries is also covered. Equine Behaviour in Mind will enable readers to think critically in an objective way about how they manage and work with their horses.

Excerpt from the introduction:

A behaviourally minded future - Suzanne Rogers

"My vision for the future is that the currently empty words about welfare translate into actual welfare improvements, that rules and regulations that on paper should protect welfare are enforced and that "welfare" isn't just a buzzword that needs to be included to meet requirements but is valued in its own right. We will get there by building on glimpses of good welfare practice, actions that show consideration for the animals' needs, and by promoting them so that those glimpses become less transient and increasingly part of equestrian culture. Never before has the world had the infrastructure to disseminate ideas as we have now in the age of social media and web-based communication. In writing this book the authors have searched for and found glimpses of behaviourally minded aspects of equestrianism and by putting them all together in the same place we hope that the reader will find changes they want to introduce to their lives with horses and find their place in promoting the positive changes they do and see.

We will receive criticism for promoting good things that many believe do not go far enough in changing the lives of horses. But all or nothing arguments just aren't helpful for driving mainstream change, the ideas in this book won't give horses a perfect life, not even close, but if ideas are acted on, seen and spread then we are edging towards real change, making positive changes in the lives of individual animals along the way."

Our book is now available from Amazon.

Papers Published in Peer-Reviewed Academic Journals
"Perceptions of Fear and Anxiety in Horses as Reported in Interviews with Equine Behaviourists" by Suzanne Rogers and Catherine Bell in Animals journal. Full text available.

"Attitudes of the Equestrian Public towards Equine End-of-Life Decisions" by Catherine Bell and Suzanne Rogers in Animals journal. Full text available.

"Response of UK Horse, Pony and Donkey Owners to the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic" by Jo Hockenhull, Catherine Bell, Jo White and Suzanne Rogers in Animals journal. Full text available.

"Improving the Recognition of Equine Affective States" by Catherine Bell, Suzanne Rogers, Julie Taylor and Debbie Busby in Animals journal. Full text available.