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What Is Wrong With Horses As They Are? - Alison Averis Back to list of articles Am I the only person to be concerned about the increasing trend to control and overcome natural equine behaviour? Now before all the training people leap on me, yes, I do know that all our interactions with horses have an effect on their behaviour, and that all training is designed to do just that. I'm not talking about that, though. What concerns me is the idea that normal horse behaviours are problems, for which you need a solution that - very handily - someone can sell you. I'm not sure whether the demand has come from horse owners and riders, from manufacturers trying to sell products, or simply from the modern desire for a quick and easy fix (such as using herbicides instead of weeding the garden). In the 6000 years since horses became domesticated animals we have done much to bend their wild natures to our own ends. But it seems that it's only in the last few years in the developed countries of the world, as the idea of the horse as working partner has faded from living memory, that we have been trying to suppress their natures altogether. Rather than accepting that horses are nervous, flighty creatures with strong social and sexual drives, we have decided that it's acceptable, even necessary, to treat those natural instincts as problems or conditions that need to be cured or controlled. Hence the whips, spurs, tight nosebands, severe bits, training aids and food supplements. A study by Hockenhull and Creighton (2010) found that in a survey of over 1000 non-professional horse owners in the UK, 79% used one or more artificial aid such as a martingale, or noseband other than a simple cavesson, and 85% routinely fed dietary supplements. Astonishingly, almost one in three owners - 27% - gave their horses four or more dietary supplements along with their feed.
There seems to be a widespread perception (Hockenhull & Creighton 2010; McBane 2010) that the apparent increase in horses behaving inappropriately, and the proliferation of ways to modify their behaviour that do not rely on the skills of the rider, is because many more horses these days are owned by novices who use artificial aids and dietary supplements to help with problems that they lack the skills or knowledge to solve. However, this survey showed quite clearly that the riders using the largest number of artificial aids and giving the most dietary supplements were those who described themselves as committed amateurs, rather than leisure riders, and who rated their level of skill as 'high'. These products, it seems, are used most by the very riders who ought to have the skills and knowledge not to need them. Many years ago, the sports writer Simon Barnes wrote a monthly column for the UK magazine Horse & Rider. One sentence that he wrote has stayed in my mind ever since: "The whip is an admission of failure." He meant that by carrying a whip, he was, in effect, saying 'I cannot motivate this horse to go forwards without inflicting or threatening pain.' The trouble is that we have an equestrian culture - and this recent study confirms it - in which fierce bits, and crank nosebands, and training gadgets that resemble bondage outfits, and whips, and, more than anything else, spurs, are seen as the badges of honour of the skilled riders, the serious, proper riders, as opposed to the 'happy hackers'. How would it be if everything changed, so that using an artificial aid proclaimed to the world, 'I'm not a good enough rider to fix this problem without this gadget.'? What would it take to make that happen? This isn't a perfect world; all horse-rider relationships are works in progress; and none of us are quite as good as we'd like to be, but I do think horses in general would have a better time if we could change our culture to one of using as little equipment as necessary, rather than as much as possible, and if more people were in the habit of questioning what they do and the kit they use. For example: Does my horse really need this? Would something else, like some extra riding lessons, or less hard feed for the horse, be another way to solve the problem? Am I just using this equipment because I've always used it, or everyone else uses it, or the professional riders I admire use it? I always feel sceptical about the merits of the various feed supplements designed to modify horse behaviour and suspect that they work largely by convincing the rider that the horse will be calmer, or less bolshy, or whatever, while taking the supplement, and so she rides with more confidence or tact, and so the horse behaves better. The causes of inappropriate behaviour are likely to lie in the realm of inappropriate feeding, housing, exercising, training or care, and it seems improbable that small scoops of this or that herb, or vitamin mix, or other magic powder can have much effect if some major aspect of the horse's life is wrong. Indeed, the labelling on the packaging of many supplements gives the impression that nothing is guaranteed: phrases such as 'believed to be beneficial for X', or 'may help horses suffering from X', or 'traditionally used for treating X', or 'to support the function of X' enable the manufacturer to suggest that their product will help with something while not making any direct claims that would get them into trouble with Trading Standards. When you use herbs, what you are giving your horse is an unknown dose of an unknown number of active ingredients, of unknown strength and in many cases unknown effect, with unknown side-effects and interactions with other supplements and prescribed medicines and, in products from less-reputable companies, unknown contaminants including heavy metals and prescription drugs. Skeptvet (2010) gives a comprehensive and alarming list of publications on the subject. However, whether riders are inadvertently poisoning their horses with these products or not, the fact remains that the majority of riders seem to think it's OK to use drugs to modify their horse's behaviour - because that's what these products essentially are. Is that really an acceptable way to treat these animals that we say we love? I do suspect that a lot of behavioural or temperament problems in horses could be solved not by adding substances to their concentrate feed but by giving them less of it, by giving them more exercise and a more varied and exciting life, and by training them in a way that gives them security and predictability, rather than the opposite. The underlying problem seems to be that many people find the natural behaviour of horses difficult to deal with, or frightening, or in some way undesirable, and this is possibly because it's so different from our own behaviour. About ten years ago, Equine Behaviour Forum member Emma Creighton conducted a scientific study into the aspects of horse and pony temperament that are important to riders and handlers. Her findings were that most of the respondents preferred horses who were in the mid-range of emotional reactivity, were highly sociable and responsive to humans, and were extrovert and open to new experiences. These preferences were independent of rider age, years of experience or level of skill. What came as a surprise was that the horse temperament described as ideal by most people was more a description of the average dog than the average horse. Emma suggested that since we have shared more years of our history with dogs than with horses, we perhaps relate better towards, and have an inbuilt predisposition towards, animals that behave like dogs. Is this why we try so hard to stop horses behaving like horses? References Creighton, E (2003). Equine temperament and welfare. Equine Behaviour 59, 13-16. Hockenhull, J & Creighton, E (2010). Can we blame the widespread use of artificial training aids and dietary supplements in the UK leisure horse population on novice owners? In Proceedings of the 6th International Equitation Science Conference, p40. http://www.equitationscience.com McBane, S (2010). Conflict behaviours - causes, effects and remedies. Equi-Ads, September 2010, p40. http://www.equiads.net Skeptvet (2010). Risks of herbs and supplements finally getting some attention. http://www.skeptvet.com/blog/2010/02/344/ First published in The Equine Independent. Reprinted with permission from Alison Averis, Editor of Equine Behaviour, the Journal of the Equine Behaviour Forum. |
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