Ethical Horse Training: Make It Science-Backed & Welfare-Based

I believe that the easiest way to protect horses is to make sure their people have the best possible information and understand how to use it. That’s why I started this blog. But what is the “best possible information” and how do we implement it in our training and management of horses? If we’re putting the horse’s interests first, the best methods are science-backed and welfare-based. What does that mean? First, the science. Zoologists, biologists, and others have been studying animal behavior (known as ethology) since the 1800s. In the past 20 years, there has been a surge in new animal behavioral research, which has caused scientists to reevaluate their understanding of how animals behave, communicate, and learn. Changes in technology (for example, tests that allow us to measure cortisol levels in a horse’s saliva) and methodology (for example, studying a herd of wild horses over many months rather than relying on anecdotal observations) have helped provide ethologists with a wealth of new information. This research has greatly expanded our understanding of how horses interact with each other and their environment, and how they learn. Understanding how horses naturally behave and why is key to interacting with them in a safe and humane way. And understanding how they learn, is key to developing successful methods of handling, riding, and training.

Understanding the effect of horse behavior on handling, riding, and training is where equitation science comes in. A fairly new field of study, equitation science seeks to apply knowledge about horse behavior and learning to horse-human interactions, especially riding and training. Equitation science research studies aspects of horse training and riding that are objective and measurable. This research helps uncover how horses learn from people, and how we can train them in a clear and consistent way.

But science alone is not enough. Horses are living creatures who are capable of experiencing physical and psychological pain and distress. That’s why we also need to consider welfare when interacting with horses. According to the American Veterinary medical Association, animal welfare describes “how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives. An animal is in a good state of welfare if (as indicated by scientific evidence) it is healthy, comfortable, well-nourished, safe, able to express innate behavior, and if it is not suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear, and distress.” This definition encompasses the Five Freedoms, which have been set forth as the global minimum standard for animal welfare. The Five Freedoms are:

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst

2. Freedom from discomfort

3. Freedom from pain, injury, and disease

4. Freedom to express normal and natural behavior

5. Freedom from fear and distress These are the minimum needs that should be met by anyone caring for a horse in order to ensure that the horse’s welfare isn’t being compromised. By keeping these freedoms in mind when we interact with horses horses, we can avoid causing them unnecessary physical and psychological distress.

The behavioral and equitation science research discussed above help inform how we can meet the Five Freedoms with respect to horses. For example, observational research into wild horse behavior tells us that horses live in herds and are social animals. They regularly engage in mutual grooming (called allogrooming) and play and prefer to eat and drink in the presence of other horses. This behavioral information tells us that to meet the fourth freedom (freedom to engage in natural behavior), horses should be housed in groups whenever possible and should be allowed to see, touch, and interact with other horses on a regular basis. Similarly, equitation science tells us that horses who are given two conflicting cues by a rider (e.g., forward cue with the leg and simultaneous stop cue with the rein) can become confused and experience stress as a result. This information tells us that we should only apply one cue at a time in order to help our horses learn and to ensure the fifth freedom (freedom from distress). These are just a few examples of how science and welfare work hand in hand to inform horse management and training. In upcoming posts, I will dive deeper into what modern scientific research has uncovered and how we can use it to keep our horses happy, healthy, and engaged in learning.

To learn more about equitation science, visit the International Society for Equitation Science here.

For more information on animal welfare, visit the AVMA here.