Behaviour & Cognition

Why am I struggling to train my horse?

September 17, 2021September 18, 2021 communication, horse emotion, horse psychology, training

Do you think you are using an effective training method? Why what YOU think doesn’t matter!

chestnut horse head against grey background

What does it mean for a horse to have learned helplessness?

May 6, 2021September 6, 2021 horse psychology, training

Does your chosen training method induce learned helplessness? What it is and why we should all learn to recognise it.

Can we prevent trigger stacking?

January 22, 2019January 22, 2019 emotion, fear, horse psychology, training

We can’t control everything – but are there ways that we can help prepare our horse to stay calm under pressure and be less affected by the unexpected?

Trigger Stacking: how little things add up to cause a big reaction

January 9, 2019January 23, 2019 fear, horse psychology, training, stress

Explosive behaviour often has multiple underlying causes. The challenge is learning to identify these before they add up and cause a big reaction.

How do horses learn to respond to cues?

August 16, 2018April 27, 2020 horse psychology, training

Often overlooked in the horse world, a solid understanding of Learning Theory is a huge asset when working with horses.

Why do horses yawn?

May 17, 2018May 17, 2018 communication, horse emotion, horse psychology, licking and chewing

The answer to this question may seem straight-forward enough but yawning can mean more than simply that your horse is tired! Understanding this and related behaviours can help us make better decisions about how to train and handle horses.

Looking Glass, the Mustang stallion featured in Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies. Bay Mustang standing on slope.

When and why do stallions kill foals?

February 24, 2017October 20, 2017 inheritance, stallion, evolution, sociality

Though disturbing to us, infanticide is fairly commonplace across many species. When and why does this shocking behaviour occur in horses? And does it serve a purpose?

Why excitement is probably not why your horse is strong under saddle

December 21, 2016February 19, 2017 fear, horse emotion, horse psychology, training

Like most animals, horses prefer to conserve their energy for those moments when their survival really depends on it. So why do some horses get “strong”?

Does your horse know how you feel?

February 10, 2016February 21, 2017 emotion, facial expressions, facial recognition, communication

Have you ever wondered whether your horse knows how you are feeling? Study sheds new light and suggests owners may be on to something.

Learned Fear

December 4, 2015January 15, 2017 fear, horse psychology, training, show jumping

What should you do when your horse refuses a jump? Why responding with a smack or a ‘pony club kick’ may not be the best way to go…

The Unexpected Benefits of Spooking

December 2, 2015January 22, 2019 fear, horse psychology, spooking, training

Spooking can be scary, funny or frustrating. But why do horses spook, and is there a silver lining (Horse: AAAGH A SILVER LINING!!!) to this behaviour?

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