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40/ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 THE RIDER


The Science of how Horses Think & Learn Speed and tension...when haste makes waste


ring… Baulking at the gate, or


bolting through it. Running through the rider’s hands or running off line. Resisting the rider’s hands by bracing, gapping the mouth or ap- proaching the next obstacle with a high head.


Associating tension with the show ring. Adding to the stress is


By Lindsay Grice Equestrian Canada coach and judge.


Speed and tension…when haste makes waste. This weekend I judged


some speed - barrels and poles on one day and jumpers the next. It was ev- ident some riders had put in hours developing a plan, practicing the lines and turns of their discipline to shave precious seconds. Terrific to watch.


But others had not. With speed comes ex-


citement and a surge of adrenaline – in both horse and human. Signals from rider to horse get muddled when either is distracted or anxious. It’s common for a rider to get so caught up in the moment or focused on winning that they’re not mindful of the cues they’re relaying to their horse. For a


prey animal, adrenaline trig- gers a flight response. And flight is self-generating -the faster a horse’s legs, go, the more stressed he becomes. When a horse is tense, he can’t think, learn, or even feel. That’s why, when afraid, a horse could run right into a fence! Flight response or eager- ness?


Oh c’mon, you might


say, my horse is just keen. “Chomping at the bit” so to speak. Flight response in a


horse ranges from mild to maximum expressions. “The flight response -


it can be fully on or partly on. The flight response shows up in various behav- ioral ways too. For example, bolting, bucking, rearing, shying, tension, running, hurrying, jogging, rushing,” Dr. Andrew Mclean. And that’s when things


go wrong in the show


the vulnerability of the indi- vidual performance charac- teristic of speed classes. A herd animal, alone, is at risk. His buddies are back at the in gate. Add to the unpro- tected feeling the unfamiliar sights and sounds of the ring and the horse takes a mental note – the show ring is a scary place. Unlike other informa-


tion, once learned fearful re- sponses are not forgotten. You can layer new re- sponses on top, so they be- come less easily retrieved, but forever after, fearful re- sponses need careful train- ing to keep the lid on them. Thus, while most skills


are learned by trial and error, it only takes one or two trials for him to learn something through fear. So if your horse is confused on course AND his legs are going fast, he’ll associate the ring with an unsettling place to be. Ring-wise be- comes ring sour.


Every little resistance costs precious time.


Every little resistance costs precious time.


As adrenaline rises in the show ring, riders' signals can become abrupt or er- ratic. Your horse may associate tension with the show ring.


I love working with “speed rid-


ers” in clinics or lessons – helping them to: • identify specific instances in which the horse is resisting their cues on course • clarify their cues • speak in a code the horse under- stands – even while navigating at speed. Jumper, barrels or extreme ob-


stacle races. Speed under control is quicker than speed out of control. And it’s fun to judge!


About Lindsay Grice. A horse show judge and


certified riding coach with a special interest in equine be- haviour. After 25 years as a competitor and horse trainer, Lindsay enjoys teaching clin- ics and travelling to Ontario farms as a freelance instructor. She’s taught the science of equine behaviour and learning for horse associations, courses for University of Guelph and therapeutic riding facilities. Lindsay judges many


disciplines and breeds and serves on an EC judging com- mittee


Why do horses do what they do? “In the horse world, our tradi- tions and evidence sometimes collide – I love to help riders solve their horse puzzles with logic, patience and equitation science.”


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