FEBRUARY 2019 THE RIDER /35 ^Between The Ears^ Is Chewing and Licking


By Ellie Ross We have heard from


many sources that when you are working a horse and they begin to chew, lick, stick tongue out etc., that this is the moment that marks a point of success. But is it? What other species can you think of that chews as a sign of learning vs. behavior as- sociated with eating or stress? The phrase often heard is ‘they are digesting what they’ve learned’ but this is nothing more than a metaphorical sense of the word. The horse is not actu- ally digesting anything. You digest what you eat. Let’s consider what is actually happening in the horse that leads to their apparent out- ward lick and chew behav- iors.


A horse that is being


lunged for example, is being pressured to move on cue from the handler. This pres- sure is applied by way of clucking, flinging a rope, chasing, snapping a lunge whip etc. The horse is being taught, through what would be classified as negative re- inforcement, that when it complies, the pressure is re- moved. So essentially the horse moves around on the


lunge as an aversion of hav- ing the whip cracked etc. If someone was chasing you with a whip, would that cause you stress? Consider- ing all species, do animals chew because they learned something other than they learned the like steak or car- rots in their mouths ? Chew- ing is a sign of stress and should not be viewed as a marker of success unless the goal of course, is to invoke stress. Look at what dogs do when they are stressed. They chew as an outlet. Think about the pictures you may have seen on Facebook of dogs that have destroyed couches, area rugs etc. This is not to imply


that negative reinforcement doesn’t work. It clearly does work but it is important that handlers should be aware that the chewing behavior exhibited is indicative that what you engaged in, was stressful for the horse. I am not implying that the stress was good nor bad. It all ob- viously depends on the merit of each application and each horse. Far too often people


push their horses until they see the chewing response, even though the horse is moving forward and willing on the lunge as directed. This is a common misunder-


standing that they have to see the chewing before they cease pressure. Or, when the handler takes a break and the horse licks and chews, its thought to be a sign that the horse is thinking about it, when it is actually the horse’s nervous system switching from sympathetic to parasympathetic. Under the marketing of natural horsemanship, this misun- derstanding has sadly be- come a prevalent concept. So if you see your horse moving its jaw around, sticking its tongue out and so on, this doesn’t mean your horse has or has not learned anything. It simply means your horse has expe- rienced stress. The behavior can be further extenuated by


yawning, stretching and itching. The medical term for


this is sympathetic attenua- tion. If you think about when a frightening or stress- ful experience you may have had in the past ended, you likely let out a sigh. A sigh of relief. You would have gone through the stages of relief; Salivation resumed, swallow and then sighed. Your nervous sys- tem works this way to trig- ger your flight response as part of your ability to sur- vive. Your horse is no differ- ent. Stress triggers the sympathetic system and once the stress is resolved, the rest and restore period is resumed with the parasym- pathetic system.


Another misconcep-


tion is that lick and chew are submissive behaviors. This also is often misunderstood, because it occurs along with submissive posturing. The lick and chew is not a reflec- tion of thought anymore than it is a submissive be- havior. The signals horses give


off often are misunderstood and/or go unnoticed by hu- mans. This is understand- able since the signals are meant for other horses. If your goal is to edu-


cate your horse while reduc- ing stress,


then it is


important to recognize the signs of stress. Only then can you come up with a plan that incorporates learning with little to no stress. There


are many ways to achieve the same goals.


Author Bio: Ellie Ross is a professional animal trainer that specializes in behaviour. She has 30 years experience including being a wrangler in the film and television indus- try. Ellie resided in Los An- geles and was in charge of International Large Ani- mal Air Transport. Ellie was the Pet Expert for CTV, Reader’s Digest, Local, Satellite Radio and Rogers Television. For- merly an Eventer/Dres- sage/ Endurance rider, she is now active in Extreme Cowboy, Western Dressage and Cowboy Mounted Shooting.


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