36/ FEBRUARY 2019 THE RIDER
The Science of how Horses Think & Learn The effects of tension in horses, riders and on the score sheet.
ory describing the way horses respond when con- fused. Short rigid necks, busy mouths, fixed ears, hasty steps – these happen when a horse feels trapped between the mixed messages he’s getting from his environment or his rider. Simultaneous, opposite signals or noisy cues trigger a horse’s flight response and when there’s no way out, he 1. acts out (often subtly) or 2. zones out (learned helplessness).
By Lindsay Grice Equestrian Canada coach and judge.
smartphone generation- too many choices and voices. Demands and distractions. White knuckles by day, grinded teeth at night – yet many soldier on. We can spot
Stress and tension plague us in modern times. The
in a horse I’ll look for the source: • Is the rider focused so much on her position that she’s posing and rigid? • Is she holding her horse in place with unrelent- ing rein or spur contact? • Is she abrupt in her rein or leg cues?
On the score sheet. Horse associations which spell out equine
The Fire Horse By Lauren Bode
I blame them at all. They are fully capable of picking up each
other’s thoughts, that’s how they communicate with each other. They do find it strange that humans cannot do
the same. It is frustrating to say the least. People often will ask me if I have to ground
myself to be able to do what I do, speak to horses. I do have to do so, because strangely enough,
it is the humans who try to get me to read their minds. The animals know what I do and are quite
content with it, it is their owners or skeptics who make it a tragedy for themselves and their horses. Sometimes human babies and I will chat away
with no one being the wiser, although sometimes an observant mother would say out loud. “ Never have I seen my baby chat that way.” What do babies have to say? You would be
pleasantly surprised. They speak of their formula, their likes and
dislikes. Usually they range from not liking the colours in their room, to loving their parents, and their parents. When I visit a barn, I try to zero in onto the
neediest animal, often it is the best behaved one, who has the most problems. Think about it, he un- derstands that if he is well behaved he will not be hurt too much. We are all sentient beings, and should and
My mission statement. Having developed and practiced my talent for
years, I speak for animals. I willingly provide a voice for the non-human
creatures of our world, in the hope that I may assist them to obtain greater health, better understanding of their expected roles, and better relationships with their human partners. Through my classes and daily contacts, I en-
courage others to develop closer bonds, apprecia- tion and mutual trust with animals, and a respect for all life in this world.
Lauren Bode
At top right is a photograph taken by me in NYC at my girlfriends home. I call him the Fire Horse...
Chapter 4
Refusing the evidence of our senses There are 50 thousand thoughts in our heads
at any given time. And, there are our subconscious thoughts as well. Animals in particular live in the moment and have problems picking up our thoughts. Can’t say
could be kind to each other. Now, why do I speak with horses, dogs, cats,
rats as a matter of fact, why do I speak with all an- imals? To give them a voice in this world; plain and sim- ple.
We take them for granted, they never question
anything we do. As a matter of fact it is easy to forget that they
are walking with us on this journey of life. We share this land, this earth, this energy. In practically every ancient heritage there are
legends of people speaking to animals. On every continent there are stories of people living with an- imals, sharing wisdom with them and depending on them. Whether you consider Hindu legends, the sto-
ries of the Greek teacher Aesop, the folklore of the North American First Nations people, Australian Aborigines or even the Bible (Eve and the ser- pent,Balaam and his ass), it would appear that by the sheer weight of the common theme, there may be some possibility that communication between humans and animals did occur.
In a lesson, when I spot tension or resistance
in its mouth or stride what the rider is communi- cating with her hand and seat. Conflict behaviour is a term in learning the-
ognize and penalize technical errors, behavioural issues, lameness or poor movement. What about signs of tension? Judges are talking about this more, but subtle signs of stress are easily clouded by a flashy mover, beautiful jumper or an amazing slide. A judge feels inclined to reward impressive talent! As a coach, I find that a horse often mirrors
season to show season. Others become ring sour or ring wise. As horse show judges ,we’re trained to rec-
the signs of tension in a person – but what about a horse? Many stressed horses soldier on from show
tension (stiff back, swishing tail, etc.), is docked 1 point on the quality of the movements and an- other in the mark for submission. Horses that get their tongues over the bit or perform with an open mouth shall be marked down.
stiffly backward ears, orbital tightening, tension visible above the eyes, strained chewing muscles, mouth strained with pronounced chin, strained nostrils
to quantify horse facial expressions to determine degrees of pain. They hope that it’ll guide train- ers, owners and vets in the determination of equine pain and its care. Expressions of pain in horses included:
The science of stress. A study was done by European researchers
nalize or eliminate a horse appearing sullen, dull or lethargic. Or one with its head carried behind the vertical, giving the appearance of intimidation (a penalty 5 per maneuver in equitation and horse- manship). Descriptions of poor movement include more than the horse’s legs – a horse appearing nervous, on the muscle, intimidated, fearful of going forward or gapping the mouth. In the dressage ring, teeth grinding caused by
tension in descriptive pictures and adjectives do judges, competitors and horses a great service. By honing the penalty system to include specific signs and degrees of stress, everyone’s singing from the same song sheet – more objectivity, less judge’s preference. AQHA, for instance, instructs judges to pe-
ented but tense horse with an average happy one. It’s enough to stir some conflict behaviour in judges! That’s why I love coaching riders be- yond the mechanics and posture of the sport to being in tune with the science of how horses learn, think and feel.
About Lindsay Grice. A horse show judge and certified rid-
ing coach with a special interest in equine behaviour. After 25 years as a competitor and horse trainer, Lindsay enjoys teaching clinics 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
They’re calling their new tool the Horse Grimace Scale. I admit, it’s a dilemma – comparing a tal-
Chapter 5
Animaltalk can lead to other discoveries There is a theory that Homo sapiens, or their
predecessors, communicated not only with ani- mals, but also between themselves in a language other than the spoken language we know. At that time, probably all of the species ex-
changed survival information without dependence on words. Later, when the spoken language evolved to
the point where it served well enough to transmit thoughts and feelings, many of the rank and file lost the ability to use the old processes. Perhaps the shaman, witch doctors and medi-
cine men, retained and passed on the old knowl- edge for “calling” animals for the hunt, forecasting the weather conditions, and other esoteric prac- tices.
As modern religious beliefs, and scientific
teachings destroyed the credibility of inter species communication and similar intuitive abilities, the gifts disappeared or were driven underground. These feats are “unprovable” to the modern
skeptic who refuses to accept the evidence of his own senses, and suspects chicanery from all prac- titioners of these arts. But the ability that was once common, has not been taken from our basic nature. I believe that in the genetic pattern present in
every birth, there remains an innate ability to com- municate without language. It can be re-established in those who are pre-
pared to do the work. Animaltalk can lead to other discoveries,
however with modern students of the art, there is more to speaking with animals than the act of com- municating in itself. With it comes the suspicion, and later the cer-
tainty, that there is a spiritual connection through all living things.
Chapter 6
Legends has it There is a persistent legend about the first ar-
rival of Columbus on the islands of the Caribbean. It is said that the natives of those islands were
unable to see the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria (Ships) as they approached the shore, because they were not aware that such large floating islands could exist. Having nothing comparable to relate to these objects, the Indians, as Columbus named them, refused to see the ships until men ( who were recognizable) strode out of the water and onto dry land.
Whether or not this story is true, our so-called
psychic gifts can remain invisible and hidden in a similar manner. The idea of discovering informa-
tion through means other than our accepted physi- cal senses, is so foreign to us, that we block any- thing we receive through our other sensitivities, and label it imagination (as if that is a bad word, more on that later), illusion or wishful thinking. We even prefer to call psychic messages men-
tal disturbances or chemical flashbacks, rather than give credence to them. In rare moments of confidence in our abilities
we might accept these clues and file them under “hunches” or “gut feelings.” Now where do you suppose these hunches and
gut feelings come from? True it would appear that many could be at-
tributed to information stored in our subconscious mind and not readily accessible to conscious thought until stimulated by a key word or situation. However, that does not explain the novel ideas
that come from thinking “outside the box.” The brilliant forward thinking approaches that revolu- tionize our
lives.These innovations may not come from past experiences or subconsciously buried in- formation. Could it be that we can draw from a col- lective intelligence that is not limited to past experience, and the past to present sequence of time?
Could we be sensitive to power and intelli-
gence that transmits to us in a manner beyond the limits of our physical senses?
Lauren Bode All content copyrighted
Why do horses do what they do? “In the horse world, our traditions and evi- dence sometimes collide – I love to help rid- ers solve their horse puzzles with logic, patience and equitation science.”
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