DECEMBER 2025 THE RIDER /29 The Science of how Horses Think & Learn


On horse behavior, reflecting and pondering at Christmas


“A break in the pressure


often allows the horse to return [from sympathetic] to parasym- pathetic. As that occurs you see the licking and chewing re- sponse…. in horses I tend to think of this as simple neuro- chemically mediated responses that do not necessarily reflect any thought processes.” Dr Sue McDonnell A break in pressure… Over


Christmas, the rhythm of our culture slows down a bit. The pressure lets up, and we have time to ponder. In the Christmas story some


By Lindsay Grice,


Equestrian Canada coach and horse show judge.


If you’ve trained a few horses,


you’ll have noted it - a licking and chewing action after pausing for break in a training session, or a release in pressure. Early natural horsemanship


trainers talked a lot about it. Yet, horse people have speculated about it - Is the horse submitting? Or reflecting? … pondering? So here are my reflections - first


a scientific perspective, and then, one more philosophical… As someone fascinated by horse


behaviour, I’m always one to ask questions - sorting through our horse traditions to find the WHYs.


I now think a little differently


about this licking and chewing reac- tion than I did in my earlier years training horses. It appears that, to a horse, this


behaviour’s not so much an aha mo- ment. Or a gesture of submission. It’s more of a reflexive response. Like that moment of relief you get when the car, approaching a bit too fast in your rear- view mirror, stops short of your bumper. You’d stopped chewing your gum, your mouth went dry, and now… you swallow. A nervous system “reset”.


stressful news came to to Mary, a yet unmarried, 1st C Jewish young woman. She was preg- nant - in a culture that wouldn’t take kindly to that kind of thing. And yet she was told this child was to be the long-awaited Mes-


siah. She received the message with mixed emotion: Puzzlement. Alarm. Then she chewed on it – as a


horse might. Mary “was treasuring up all these matters in her heart.” From the gospel of Luke. She paused to ponder it all: the


historic prophesies she’d learned by rote; the odd visit and excited ac- counts of random shepherds; the im- plications of the hardship and the honour of her new calling. She strung them together, like treasures - all she’d been taught, heard and seen. Then, re- flection turned to resignation and with


Beth Underhill And Christopher Lowe Join The Jumping High-Performance Advisory Group


Following the call for committee


members to join the Jumping High- Performance Advisory Group (HPAG), we are pleased to announce that Beth Underhill (ON) and Christo- pher Lowe (BC) have been selected. Beth, a long-time Canadian


Equestrian Team member with multi- ple accolades to her credit, was instru- mental in the development of the Youth Technical Advisor position which she held for four years. Beth has served on the Equestrian Canada board of directors; EC Rules, Jumping and Youth Bursary Committees, and has sat on the Editorial board. Among her many awards, Beth has received the Equestrian Leadership of the Year Award, is an inductee in the Jump Canada Hall of Fame and was voted Canadian Equestrian Team Rider Rep- resentative for eight consecutive years.


Chris has served on the Eques-


trian Canada board of directors, as well as the finance and SIP commit- tees. He has also held the position of Vice President. In addition to his ex- perience as a high-performance athlete competing up to the CSI5* level, Chris has an extensive background as a Financial Portfolio Investor.| Members of the Jumping HPAG


Ian Millar Chair (Feb 2023) Technical Advisor | ON


Tiffany Foster Athlete Representative (2025-2027) | BC


|Marni Von Schalburg (2nd term 2025 - 2028) | ON


Mike Lawrence (3rd term 2025-2028) | ON Beth Underhill (1st term 2025-2029) | ON


Christopher Lowe (1st term 2025-2029) | BC


further reflection, into a song of joy.


Pondering takes some


effort, with the phone in our pockets ready to fill every crack in our days with its opinions and images. Treas- uring takes some silence. I’m still chewing on


the reflections of Pastor Kevin Loten: “Why is God so quiet? I’ve


learned in my own life, sometimes painfully, there are some words and expres- sions in the deepest parts of who we are that we are try- ing to find. And they can only be found and formed in silence. Silence is, in fact, part of God’s vocabulary; part of God’s language.” Whether or not you


celebrate Christmas, may About Lindsay Grice.


“Is it me or my horse?” Horse show judge, coach and spe-


cialist in equine behavior, Lindsay Grice loves to help riders solve their “horse puzzles”, sharing keys from the science and research of how horses think and learn.


She coaches riders of all levels to


prepare for competition and mostly, to enjoy the process of riding, not just the results! Lindsay enjoys teaching clinics and


travelling to Ontario farms as a freelance coach. She’s taught the science of equine behav- ior and learning for horse associations, courses for University of Guelph and therapeutic riding facilities. Lindsay judges multiple disciplines


and breeds, holding judging certifications with • AQHA


• Equestrian Canada • Extreme Cowboy And also judging: • Working Equitation • Hunter/Jumper • Mountain Trail • and some dressage. She loves to share her own insights


and stories learned from 25 years as a competitor and horse trainer. “Why do horses do what they do?” Lindsay says, “In the horse world,


our traditions and the evidence some- times collide. I love to communicate the WHYs behind the HOWs of riding. “Eq- uitation Science” – it makes life better for horses when we speak in a language they understand!”


you find a break in the holi- day buzz, in the stress of our digital culture and uncer- tainty of our world’s events, to carve out a place for you to pause. To chew on things. To ponder and to treasure.


Merry Christmas! Lindsay


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