OCTOBER 2022 THE RIDER /27 Confident Horsemanship: Why Does Your Horse Do That? What’s Really Behind Unwanted Behaviours.


haviours was his mouthi- ness. He wasn’t nipping or biting, but he con- stantly grabbed things - like lead ropes and reins - in his mouth and didn’t let go. The horse’s owner had


treated the unwanted be- haviours in a way that is most common in the horse world. Yanking the rope out of the horse’s mouth. In a loud voice, telling him “no! Stop it!” Thankfully, she wasn’t


Anne Gage for The Rider - August 2022 My client’s lovely 5 year


old, chestnut, Quarter Horse gelding is lovely when being rid- den. But, she was frustrated with his behaviour on the ground. One of the most challenging be-


hitting him - another far too common human response. Another odd and concern-


ing behaviour had happened a couple of times. The gelding had been standing very quietly in the cross-ties when he suddenly - without warning - spooked,


jumped back and broke the ties. His owner found that behaviour very unsettling and confusing. Observing the gelding, I no-


ticed that he if he wasn’t stand- ing quietly and staring into space unblinking, he was busy with his mouth or pawing. Turned loose in the arena, he didn’t go off and investigate anything, try to roll or go fo a run. He just stood in the same spot where he was re- leased. I explained to my client that


all animals (including humans) have 5 fear responses - the 5 Fs - flight, fight, fidget, freeze, and faint.


You’re likely familiar with


seeing the flight and fight re- sponses in horses - trying to run away (i.e. spooking) or behaving “aggessively” (i.e. striking, kick- ing, etc.). Fainting, where the


horse simply shuts down, sink- ing or falling to the ground, is less common. Cold-backed horses may do this in response to pain. Horses worked in very tight side or draw reins might also faint as well. My client’s gelding was


showing the fidget and freeze re- sponses. When a horse freezes, it


stands completely still, holds his breath, and usually isn’t blink- ing. This response is often la- beled as being stubborn because the horse won’t move. The handler or rider typi-


cally increases the pressure which creates even more stress or fear in the horse. That can re- sult in explosive behaviour as the horse switches to the flight or flight response. How is the response differ-


Equine Guelph Names September Senior Horse Education Month


Guelph ON, September 1, 2022 – Equine Guelph has announced that the month of September will be Senior Horse Education Month. As our landscape starts to turn golden with the approach of fall, and a nip of nostalgia in the air, we pause to think about our equid friends in their golden years. The next four weeks will be dedicated to increasing awareness of ways for care- givers to be the best advocates for the health and welfare of their senior horses.


Senior Horse resources at The Horse Portal Three of the top ways to


approach this are covered in Equine Guelph’s free interactive healthcare tool – Senior Horse Challenge (http://www.thehorse- portal.ca/SeniorHorseTool). Pri- orities include early intervention for health challenges, making management changes as needed, and pain recognition. The tool also includes information on signs of aging, the most com- mon health concerns for senior horses and end of life decisions. Take the 20-question quiz


to test your current knowledge. Then, sign up for a deeper dive into delivering the best possible care for aging equines by regis- tering for the inaugural offering of The Senior Horse course. This new two-week virtual short course will run from Sept 19 – 30, 2022 on TheHorsePortal.ca.


Health Challenges Everyone hopes for an


equine that will age gracefully and painlessly until the end, but the odds are at some point you will need to address changes in health status. Horse owners need to be vigilant monitoring for musculoskeletal abnormalities, gastrointestinal issues, dental problems, eyesight issues, heart trouble, respiratory concerns, os- teoarthritis , PPID/Cushings and metabolic disorders, among oth- ers – all of which all can become more prevalent with age.


Management changes Keeping on top of veteri-


nary care with more frequent dental exams and blood work is


golden years.”


Take the totally free Senior Horse


Challenge


(http://www.TheHorsePortal.ca/ SeniorHorseTool) to prime your- self for The Senior Horse course – one of the best investments you can make to help your horse maintain health and welfare in their elder years. Register for the two-week online course before the Sept 19 start date! Equine Guelph is excited


Spend some time investing in the care of your senior horse(s) this September with Equine Guelph’s practical resources. Photo credit: Created in Canva with use of Istock images


a wise preventative management practice when caring for senior horses. What is going on in the mouth can alert horse owners as to when it is time to change up the diet in order to maintain good body condition. Getting thin should not be accepted as a normal part of aging. It’s a red flag to change management strategies! Whether it is a change to softer feed or an elder horse not being able to access its fair share of feed in the herd, changes in management need to be considered with every new challenge. Of course, there is the other end of the scale where obese seniors can be at risk for laminitis, endocrine diseases, and gastrointestinal


issues.


Again, management is an impor- tant component to keeping these golden oldies comfortable. Just like in people, an-


other change that can cause re- evaluation of workload and require pain management is the onset of arthritis.


Pain recognition As a prey animal, horses


are masters at hiding pain. Sometimes it takes a very obser- vant horse person to pick up on


subtle cues. The Senior Horse Challenge is full of helpful re- sources including new research on equine facial grimace scores and pain checklists The Senior Horse Chal-


lenge (http://www.TheHorse- Portal.ca/SeniorHorseTool) is available on Equine Guelph’s education platform, TheHorse- Portal.ca. This invaluable tool takes five minutes to complete, and provides downloadable print outs of helpful tips and fact sheets. There are also great video resources such as tips from Certified journeyman far- rier, Sean Elliott providing his advice on senior hoof care. Equine Guelph thanks


Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Canada for sponsoring both of its senior horse online re- sources - the free tool and new course. “As horses are living


longer, maintaining their health and well-being is imperative for their quality of life,” says Randy Trumpler, Equine Business Unit Director at Boehringer Ingel- heim. “This online tool and The Senior Horse course offered by Equine Guelph are practical ways to prepare for your horse’s


to announce Dr. Bettina Bobsien will be the course instructor for this inaugural offering. This Vancouver Island-based veteri- narian brings a wealth of experi- ence with a lifelong passion for both animal care and animal welfare, working with both the BCSPCA and Humane Canada on a variety of animal welfare is- sues. She is currently the chair of the CVMA Animal Welfare Committee, chair of The Eques- trian Canada Health and Welfare Committee, and the veterinary ethics editor for the Canadian Veterinary Journal. Check out this video for a


sneak peak of Dr. Bobsien’s top tips for senior horse owners. For more information on


the First offering of The Senior horse course, check out this re- cent press release (Equine Guelph’s Latest Online Course is Golden).


About Equine Guelph: Equine Guelph is the


horse owners’ and care givers’ Centre at the University of Guelph in Canada. It is a unique partnership dedicated to the health and well-being of horses, supported and overseen by equine industry groups. Equine Guelph is the epicentre for aca- demia, industry and government - for the good of the equine in- dustry as a whole. For further in- formation,


visit


www.equineguelph.ca. Story by: Equine Guelph


Story Link: https://thehorsepor- tal.ca/2022/09/equine-guelph- names-september-senior-horse-e ducation-month/


Ride More, Worry Less And Enjoy Every Ride! Let’s get you feeling more confident today!


519-940-6050 • anne@confidenthorsemanship.com www.confidenthorsemanship.com


ent when the person recognises what the behaviour really means? The horse is frozen because he is overwhelmed with stress or fear. A more appropriate response would be to help the horse to feel safe, de-stress the situation and re- move any pressure. Similarly, when a horse is


fidgeting they exhibit behaviours like chewing the bit constantly, grabbing ropes and reins, flapping lips, being pushy or otherwise fidgeting or “fooling around”. It’s often thought that the horse is doing this to get attention, because he’s bored, or that he’s a “charac- ter” or a “clown”. People some- times find these behaviours amusing, but they can also be an- noyed by them. However, fidget- ing is really a mechanism for coping with stress. It’s the same as people biting their finger nails or jiggling their leg when stressed. After explaining what is re- ally causing these unwanted be-


haviours in her gelding, her atti- tude and response to them shifted. She was immediately more under- standing and empathetic towards him. We discussed ways to help her horse feel calm, how to set him up for success by reducing the things she was inadvertently doing that fed into those behav- iours, and looking for opportuni- ties to reward him when he was showing behaviours that she does want.


My client’s perspective about


her horse’s behaviour changed from annoyance to empathy. And that resulted in her changing her response to him, looking for ways to help him instead of punishing him, and setting him up for suc- cess.


When you change your per-


ception about your horse’s behav- iour, you change your responses and your relationship for the bet- ter.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44