Horse and Rider Education
CAT for Horses by Laurel Gordon
Based on a definition of CAT-H by Dolores Arste and Kellie Snyder.
While working on her Master's thesis, behavioural science student Kellie Snyder noticed that positive reinforcement methods like clicker training, or giving food treats, didn't work so well on animals when there was a lot of fear involved. With the help of her professor Dr Rosales-Ruiz, they devised a way to work with aggressive dogs who hadn't responded to any amount of positive reinforcement training, and sometimes years of this and other training.He called this idea CAT (Constructional Aggression Treatment), but with his approval, for horses we have slightly changed the name to CAT-H (Constructional Approach Training for Horses.)In the CAT treatment, they used the reinforcer (reward) which the dog was already working for. When the dog was aggressive, people or other dogs normally and not surprisingly moved away. This was his reward, because what he MOST wanted was distance from the object of his fear. However during CAT, the outcome he wanted was given only when he behaved in safe, friendly or calm ways. This meant his needs were still being met, but he wasn't putting the lives of others or his own life at risk any more. In effect he was now in control of his environment, and this is very empowering for a fearful animal.
But a funny thing happens in the treatment. He learns to LIKE being calm and friendly.The experimental question asked whether aggression could be reduced by taking away something the dog didn't like, another dog or a person, called a decoy, at a time when he was not being aggressive. This dog or person was introduced in a very non-confronting way, always trying to stay below the point where the animal reacted, and the decoy would move away as the reward, but only when the animal showed any sign of being more relaxed.They found out more than their questions asked... that they not only ended up with animals that tolerated the strangers they were once aggressive toward, but ended up with them actually being friendly toward the strangers, and calm where they used to be scared. (This has been successfully replicated with feral cats, birds, llamas, cows, and now even reptiles too.)Long time clicker trainer Dolores Arste thought this idea might be useful applied to "problem" horses, though horses are mainly presenting with fear rather than aggression. The sort of horse who goes in the horse float but then explodes for no apparent reason. Aggression, fear or over-excitement will cause animals to have a restricted life, or a life of fear and defensiveness. She wanted them to learn that the world isn't such a bad place and that there are other ways for them to deal with new people/animals/things that are easier, more effective and produce better results.By teaching horses to be "not aggressive", "not fearful", "not overly excited" by giving them food or other positive reinforcers, we don't help them deal with the actual problem. In theory it sounds good--teach them to look to the owner-- but what if you could teach the horse that he doesn't have to turn away and hope his owner is on the ball, but instead simply not be afraid any more?That's what a group of horse lovers all around the world have repeatedly managed to accomplish through CAT-H, using "giving distance" (pure negative reinforcement), combined with a low stress approach. Sometimes people say, oh but this is just approach/retreat. It isn't though, because of the retreat being given only when the animal shows calm. Also at the point where a lot of people doing approach/retreat would say, "they're ok, so I'll step in closer", we would still step away to continue to reward the animal.
Though this is a science based idea, the more CAT we do, the better we get at SEEING and then FEELING the first TINY signs of fear. Very cool :-). And because the animal feels in control of the process, they even look completely different, they are no longer scared but alert and in self carriage. They look, as they say, Empowered.
By the way, another funny thing also happens, once the CAT-H has done it's job, the horses actually ask when they're ready to go back to clicker training, which is a great tool for general training.
Photo: Laurel and Jedda, her incredibly fearful arabian mare who is teaching her how to be a better horseperson every day, enjoys a good itch.
There is a video now up on youtube showing the first stages of CAT-H, featuring Lynn's beautiful brumby Sakima who for over a year resisted all attempts at interacting safely with him. Lynn came to CAT after suffering a broken leg when Sakima panicked. Edited and written by Julie Lannen, whose own CAT success Star also makes a brief heartwarming appearance.
For more information on this video contact Julie Lannen at www.equilog.com.au & the Australian Clicker Connection
DISENGAGEMENT IS A POWERFUL CONTROL - by Philip Nye
What is disengagement?
Firstly, its the opposite of engagement or full power as a disengaged horse has relaxed and yielded all its power. It has released its power to the hindquarters mainly but also softened and released its shoulders, head and neck. The horse overall is relaxed, submissive and yielding.
So how do we achieve this?
Disengagement is asked for primarily with the inside leg in conjunction with an indirect rein. An indirect rein therefore becomes a relax, settle down, life out, control rein for downward transitions compared with a direct rein which is a life up, go somewhere communication rein for upward transitions.
Why do we need to disengage our horse?
A horse who has been taught to disengage has been taught to relax, sumbit and yield from nose to tail. This gives us a tool to settle and control frightened and/or disrespectful horses and gives us greater communication with the horse as we can influence the nose, neck, shoulder and hindquarters more effectively.
Disengagement gets the horse in a great frame of mind to learn everything else e.g; forwards, backwards, sideways, one rein and loose rein riding and direct rein.
When do you use disengement?
Generally for all downward transitions e.g. trot to walk or canter to trot and whenever the horse locks up or pushes against us with the nose, neck, shoulder or hindquarters. We can disengage the horse to soften and yield the whole horse then return to the original movement. You may need to repeat it many times.
Horses know instinctively that to disengage and voluntarily give away their power is not a clever thing to do especially if there are predators or other horses wanting to play dominance games around. So be patient with your horse and be patient with yourself. It is an achievement to simultaneously keep the nose and neck soft, the shoulders yielding a little and the hindquarters yielding a lot. Slow and right beats fast and wrong, reward a try and rest often.
So how do we disengage our horse?
Preparation from the ground is important. Teach the horse to yield his hindquarters both as a fingertip yield (porcupine game) and as a driving game. Have lateral flexion going softly from the ground first, then from the saddle at a standstill.
To apply an indirect rein and achieve a yield, shorten your inside rein and lift it over the horse's mane, rolling your fingernails uppermost to soften and flex the nose and neck. Holding the rein up over the mane is to indicate the shoulder to yield a little from the rein. As the rein lifts, your inside leg takes a feel on the horse's side indicating to the hindquarters to yield. If the nose, neck, shoulders or hindquarters get stuck and will not yield to a feel (phase 1 & 2), apply rhythmic pressure firmly (not roughly) to the stuck part of the horse until it gives.
Remember that hands feel, hold, move laterally (phase 1 & 2) and apply rhythmic pressure as necessary (phase 3 & 4), and legs apply feel (phase 1 & 2) and if necessary are supported by rhythmic pressure of the hand, rope or stick (phase 3 & 4). Hands never pull - legs never kick.
Start your phases as softly as possible and increase them slowly and gently to give the horse time to think about a response rather than react to too much pressure.PRE-TRAINING CHECKLISTPrerequisites for training a horse:
• Understand Prey animal (horse) psychology.• Understand Predator (human) psychology.• Develop horselike body language in ourselves.• Understand how a horse's behaviour is modified by conditioning and
be able to do this.• Have a program of training outlined.• Have appropriate equipment.
Understanding the Contrast between Horse and Human PsychologyHorses have evolved as prey animals (i.e. hunted animals) and even though they have been domesticated for thousands of years they still have the instincts of their wild counterparts.
Horses' brains are thus hard wired to be on the 'look out' for predators.The horses survival policy is if in doubt ,get out. Run first then ask questions. A Horses primary defence is to run away , if cornered it may resort to kicking ,biting,bucking. This is defensive behaviour not aggressive. If a horse is uncertain of its safety it will very quickly become defensive.
Humans in contrast have evolved as predators (i.e. hunting and eating animals like horses), even though humans have been civilized for thousands of thay still have the instincts of a predator hard wired into their brains. Thus when a horse gets frightened and defensive the predator (human) instinctively moves in for the kill , i.e. becomes aggressive and angry.
A confused predator becomes aggressive and angry.
A confused prey animal becomes defensive.
The more defensive the prey animal , the more aggressive and angry the predator . Each response builds from the other.
Horses are also social animals. In the wild they live in bands in which each horse has a defined social status, ranging from the most dominant to the most subordinate. The dominant horses having first pick of food ,water , shelter , mares etc. Dominance is established between horses when one manages to drive another from its "body space." This may include some physical contact. This behaviour is interpreted by humans as aggressive behaviour but would be more accurately interpreted as assertive behaviour,as no damage is intended only space is required to be yielded.Horses living in bands are natural followers. They feel comfortable following the other horses.
Horses are not Humans and therefore are not:
~Aggressive
~Cantankerous
~Vicious
~Bitchy
~Sullen
~Stupid
~Lazy
~Dull
Instead reinterpret horses attitude "naturally" . Replace the words aggressive, cantankerous,vicious, bitchy with Frightened and Defensive if horse is on look out for predators OR Assertive and dominant if horse doesn't respect your space and is trying to yield you.
Replace the words sullen ,stupid, lazy, dull with confused or desensitised
What Motivates a horse?Left to itself , well fed in a reasonably sized area with other horsey company a domestic horse is perfectly happy. Spending days ,weeks, and years mooching around,a little play ,a run in the evening perhaps, no worries about predators and no aspirations for self improvement and greatness .This is all a horse wants "Comfort" that is : Extended periods of mooching
Food
Social Interaction
Some play ,some exercise
No predators to worry aboutComfort = Stabiliy, PredictabilityIt is amazing what a horse will learn to do to maintain his comfort.
Developing horselike body languageWe need to develop a body language that communicates to the horse that we are
1) Non predatory
2) Horselike and worthy of the horses respect and submission.To be non predatory in our actions we have to watch a sheepdog working sheep and do the opposite i.e. do not creep around tensely, using strong eye contact attempting to cut off and corner horse, Using quick sharp unpredicable movements. Surprise attacks with whips and spurs (fangs and claws)
This body language upsets horses:
~Tenseness
~Sharp unrythmical movements
~Surprise attacks
~Strong eye contact
~Tentativeness
~Aggression
Horselike body language:
~Relaxed
~Smooth rythmical movements
~Fair warning before physical reinforcement (The 4 phases)
~Less eye contact
~Assertiveness
To be worthy of our horses respect and submission we must be able to yield the the horse out of our way, out of our personal space when and as we wish (as opposed to frightening the horse away) . If we cannot yield the horse then the horse will be yielding us, which will signal to him that he must be the dominant partner and will have him feeling within his rights to reinforce his dominance perhaps with a nip or kick. On the other hand if we can yield the horse effectively it will see us as dominant and will be happy to submit . In this state it would not dream of kicking or biting its dominant partner.The Horse has been playing yielding games all its life and is good at them. Humans have to learn them. This takes time and practice. The horses won't let us win the yielding games easily we have to earn their respect and submission.
Changing a Horse's Behaviour i.e.TrainingA horse's behaviour is the sum result of the "conditioning" it has received throughout its life, from its environment.Conditioning is a process where external environmental stimuli are linked or associated with certain behaviour patterns. For example a horse may snort and run a short distance every time a sprinkler is switched on, or may become nervous when it sees it is being lead to a float. In these cases the horse is associating the objects, the sprinkler and float with danger, whether the threat is real or not ( This is "classical conditioning"). Every time the behaviour is repeated the conditioned response is reinforced.
A conditioned response is involuntary it becomes a reflex reaction to an environmental cue. Horses can't help acting the way they do its not their choice but a result of instinct and usually random associations.
A horse is trained when humans condition the horse to associate desired behaviours to certain artificial cues e.g. to move when there is a pressure on the ribs, and to slow when there is a pressure in the mouth. The reason there are so many imperfectly trained horses is that humans are ignorant of how conditioning works. Any horse can be perfectly trained (i.e. conditioned) including horses with so called serious behavioural problems.
A horse is in some respects like a computer when a certain stimulus is given it "remembers" what its response was last time it received that stimulus and does the same again (even if the last occurance of stimulus and response occurred 20 years ago), e.g. the last time the farrier picked the horses foot up in that particular manner the horse lashed out, so chances are the behaviour will be repeated if the foot is picked up the same way. Thorough training includes re-conditioning the horse , so that all its responses to human cues are "desirable."
We teach a horse by a process of "Trial and Error" Initially the horse has no idea what we are asking and by trial and error it hits upon whatever behaviour stops us from asking it to do something. The horse learns to stop us "asking" by performing a certain movement OR conversely it learns that it regains its comfort by performing a certain movement.
To Train a horse we have to desensitise it to many things it is instinctively sensitive to e.g. humans on its back, stock whips, forceful hammering on its feet, AND sensitise it to things it normally wouldn't take any notice of, e.g. subtle nudges to move it forward or slow it down. How on earth do we achieve this?to DESENSITISE a horse to an action-Stop the action before the horse reacts to it OR stop the action as soon as the horse stops reacting to it.To SENSITISE a horse to an action-Stop the action as soon as the horse reacts as desired.
The reason this works is that the horse is seeking the COMFORT of not being "asked"
Phil Nye from Tasmania.PHIL'S PHILOSPHIES - ATTITUDE - SOME PERSPECTIVES:
Horse and humans have evolved as natural enemies. We are designed to push their flight/fright/worry buttons and they are designed to push our confusion/frustration/anger buttons (opposition reflexes).
A big part of the fun of natural hosemanship is learning how not to push the horse's opposition reflex buttons, and not letting the horse push ours (and they will but that's OK).
SMILE AND WHISTLE.
Breaking old habits in ourselves and our horse is not easy. It requires a lot of conscious effort (someone once said that thinking is the hardest work).
Establishing a new habit requires a program, perfect practice and repitition.
If we are not using something regularly our memory is designed to delete it. Our subconcious is specifically designed to maintain the status quo i.e. old habits.
Therefore developing new good horse handling habits requires a lot of conscious effort, support and repitition.
Remember how we learned to read, write or change gears in a car.
Natural horsemanship is as involved as learning a musical instrument, or flying an aeroplane only our instrument (the horse) is conscious and has feelings and opinions.
Natural Horsemanship is something we LEARN FOR the horse NOT DO TO the horse. A natural horseman is someone that gives the horse security. The horse perceives them as a Lead or Alpha horse (Albeit with 2 legs), someone the horse can trust, follow, look to and respect.
We don't learn how to do this in a few hours or days, it is a longer term commitment.
CELEBRATE the small successes!!IMAGINATION AND INSPIRATION by Cynthia Cooper
There are three L's that can help when you get stuck for ideas when tasking your horse;
LOOK around you, think LATERALLY, be LOGICAL if your lateral thinking gets stuck.
LOOK: What do you see around you? Flat pasture, trees, banks, ditches, hills, dams, fences, creeks, roads or tracks, gates, sheds/stable, horse trailer (if you're lucky) - all available obstacles to play with. Then there's some additional items generally found around horsey places; drums, poles, logs, cavaletti, tyres, tarps to name a few. Add witches hats, electric fence posts, wooden reels and pallets, hoops, balls, bags, umbrellas, rain coats, balloons or wine cask bladders, streamers, stands built for horses, chairs etc. and you have a huge variety of tasks you can develop with a little....
LATERAL THINKING: Let your mind become child-like again, be creative, let it wander off track and ask yourself "now I wonder what if..". Lateral thinking is a learned skill which gets better with practice. Brainstorming with others, watching what others do and learning to think like a horse all help and if all else fails, be....
LOGICAL: There are; 7 Parelli Games, 6 directions (forwards, backwards, right, left, up & down), 5 zones, 4 gaits, 6', 12', 22' and 45' ropes, training stick(s), string, flag, 1 or 2 reins - how many more combinations of things do you want?
Like one of those 'wonderword' puzzles, try writing down all the different ways you can combine any number of the above ingredients to make a task. You'll be suprised at how laterally you learn to think in the process of being logical.
Winter Play Ideas by Cynthia Cooper
Some people see winter as a time to put the horses aside, some even complain about the weather, short days and no time to ride. Then there are those who see winter as a time to focus on other horsemanship challenges and these are only limited by your imagination.
One of the most beneficial things we can do with our horses when the surfaces and weather are not good is to float load. All my horses load well (to at least level 1 standard) but this can always be improved to level 2 or 3. Also, its important to remind your horses that floats are a comfort zone, so its up to us to make it one more often than every time we want to go somewhere.
Many horses find travelling uncomfortable even if they do load well so winter is a great time to put your horse in the float and go nowhere - feed them there, groom them there if its raining and you want to get the rug off or just send them in to rest there when doing some groundwork.
You could also challenge your horse to load when its dark, windy or raining as you never know when you’ll be pleased you did.
Here are some more ideas for winter time activities;
Play with worming - make it fun by finding what your horse likes in the way of liquid type food ie: apple sauce, molasses, pureed carrot or other types of pureed food (baby foods have a good selection) then practice being friendly with the worm tube until he/she looks forward to it.
Then there are things like holding your horse’s tongue or simulating teeth rasping with the handle of your carrot stick (the rubber wont hurt them if you accidently touch the roof of their mouth).
Getting your horse friendly with the bit and bridling is also another game to play in zone 1.
For those who have horses not particularly good with their feet or impatient with the farrier, you can never do too much leg handling and simulating the length of time the leg needs to be held up. Remember to build it up in small increments, use a rope to teach your horse to yield all 4 legs, leading foreward and holding up - its easier on your back too.
For those into barefoot trimming their own horses then this is a great time to practice and keep up with trims on a weekly basis.
If the sun shines and you feel like some exercise but your paddocks are bogged, then taking your horse for a walk along the road or lanes close by can be just as beneficial as riding (great for our figure too), especially if they need more exposure to traffic. If your horse hasn’t been in traffic, then pick a quiet country road or drive way and get someonet o drive past slowly until your horse becomes desesitised to a moving vehicle. Some horses need help with accepting other vehicles like trucks, motor bikes and cars with trailers. It also helps to have a horse used to traffic lead the way and be a good example.
Find a place where there’s plenty of room for you to keep a good distance from the vehicle - remember you are playing a squeeze game here so start slowly with larger spaces.
Leading your horse out on the trail can also be a good way of teaching them about trail riding either on their own or with others. It keeps you safe and alllows you to train over obstacles like water, ditches and through gates to give your horse confidence and skills for when you want to ride and tackle the trail.
Then if you live within driving distance of an indoor arena, you can usually hire it by the hour for a reasonable rate or get together with a group of friends and make a day or half day of it to practice together.
So, make the most of your winter days to get out of that nice warm house and get more savvy!Preparing for Hobbles - by Cynthia Cooper
There are better ways to teach a horse to accept hobbles than putting them on without any prior preparation - known as a 'sink or swim' situation.
The best way to approach this task is to first make sure your horse can lead by the legs - loop (not tie) a 3.5m training rope around the leg and from the front, add pressure gradually until the horse lifts its leg forward. Do many repetitions of this until you can lead forwards and to the side easily with the horse following the feel without any reaction.
Then you can take the looped rope and put it around both front legs together and again, ask the horse to follow the pressure forwards without opposition.
The next step is to put a few twists in the rope between each leg to simulate hobbles while you are holding the rope so it can be easily released if he becomes very scared. Also get him to yield his hind quarters from each side rather than lead him forward to see what he will do when movement happens as you don't necessarily want to teach him to walk with hobbles on.Once he is used to that you can try the real hobbles but if possible, see if you can link them with a piece of baling twine (single strand) so that if 'all hell breaks loose' the twine will break and release him.
For the first dozen or so times you put the real hobbles on, keep a halter and lead on so you can control him if he decides to try and run or leap about which would be unlikely if the preparation has gone well.
It will also help him to accept the hobbles as routine if you put them on at feed time - the feed becomes a reward for him standing still with them on.
(Ensure that he can't be bothered/chased by other horses).But then you have to test him out a bit and see how much pressure he will cope with while the hobbles are on, so simulate the pressure he may encounter when left alone by doing things like walking varying distances away and leaving him in a secure yard for a short time, alone (but keep an eye on him).
You should then be able to gradually get more active to the point where you can run around, throw ropes all over him, crack a whip or wave a plastic bag around and over him. Of course you will get him used to all of these things without the hobbles on first!
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To Bit or Not To Bit - by by Janene Clemence
This article details the damage bits can cause to horses. - To Bit or Not To Bit by Dr Amanda Warren-Smith looks at Responses of young horses to bitted and bitless bridles during foundation training.
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Disclaimer: The information contained within this website is soley the expressed views and opinions of the author, unless otherwise stated, and the author accepts no responsability for the way this information is used by viewers. The information is provided to help PREVENT problems, not to replace veterinary advice.
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