The horse industry is steeped in tradition, if you've been in the industry long enough you will hear many things older generations of horsemen seemed to just know. Much of this knowledge was probably learnt through trial and error and passed down through the generations, it’s only been relatively recently that science has been applied to horse management.
The rise of Equitation Science is putting a focus on many aspects of riding and training horses, from saddle, bit and bridle fitting, to training principles and equine psychology. Often the science indicates that some traditional knowledge or practice has been counterproductive or even unethical, but I’m amazed how often the science actually supports traditional knowledge.
One such aspect is when a horse becomes highly stressed during training. Good trainers know how much they can ask of a horse before they need to back off. They know that if they are trying something new and the horse is having difficulty and becoming too stressed, they either need to move onto something different or easier, or to even stop working with the horse altogether and leave the exercise for another day. I’m sure many riders understand its always best to end early on a good note rather than to push too hard, many of us have made that mistake of asking for something “just one more time”.
Interestingly, although not surprisingly, science supports this. The Yerkes-Dodson law is a principle that states performance increases with arousal (stress) up to a point, but then decreases if arousal becomes too high or too low. When we also consider that adrenaline, which prepares the horse for action, has a half-life of about 2-3 minutes but cortisol, the “stress hormone” has a half-life of some 66 minutes, we can better appreciate the importance of not pushing a horse past their comfortable stress level when more cortisol than adrenalin is produced. If the horse does become too stressed, there is simply no point trying to continue as it’s likely you will do more harm than good.
How much stress a horse can handle is very much an individual characteristic, and this is where good trainers seem to make less mistakes, and therefore greater progress than less experienced or perhaps less tactful training achieves. With this science in mind, you might approach your next training session with a greater appreciation of your horse and how you can improve your own approach to his training.
Jenni Fugate is a team member of The Equine Expert LLC, a multi-discipline equine expert witness and consulting firm offering legal expert witness and consulting services in court cases, legal matters, appraisals, and business affairs. Jenni is an expert in Arabians, Teaching, Dressage and Biomechanics. She is a native of Australia and has been working with horses since she was a child, she studied at Melbourne University and graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Equine). She now lives in Utah on her farm where she trains and teaches. For more information on Jenni visit www.theequineexpert.com or you may contact Jenni at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of Jenni as an expert equestrian.
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