From Horses Mouth

Feeds and Feeding for Sand Colic

// Terminology Tuesday - Aids // 🐴

Horse trainers worldwide use a fairly consistent set of physical cues, called 'aids' to train horses: the reins of the bridle give the cue for stopping and turning the horse, and the legs of the rider make the horse go forward. Associated cues such as changes in weight, voice and seat are also often used, usually after the horse has learned the rein and leg aids. This has led many riders to believe that domestic horses are somehow born with these cues pre-programmed in place. The truth is that the horse has simply grasped the correct response during trial-and-error learning. The failure of horses to comply with the aids is often seen as a moral failing on the part of the horse, not a failure of the training system.

The current preoccupation with rider mechanics and the lack of emphasis on learning also illustrates the absence of real scientific understanding in horse training. While riders must be able to sit in independent balance in order to apply the aids consistently, the effectiveness of associated cues such as the seat can be explained by conditioning. The body of the rider cannot 'mould' the body of the horse until the rider has an extremely high degree of control over the horse's speed and direction, yet there are whole books devoted to ways of sitting and rider posture without referencing to training.

Horse training is not a magical process; it is a systematic science. 👌🐴

Learn more about our Diploma in Equitation Science, mission and vision here: www.esi-education.com

Dear Tacita, I really want to share with you how your training from years ago was able to help a poor, confused horse in Texas recently. This horse was green and a rescue who needed to be boxed for a move. It was a desperate situation that started early in the morning. Four different people with lots of experience tried to get this horse to load all day long. Each one gave up. He was even given a sedative to try and calm him enough to load. One of your former students arrived on the scene around 5 PM and offered to help. To sum it up, Equitation Science principles worked! It took about 90 minutes, mainly because the sedative was making it worse and needed to wear off so he could listen and process. It was the classic “get control of the feet” with the proper cues, walk, halt, back, trot, halt, etc. Yes, there was one explosion that your former student was able to stay with him through, but it was a breakthrough. From then on, he began to listen, and, in the end, he CALMLY walked onto the box himself! And this was a box he had to step up into, no ramp. Thank you for being a voice for evidenced-based, scientific horse training methods.

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