Sarah Jayne Equine Behaviorist and Coach

Sarah Jayne Equine Behaviorist and Coach Registered BHSAI Horse Riding Instructor and Registered SEBC Equine Behaviourist. I cover all of the Welsh region and some English counties.

SEBC Qualified Equine Behaviour Consultant

Accredited Professional Coach BHSAI

I am a fully qualified SEBC Equine Behaviour Consultant, who is insured and registered to practice based in Holywell, North Wales. I am also happy to travel further, but there will be additional travel costs. I also provide a referral service for Veterinary Surgeons and owners. I have many years of practical experienc

e in the equine industry, teaching people to solve and manage a wide array of undesirable, Equine Behaviours. I pride myself on ethical training with Welfare and Safety, always being paramount. I use evidence-based, scientific training principles which are easy to follow and produce long lasting results. I aim to help people develop strong and safe relationships with their horses so they can go on and achieve things that once seemed impossible.

Enjoy your horse, but make sure they enjoy themselves too. They are not machines. They are living and breathing with fee...
10/05/2018

Enjoy your horse, but make sure they enjoy themselves too. They are not machines. They are living and breathing with feelings and emotions.

27/04/2018

This applies to all animals including our beloved horses 😊
22/04/2018

This applies to all animals including our beloved horses 😊

Timeline photos
23/02/2018

Timeline photos

Love watching these feral Welsh Mountain ponies interact. It's great seeing such established relationships between the p...
03/01/2018

Love watching these feral Welsh Mountain ponies interact. It's great seeing such established relationships between the ponies here, something that is not always seen in domestic situations due to constant changing social structures due to horses being sold, moved off the yard etc.
This can cause social problems between horses and we can see a lot more biting and kicking between horses.
In this herd there was 3mares 1foal and 1 stallion all living in harmony. I watched on as this Chestnut stallion came and nuzzled the grey mare taking a nap and then lay down to join her. The foal was standing up snoozing and a beautiful chestnut mare with flaxen mane and tail was also taking a snooze. The last mare, another grey was grazing the perimeter and keeping an eye out for any danger. The whole scene was so calm and tranquil, so much I could of happily stayed there watching them all day 😊 If you ever get chance to watch a feral herd of ponies, do it!

30/12/2017
I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May God bless you all 😊🙏
24/12/2017

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May God bless you all 😊🙏

It amazes me how tough my ponies are! Almost a foot of snow fell on their field on the weekend as they are on higher gro...
14/12/2017

It amazes me how tough my ponies are! Almost a foot of snow fell on their field on the weekend as they are on higher ground, and they weren't fazed! I am feeding them hay twice a day making sure they were warm enough by feeling the base of ear and checking their hooves for snow build. But they have been completely fine, they have the option to use a yard and stables to get out of the snow but have chosen to go off in the deep snow looking for grass even when I'm offering hay! Their bare hooves haven't had any snow build up and they are always nice and warm and haven't needed any rugs. And do you know what, I think they have quite enjoyed the snow! 😄

28/11/2017

Feeling very privileged being asked to do a talk on Equine Behaviour at Holme Lacey College with the Equine students. Thank you for having me and glad I could help! Been asked to talk to the farriers next time 😁🐴

26/11/2017
Twycross International Animal Training Conference 2017

Well, what a conference! Four full days of learning and my brain is fried! Can't wait until next year's conference now. The first day of the conference was a workshop with Chirag Patel and The Guide Dogs! Yes, I got to play with Guide Dogs, lucky me! Chirag is such a knowledgeable animal behaviourist and has such a passion for the animals and helping trainers understand the benefits of Positive Reinforcement Training. [ 1,086 more word ]

http://sarahjayneequinebehaviourist.com/2017/11/26/twycross-international-animal-training-conference-2017/

Just spent the last few days attending the Twycross International Animal Training Conference. So much to learn was great...
17/11/2017

Just spent the last few days attending the Twycross International Animal Training Conference. So much to learn was great to spend time with some many gifted positive reinforcement trainers.

28/10/2017

CAN YOU TELL IF YOUR HORSE IS IN PAIN?

For "Horses have evolved to behave as normally as possible when they are hurt and they can hide their pain very well. This can make recognising when a horse is uncomfortable quite difficult. It also means painful conditions often go undetected. A horse in pain may display many forms of ‘undesirable’ behaviour – which may then be misunderstood as the horse being stubborn, bad mannered, lazy or even 'mareish', for example, and then punished unnecessarily.

Pain-related behaviours are often dismissed, such as the horse being ‘bridle lame’ (lame when ridden) or ‘cold-backed’ (reactive when saddled up or mounted). Horses behaving in this way are often found to have physical problems when examined by a vet. But the above terms are so well used in the horse world they seem to have become accepted as something that can be ‘ridden through’."

If your horse is reluctant to do what you ask or is behaving unusually it may well be because he is in pain or uncomfortable. Often owners will increase the pressure they use to try force their horse to do what they ask. A much better option would be to work out why the horse is reacting in this way and address the underlying problem.

Pain and physical issues often lead to changes in a horse’s behaviour, so if your horse is performing an unusual behaviour ask your vet to give him a physical check up. If they are given an all clear by the vet then contact a reputable qualified behaviourist to help you.

Horse magazine have very kindly agreed for me to share my article looking at equine pain, what the signs of suffering are and how ignoring them could lead to behaviour issues.

You can read the article in full here: http://bit.ly/2iBITYj

While I was enjoying a quick holiday in the sun, I came across these semi-feral horses living just outside of Sa Coma. N...
24/10/2017

While I was enjoying a quick holiday in the sun, I came across these semi-feral horses living just outside of Sa Coma. Never had I come across such relaxed horses. It really does prove how horses benefit and thrive from being able to freely roam in groups and forage through a different range of plants and grasses. They were neither frightened of people or mugging them for food, they were quite content in their surroundings.

Sadly for us British horse owners we can rarely provide environments like this for our own horses, but we can do our best to ensure they get regular turn out with other horses, and if you aren't allowed to turn out in the winter, think about taking your horse for a daily stroll and allow them to forage as they go. This can provide immense stimulation for a horse that is boxed up all day😊

Pay attention to calming signals!
16/10/2017

Pay attention to calming signals!

**PLEASE READ THIS UPDATED DESCRIPTION**
More information and sources on this subject below

Here it is! The Calming & Stress Signals in Horses Poster I've been working on. :) Click this link for a larger view:
https://discoursewithdeejay.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/poster-big-watermark.pdf

All rights reserved - no printing, copying, editing, or other use without permission from Janneke Koekhoven. If you would like to share, please use the share button below. Thanks!

Calming signals are species-specific gestures are a way of communication to minimize aggression. Its main purpose is to appease, to avoid conflict by showing willingness to avoid aggressive confrontation. They are also indicators of discomfort, stress or irritation; clarifying internal imbalance and conflicts. The same gesture can mean different things depending on the entire context. Every horse has personal preferences based on their different learning experiences. Up until now there hasn't been a clear difference in calming signals between mares, geldings and stallions. Hormones, however, can lead to an increase or decrease in showing the signals.
People use calming signals as well. Looking away or even laughing nervously can be a way to express discomfort and avoid conflict. Horses show their calming signals to people. They often lick and chew when they feel cornered, pressured or overwhelmed. This is unfortunately often interpreted as processing information and learning
Some horses may not always show calming signals and go into conflict right away. There are various reasons this can happen. It differs per individual horse how and how long a horse appeases before it attacks. Each horse will eventually feel emotionally cornered that it sees no other way than to confront. However, it is also possible the horse simply stopped showing calming gestures because the humans haven't been responding appropriately to it in the past. The horse has no choice but to express himself more clearly and won't show calming signals in the future. Some dogs get punished or ignored when they growl, and might start biting "out of nowhere", while it is their owners fault for not recognising the calming signals before. A horse showing no calming signals at all is really rare, most of them do but are overlooked because of the subtleness of the body language.
You can observe calming signals, even while riding. Licking and chewing for example, or sudden changes in muscle tension and breathing.
We should bear in mind the horse is always communicating with us or at least tempts to because it feels threatened or overwhelmed by us or the entire situation for one or more reasons. The appropriate response is to.... back the fudge off (...)
Sorry, Marlitt (first link below) put it much better: "...we should recognise that the horse is trying to have a dialogue with us, it is trying to communicate something: either that it feels threatened by us, overwhelmed by the situation or is otherwise uncomfortable. The appropriate response is to de-escalate the situation in question carefully [...] The use of appeasement and calming signals is a normal form of communication of the horse; it gives us clues as to the emotional state of the animal, and helps us to assess the situation in an early stage, before things have progressed to genuine conflict, [which may either be expressed as] escape behaviour or aggression."
- Empty chewing
- Licking and chewing, tongue going in and out of the mouth
- Yawning
- Holding head low, maybe slightly bending the forelegs
- Slight lateral bend of the ears
- Blinking their eyes
- Averting their gaze and/or head
- Showing of the neck
- Splitting up, presenting flank towards threat
- Making a curving approach rather than approaching in a direct line
- Slowing down actions and movement
- Eating to calm itself

And many more. For more information:

The Equid Ethogram by Sue M. McDonnell
https://horsesunderourskin.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/the-phantom-flea-2/
http://www.pferdsein.de/
http://click-treat.livejournal.com/975.html
http://calmingsignalsofhorses.com/en/
https://annablakeblog.com/2014/04/18/calming-signals-are-you-listening/

Timeline photos
04/10/2017

Timeline photos

Another great day at the ABWAK Wild Equid Training workshop run by Shawna Karrasch and Hill livery. Love working with th...
07/09/2017

Another great day at the ABWAK Wild Equid Training workshop run by Shawna Karrasch and Hill livery. Love working with these Zebras 😊

Instead of thinking your horse is naughty when he misbehaves, think instead that he doesn't understand what you wanted. ...
11/08/2017

Instead of thinking your horse is naughty when he misbehaves, think instead that he doesn't understand what you wanted. You will be in a better mindset to solve the misbehaviour as you will now be able to think outside the box, "how can I make this clear for him to understand?" Instead of applying more and more force and getting frustrated because he just won't listen!
Sorry to break it to you guys but your horse or Zebra doesn't speak English!

Timeline photos
19/05/2017

Timeline photos



However competitive you are, whether it is aiming to do your 1st affiliated BD or striving to reach Grand Prix, we must remember to put the horse's happiness and welfare top of the list.

No rosette or title is worth over pushing the horse. We have a duty as their guardians to make sure they always enjoy their job.

Photo credited to the lovely

Timeline photos
04/04/2017

Timeline photos

The more ways it's explained the better it's going to sink in.

Operant conditioning is one of the three chief ways in which all species on the planet learn. The other two are classical conditioning and habituation.

My opinion (ever since I knew what they were) is that understanding the way all animals learn is invaluable to us if we want to influence their behaviour through training - as well as through management.

Very often this information - about reinforcement and punishment - is explained in terms of there being four quadrants - or four consequences for behaviour that influence the extent to which it might be repeated.

But that's doesn't explain why sometimes behaviour we are trying to reinforce doesn't get stronger, or why behaviour we are trying to eliminate seems to get worse before it gets better, or never gets better at all - no matter what we try to do.

And that can be because behaviour we are trying to reinforce is being punished by something, or behaviour we are trying to extinguish is being reinforced by something.

Because in the end the animal decides the net effect of the consequence. Not the trainer.

31/03/2017
Sophie learning to pick her feet up on command.

#74
Teach your horse a trick! Fun and stimulating for you and your horse, try teaching them something useful like picking up their legs on command using classic conditioning (shown in the video).

Timeline photos
19/03/2017

Timeline photos

https://www.facebook.com/anythinghorse/posts/986731254761563:0
15/02/2017

https://www.facebook.com/anythinghorse/posts/986731254761563:0

Fun Fact:

Whiskers; also known as vibrissae, or tactile hairs, are the result of millions of years of evolution to help horses get a better sense of their environment by relaying messages to the brain.

Horses have blind spots both directly in front of and right below their chins due to their eyes being set on the sides of their head. Their whiskers help aid them in various things such as negotiating distance between objects close to their noses such as food, water, and the ground, while also helping them avoid injury and eating the wrong things.

Photography: (Flickr)

11/02/2017
Sophie Clipping fear, Before and fter

This is my own horse Sophie who had a fear of clippers near her head. The second half of the video was taking only two weeks after the first! I used counter conditioning to teach her not to fear the clippers and tolerate having her jawline clipped. Sophie will now quite happily allow me to trim her jawline and is now no longer fearful of the trimmers :) If you have any clipping issues or any other issues with your horse that you want to be resolved feel free to call me on 07401181823

06/02/2017

#73
When leading your horse always lead at the shoulder and drive him on forward. Remember if allow your horse to lead behind you your allowing him to drive you!

05/02/2017

#72
Try to only give your horse a treat when he has done something good (as a reward) and feed at the horse chest to stop him trying to rob your pockets!

Check out my add in Hereford Equestrian. Save 20% of Consultation fees if you book by the 28th February!(excludes mileag...
05/02/2017
SEBC Qualified Equine Behaviour Consultant - Hereford Equestrian

Check out my add in Hereford Equestrian.
Save 20% of Consultation fees if you book by the 28th February!
(excludes mileage costs)

Accredited Professional Coach BHSAI I am a fully qualified SEBC Equine Behaviour Consultant, who is insured and registered to practice based in Monmouthshire, South Wales. I cover all of the Welsh region and some English counties including Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Worcestershire a...

Timeline photos
03/02/2017

Timeline photos

17/01/2017

We are over a 100 likes! Thank you everyone, heres to a year helping horses 👍😁

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Sophie learning to pick her feet up on command.
Sophie learning to pick her feet up on command.

Sophie Clipping fear, Before and fter
Sophie Clipping fear, Before and fter

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