16/07/2021
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Some Considerations on Moving Their Feet
Some thoughts on moving horses feet. I received so much vitriol the first time I shared some of my thoughts on this. I figured out however nobody could hate myself more than I do so here goes. Photo by Dustin Cox from Pexels
The first consideration about moving a horse’s feet either to “gain respect” or “to bond” is that these actions are based in agonistic behaviours and NOT affiliative ones (Kieson et a., 2019, Rees, 2018,Wolter et al,2018). It is a gross misinterpretation of equine social behaviour.
The second consideration relates to when we wind up an already anxious horse and elevate reactivity when we lunge them to “calm them down” . I am sure in these cases it can end up more of a placebo for the rider too although I have no research to back that up. If anyone knows of any research please let me know. There are other ways to help your horse to be relaxed with whatever it is you are wanting to do and these will look different depending on the horse. The stress, tension or anxiety a horse is experiencing could relate numerous things outside of their work including their routine (change can be very worrying for some horses) , their relationship with us , our own self regulation or dysregulation, are their species specific needs being met ( ad lib forage, friends and freedom ( lots of movement that is outside of the work we ask of them)), diet or are they unwell or in pain?. Pain in particular can be very hard to diagnose ( think of the number of people walking around with undiagnosed pain and we are verbal and can describe our discomfort).
Some horses just like us can be more genetically predisposed to be fearful and this will also depend on their past experiences. That said lunging can be done well and correctly ( it can even be achieved with positive reinforcement) and movement can reduce anxiety but it is highly dependent on the type of movement and the individual situation. Slow and calming movement can be very beneficial as can giving the horse time to orient to their environment and take it in if that is what they need. Lunging when done well can also be useful for creating suppleness and balance, adding verbal walk, trot and canter cues, incrementally introducing faster gaits in a safe way that does not trigger a flight response With regards to learning and effects on the horse’s mind or often what is happening instead is repeated activation of the HPA axis triggering the release of cortisol and other chemicals which in these cases will reduce capacity to learn except for potentially increasing fear learning, creating negative associations with the arena or even ourselves (definitely not what we want).
An exception to this is if a horse has been confined or on box rest they may explode as a consequence of post inhibitory rebound. This leads to increased locomotion after a period of restricted movement (Friere et al, 2009). It is possible to manage this carefully managed in a range of ways to suit the individual including following a target or placing small amounts of hay or buckets of a small amount of unsweetened feed to encourage the horse to explore (Batson in Rogers , 2018, p 180).
Finally the suggestion of “moving their feet” fails to address root cause and if the undesirable response does disappear it is most likely a result of behaviour suppression through punishment rather than resolution. It also does not encourage people to investigate the behaviour the “ moving of the horse’s feet” is intended to resolve. Behaviour is multifaceted and complex involving a horses genetics, early history, health status, diet , current environment and human and equine relationships amongst other factors.
References
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©️Jessie Sams (2021) Animal Behaviour and Trauma Recovery Some Considerations on Moving Their Feet
