Experimental Results

I finally get to write up one of my horse training experiments.

Introduction

The importance of leadership in horse social dynamics is widely recognized. The Natural Horsemanship (NH) philosophy tries to use that innate pattern of herd leadership to control horse behavior. In most cases, the NH horse-trainer will try to gain a leadership position by demanding control of the horse, especially the direction and speed of the horses feet. If the horse trainer can assume the position of leadership, the horse will often relinquish all decision making to the leader, becoming especially tractable for further training.

The round-pen has become the NH trainers favored tool in establishing leadership. The trainer sends the horse around the periphery, changing directions and speed, until the horse shows signs of submission including chewing motions, lowered head, an ear pointed in the direction of the trainer, and glances at the trainer. The trainer usually measures success by the degree to which the horse then follows the trainer, a phenomenon called "joining-up" or "hooking-on". The problem arises, when the equine does not generalize the control the trainer has to situations outside the round-pen or other confined spaces. This may more likely to happen with equines that have lived in conditions where herd leadership was in continual change.

In a horse herd the herd leaders can also take leadership by another means. Leaders are also chosen by their ability to make good decisions for herd welfare. They are chosen because they know where to graze, find water, and when to run. This route to herd leadership is rarely exploited by horse trainers. It is probably the case that the bond between horse and rider develops out of this type of leadership function, but this consequence is rarely the objective of a training event.

This report details an experiment to specifically manipulate the human/horse training relationship by providing herd-welfare leadership.

Methods

An 8 year old gelding Indian Mustang (JD) was the subject of this experiment. His life history included abuse and neglect as a young horse and a history of bolting. His training history was 1 year with a professional horsetrainer who rescued him from the conditions he was raised in and green-broke him to ride, 2 years in the back yard of this investigator under a changing regime of traditional horsetraining methods that had given way to training by positive reinforcement, 2 months at another professional trainer who trains in the style of Clinton Anderson. His proclivity to bolt was observed by all three trainers. While he generally showed signs of deferment to the leadership of the humans, it was given only tentatively until he had other choices. This pattern was less marked under the positive reinforcement protocol, however, it may have been the case that he saw interaction with the trainer in exchange for food rewards as his best choice.

Two months prior to this experiment, the mustang was removed to the third trainers facility, where he was kept without shelter in a small pen. The weather conditions during this time were abnormally heavy snowfalls and unusual cold with sub-zero temperatures on most nights. He was fed alfafa hay and grain, but over the time he was there he lost weight. The patterns of daily life at this facility were erratic and not conducive to a horse's sense of well-being.

On 5 February, 2007, the mustang was saddled, trailered, and then lead across 16 miles of wilderness landscape back to his backyard home. In order to inspire his instinctive response to a herd leader, I provided him water and food along the way. He received handfuls of sweet-feed as a reward for reaching milestones such as cattle-gaurds, creek crossings, etc. He was lead on foot on a 12-foot leadrope tied to a rope halter. He was not familiar with the trail.

The subjective observed changes in his demeanor were monitored to assess changes to his mental state as a result of this treatment.

Results

Enroute

Four miles into the journey, the trainer slipped on the ice and panicked the mustang. The mustang ran back 2 miles until it got tangled in the leadrope which had become balled up with snow. The mustang did not attempt to escape again, though he did startle whenever the trainer would trip or slip.

The mustang did not show signs of realizing where he was until they were quite close to the end of the journey. He started calling to the other equines once he was in the yard. He was put in a separate pen with the other equines across the fence and immediately he started to remind them of his leadership in the herd hierarchy from across the fence. His need for food and water was secondary to his desire to interact with the herd.

Groundwork

On the day after the treatment, the horse was observed to interested in the trainer and be eager to leave the other equines to join the trainer for training. Training objectives were to start the horse on targeting, which were met by the mustang learning to target his nose, his ears, his knee, his chin, and his shoulder. He showed signs of wanting to be scratched with some degree of reciprocal grooming.

Riding

This part of the experiment has to wait until I am not alone in the middle of nowhere.

Discussion

My gut feeling is that this worked really well. Will update this later.