horse welfare

10 Equine Bodywork Responses That Tell Us Heaps About Horses

July 29, 2023 by Jane @ THB 8 Comments

In an equine bodywork session, having a feel for the horse’s mental and emotional state is important.

It helps us to understand where they’re at, why they’re responding the way they do, and how we’re likely to be moving onwards in future sessions. We can then use this understanding to improve our connection and the holistic health outcomes.

Here are 10 of the common responses I see in horses I work with. For ease of communication, I’ve given them names.

It’s not science (and isn’t meant to be), but it is all about listening to the horse.

See any horse you recognise here? Enjoy 😉

(c) Jane Clothier, The Horse’s Back. No reproduction of text or images without permission.

1. The Enthusiast

This horse is the equine bodywork practitioner’s number one fan. If there were a t-shirt, they’d be wearing it.

They nicker at the sight of the therapist, and when led to the yard will often walk alongside their bodyworker instead of their owner. Someone’s made them feel good and THEY LIKE IT.

As a result, they exude huge warmth and give great cuddles and neck hugs.

And let’s just say they look bereft when ‘their’ therapist arrives and works on a different horse. They’ll probably stand nearby to tune into the energy of the session anyway.

2. The Child

This horse is often but not always young, projecting an air of total innocence.

And it’s genuine: they’re full of wonder for everything good that happens in their world.

And it’s safe to assume that up until now, it has all been good. As a result, they’re curious about everything that happens around them.

They’ve no defences set up and respond to the GOOD FEELS easily, sometimes apparently to their own surprise.

Their eyes will lock onto the therapist, the source of this remarkable experience.

Then they’ll turn their head from one side to the other, eyes following you as you move around the yard after the session.

‘Who are you? What did you do? Why am I feeling this?’

It’s impossible not to be enchanted by their bright, beautiful curiosity.

3. The Lightweight

This horse is a sensitive flower who has mixed feelings about this whole therapy business.

Their responses come super quickly, for good or for bad. Then they’ll take a huge amount from very little, and that goes both ways, for better or worse.

They can flinch at the unfamiliar nature of touch. If all’s well after that, they’ll often zone out at the first opportunity.

If you touch a spot with even a tiny problem, be prepared for flattened ears, a swinging head, tail swishing and a raised foot – sometimes all at once.

This horse is often a mare, affectionately known as ‘princess’ by her owner. But some geldings get complimentary membership too.

Once you get it right, don’t expect thanks, but do take heart watching the softness that unfolds before you.

Next time, you’ll be back to the beginning, but not quite, for now you’ll know very well that less is more.

4. The Superior Being

This trouper of a horse is a great competitor. They brush minor issues aside. They’ll often look down on you from a great height, as if at a mildly irritating fly. They don’t care to do anything as weak as going with the flow – yawning, licking and chewing is for losers.

‘Oh, are you still down there?’ … goes on to win 1st LWT. (c) J Clothier

They occasionally forget themselves and the eyes start to close. It doesn’t last though: they’ll catch themselves and return to consciousness, with a ripple of irritation.

This doesn’t mean they’re not feeling it. They’ll remain tight-lipped until the pesky human is out of sight, then do all of their letting go in private.

Stallions and lead mares often march to this drum too.

5. The Survivor

This horse shows you very little at all.

They’ve often been through a previous episode of pain that lasted too long. Or, they may have become used to locking down a source of pain, as they still have a chronic issue today.

At the slightest recurrence of pain, they revert to the lock down posture or attitude they had before. It’s what got them through it last time – they’ve survived by gritting their teeth and ploughing on.

A recent hoof abscess sent this mare back into her old laminitis responses. (c) J Clothier

You can almost hear this horse ignoring you and your hands. When you first work with them, they don’t yield and go with the flow. Instead, they stand with firm lips and a fixed stare.

But unlike the Superior Being, their vibe isn’t a light one.

Any effects happen in their own time, when the halter is off. They may stand in a corner or seek the presence of their closest friend… You’ll only know how well it went on the next visit, when the horse suddenly starts to respond.

6. The Anxious

This is the horse that can’t switch off.

They stand with their head up, always on the lookout, with a giraffe like posture that’s not great for their body and especially not for their neck.

They don’t feel safe and their attention flits around. Their breathing is shallow and/or fast.

Some of them can’t let go. They’ve a nervous system in overdrive and its buzzing signals won’t allow the horse to relax.

This is your challenge: to help this horse rediscover a deactivated state.

Pain may well be an issue, particularly in its shoulders and neck (and a headache). Nutrition and environment, too. Oh, and humans.

Initially settle for a horizontal neck, with a slightly closed eye being a bonus.

7. The Controller

This horse prefers not to let go, even if they show early signs of doing so. They step and move around frequently. Displacement activities include chewing the rope, rubbing their head on the handler, a fence, anything. They can be mouthy.

Although there’s no real hostility, there’s a constant ‘push back’ as you work – and you’ll be aware of it. Don’t expect to feel quickly accepted. Better get used to life outside their bubble – and their tough-guy efforts to keep you there, outside their safety zone.

Controlling their space and tuning you out: there’s usually a reason. (c) J Clothier

However, it can all change when you successfully relieve an issue that they never, ever expected to go. Suddenly you’re allowed in and find yourself looking into their huge, deep eyes.

This can be because they’ve been resolutely ignoring an uncomfortable body issue. If so, their fidgeting may have been because you were drawing their focus to exactly that.

8. The Watcher

This horse may stand in a quiet manner that’s initially encouraging. They may show early signs of relaxation, yet there’s still the feeling that they’re holding something back.

Then whoah! You’re met with a sudden tail swish, a swing of the hindquarters, or a snap of the teeth. You’ve touched a trauma spot and they’re telling you: ‘It’s right there! Watch yourself!’

The horse has some pain and you’ve just committed the cardinal sin of touching it.

Some may be alert throughout the session as they wait for you to find that spot. Little do you know that you’re being subject to a test. Better tune up your psychic abilities…

No matter what you do, the horse holds on and won’t let go until that breakthrough moment when you find the problem that’s highest in their awareness.

The painful spot may be an old or newer issue, but one thing is sure: there’s a lot of emotion wrapped around it.

Stay safe.

9. The Over-Trained

This horse stands with resolute obedience, as they know they should. They’ve been taught to wait with statuesque stillness, no matter what happens around them.

Whatever happens, they’re just waiting until it’s over, doing their best not to get in the way. They’ve learned that if they do, there’ll be a reprimand or sometimes heavy correction.

Receiving bodywork, these horses are often in their new home, where more self-expression is allowed.

To the therapist, this horse feels mentally and emotionally absent from their own party.

Some horses have been taught that they must remain completely still until asked to move. I find it’s very common with working station horses. (c) J. Clothier

Watch out for this horse’s return to their body, as their responses may be elevated.

They may love you to pieces, or they may shout about a problem that’s been long overlooked. Finally permitted to say what they think, they’ve lost the volume control.

It’s up to you to find a way through this, along with their people.

10. The Depressed

This horse knows it’s not worth even trying to connect or respond, probably because last time they did, it got them nowhere.

Their vibe is a dull one, and their eye contact is minimal or non-existent. They’re not into engaging with you.

They may stare off into the middle distance, as if disocciating. There’s very little response until the relaxing sensations completely take over – then you may receive a single look, or a tentative touch on the hand.

It’s a start. That has to be enough for now.

This horse will hopefully learn from the beneficial after-effects of the work. They will slowly start to feel that life can feel better and that humans have something to give.

With these horses, working with their mind and emotions is even more important. If they’ve had physical stresses forced on them in the past (and they usually have, leading to pain issues), the last thing we want to do is pressure them again.

Negotation is always the best way when we need to move forward, with lots of acceptance and thinking time.

Now I said there’d be ten, but there’s one more to come. I don’t meet too many of these extreme cases, and for that I’m grateful.

11. The Broken

This horse is so badly damaged that there seems to be no way back.

Very often, they’ve had multiple negatives in their lives, on multiple levels. Pain is a huge factor, with the horse having a condition that’s been ignored and frequently overridden (literally… it’s often back pain).

Some are both desperate and furious, having been forced beyond their limits. They can be highly dangerous to work with.

This horse has probably given enough for one lifetime – or had it taken from them.

I met this chestnut mare in a UK horse sanctuary. (c) J Clothier

Bodywork is our fleeting gift as we try to help these horses feel better.

By helping to ease their stress, we may to a tiny extent counter the less positive experiences they’ve had at the hands of other humans.

In return, they take us into a silent place, with depths unknown. Go gently while you’re there.

How Well Are We Doing? Why Some Horses Thrive While Others Just Get By

September 19, 2015 by Jane @ THB 9 Comments

Look at the horses around you. Do you believe that they’re thriving? Are their lives the healthiest, richest and most fulfilling they could be – from a horse’s point of view?

OK – so how would you know?

Recently, I heard something that shook up my notions of how we look after our horses – in a good way. It confirmed my thoughts on why some ideas around horse care are good, and equally strengthened my convictions about why some others are wrong.

To cut to the chase, I found myself at an animal behavior conference, listening to a remarkable talk. In just 12 short minutes, I experienced my own work and that of many others dedicated to improving horses’ lives placed in a strong and meaningful context.

The speaker identified just why the Five Freedoms commonly used in animal welfare advocacy are no longer enough to guide us in how we treat our fellow creatures.

Being fundamental and broad, the freedoms – from hunger and thirst, from discomfort, from pain, injury or disease, to express normal behaviour, and from fear and distress – are today more associated with outright cruelty cases, rather than animals that are doing not so badly, but could maybe do better in our care.

Instead, this speaker offered a further 5 points to help us ensure that our animals – including our horses – not only avoid cruelty, but have the opportunity to positively thrive under our care.

Original article (c) Jane Clothier, https://thehorsesback.com No reproduction without permission.

The 5 Opportunities to Thrive

The talk, From Prevention of Cruelty to Optimizing Welfare, was presented by Greg Vicino, Head of Welfare at San Diego Zoo. More on Greg soon, but first, here are the five Opportunities to Thrive that he outlined.

1. Opportunity for a well-balanced diet Fresh water and a suitable, species specific diet will be provided in a way that ensures full health and vigor, both behaviorally and physically.

2. Opportunity to self-maintain An appropriate environment including shelter and species specific substrates that encourage opportunities to self-maintain.

3. Opportunity for optimal health Rapid diagnosis and treatment of injury or disease while providing supportive environments that increase the likelihood of healthy individuals.

4. Opportunity to express species-specific behavior Quality spaces and appropriate social groupings will be provided that encourage species specific behaviors at natural frequencies and of appropriate diversity while meeting social and developmental needs.

5. Opportunities for choice and control Providing conditions in which animals can exercise control and make choices to avoid suffering and distress, and make behavior meaningful.

Now published by the San Diego team: Greggor, Alison L et al. “Animal Welfare in Conservation Breeding: Applications and Challenges.” Frontiers in veterinary science vol. 5 323. 18 Dec. 2018

How well are we doing with our horses?

Do those make you think at all? They do me… thoughts have flooded in and continue to do so, especially when I talk to other equine care professionals.

In some ways, our horses share more with captive animals than the agricultural livestock they live closely with. Retaining many powerful characteristics of the wild, our horses are kept in areas many times smaller than their previous wild habitats (in evolutionary terms), with the subsequent lack of behavioral freedoms that come with that.

“We use these guiding principles for assessment…. The Opportunities are a lens we look through when evaluating an animal group for optimal welfare.” Greg Vicino

OK. so let’s take a closer look.

The Horse’s Opportunity for a Well Balanced Diet

How about feeding in a way that ensures full heath and vigor, both behaviorally and physically? So many owners associate feeding with showing love, rather than respect for the needs of another species.

We have feed that looks like muesli and makes us go ‘yummy’. We have baled forage that the horses gobble up, yet contributes to laminitis, because it’s so full of carbs.

"It's how you eat it... " Photo: J Clothier — “It’s how you eat it… “ Photo: J Clothier

And as Greg said, in a statement that made me sit right up, “It’s not just what you eat, but how you eat it”

Yes, we can take it still further. Small hole haynets moderate intake, while keeping the hind gut busy.

What’s more, the weekend after the conference, I found myself listening again to Sharon May-Davis, as she described her ‘hay high’ practice of using haynet height to restore physical balance to the horse’s lower neck and forelimbs.

The Horse’s Opportunity to Self Maintain

Track3 — Maintaining hooves. Photo: J Clothier

Some correlations are more obvious. You see, Greg Vicino’s full position is Associate Curator of Elephants and Welfare at San Diego Zoo.

One example he gave is that of providing varied sub-strata (ground surfaces) for elephants, so that they can maintain the soles and nails of their feet.

I know so many horses owners who are doing just that for their horses in their paddocks, so that unshod hooves can develop strength and balance.

And what about over-rugging?

The Horse’s Opportunity for Optimal Health

As a bodyworker and researcher into equine development problems, my feelings are probably predictable, and they may well be similar to your own. We all want our horses healthy and in fine form.

But where we have a problem is not with what we do think about, so much as what so often is not thought about.

Training methods, inappropriate riding style, too much exercise too soon… and I’m not talking about dressage, but everyday riders and owners here.

Thankfully, these subject areas that are so culturally entrenched are starting to open up more, particularly in areas such as saddle fit, head/neck position, and the ability of the horse to move in biomechanically sound ways.

The Horse’s Opportunity for Choice and Control

This I find quite moving… particularly the notion of making behavior meaningful. Think about it: what behavior may be meaningful to your horse? We are all curators of single or small groups of equines.

It’s easy for us to over-manage and micro-manage our horses’ lives, to the point where are few decisions left to make. We have many institutionalized animals that are denied individual expression.

Hello — Acting on curiosity. Photo: J Clothier

It goes without saying that we have to make decisions for our animals, and there are geographical, physical and financial limitations as to where and how they can be kept.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t do our best to make their lives interesting. In zoology, the term used is ‘enrichment’. It’s improving quality of life, beyond providing the essentials.

It’s about actively getting the most from life, not just avoiding negative states. So that’s different places to eat, finding different ways to eat. Having varied experiences. To express and act upon curiosity, Scope for play, scope for company. Places to scratch, places to roll. Other horses to touch.

The Horse’s Opportunity to Express Species-Specific Behavior

The preferred system of a boarding establishment may make for easy management, but your horse may be being denied this opportunity.

The horse kept in a small individual paddock is being denied self-expression, even when there’s an equine neighbor over the fence.

The constantly rugged horse is unable to roll and feel the texture of dirt in its coat. And what about ‘keep-em-clean’ hoods that hide the subtle facial expressions horses use to communicate with one another?

So, is your horse thriving?

We’re all on a learning curve with this one.

It’s true that many horses have it worse than our beloved animals at home, but that doesn’t mean that all our horses are getting enough of what they need for optimal quality of physical, mental and – yes – emotional life.

Physical, mental and - yes - emotional health. Photo: J Clothier — Thriving physically, mentally and – yes – emotionally. Photo: J Clothier

Likewise, the fact that other people are in a position to do it better than us – higher income and land ownership do open up more choices for animal management – doesn’t mean that we’re not getting a lot of it right (and, sometimes, better than those other owners).

So, let’s take this as encouragement to keep going and to keep striving, making improvements as we develop our understanding
of what it takes for our horses to thrive.

With thanks to Greg Vicino for allowing me to reproduce content from the forthcoming paper.

Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below.

The Opportunities to Thrive were created as part of a welfare management system at San Diego Zoo Global by Vicino and Miller, with the latter now at the Chicago Zoological Society – Brookfield Zoo.

Greg A. Vicino, Associate Curator of Elephants and Animal Welfare, studied Biological Anthropology at UC Davis where he focused on non-human primate, husbandry, behavior, welfare, and socialization. Previously, he held positions as an Animal Care Supervisor of Primates for the San Diego Zoo, and interim Animal Services Manager Al AIn Zoo.

Mr. Vicino focuses on integrated management strategies, in which all animals receive the benefit of every specialty at each facility. With a heavy emphasis on feeding strategies, behavioral diversity, and species specific social behavior, he has championed the idea that every animal in our care should be given an Opportunity to Thrive.

Lance J. Miller, Ph.D., Senior Director of Animal Welfare Research, received his graduate training in Experimental Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously, he held positions as a Research Manager at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Scientist for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

Dr. Miller focuses on animal welfare to help ensure that each individual animal within zoological facilities is thriving. He is currently a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Research and Technology Committee, Vice Chair of the AZA Animal Welfare Committee, and a steering committee member for the AZA Behavioral Scientific Advisory Group.

Why It Matters To 112 Million Working Equines That You Read This Post

April 18, 2015 by Jane @ THB 2 Comments

Most of us have a good idea of what animal welfare means and why it’s important. But in developing nations, cultural and economic concerns can prevail when it comes to issues such as ending a working equine’s pain. It is not so long ago that horses, donkeys and mules across Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were primarily working animals. For many equines in other nations, that is still the case.

This thoughtful and sensitive post by Melissa Liszewski, Animal Welfare & Community Engagement Advisor of the Brooke, an international animal welfare organisation, gives an insight into a difficult subject, and describes a compelling legal solution developed in Ethiopia. It was first published on the Brooke’s blog in January 2015.

“I myself have seen animals in the countries we work in and I don’t even know how they have managed to remain standing, let alone pull heavy loads day in and day out …”

There are so many challenging aspects of the work we do here at the Brooke, but there is nothing like coming across an animal suffering from protracted or incurable disease, injury or debility to really put our animal-loving hearts and minds to the test.

Working Gharry horse abandoned when he became lame, with badly damaged right eye and very low body condition (c) the Brooke

We work hard to relieve hard working horses, donkeys and mules from their suffering. But what happens when despite our best efforts, and the best efforts of local stakeholders, an animal’s illness, injury or overall condition means they have a poor outlook for a fit and pain free working life?

I have often pictured a lush green oasis where all those hard working horses, donkeys and mules can retire and live out the rest of their days pain free with all the care they need, full bellies and lots of space to just do whatever they please all day as thanks for their many hard years of service.

“The hard reality is that such a beautiful retirement for both the animals we serve and the communities they serve is just a picture in our heads.”

The truth is that there are an estimated 112 million working equines in this world and although we work tirelessly to help as many of them as possible in a meaningful way, we are still only able to reach about 2 million of them.

Much like the owners of the animals we serve, we do not have endless resources so we have to do the best we can for the animals with what we have.

At the Brooke, we accept that euthanasia is an effective way to alleviate suffering and prevent future suffering. We have a Euthanasia Policy to ensure that when the practice is carried out by our staff or partners it is done with the utmost care and consideration of the animal’s experience.

(c) the Brooke. No reproduction of partial or entire text without permission of the Brooke. Sharing the link back to this page is fine. Please contact jane@thehorsesback.com for more information. Thank you!

When euthanasia is the only option

When suffering cannot be alleviated by any other means, euthanasia is the only humane solution. However, there are many complexities surrounding the practice of euthanasia that must be considered:

Can euthanasia be done humanely?

The answer is yes, but in some countries we work in certain methods of euthanasia are not available, cannot be imported and/or are not legal. Our teams then have the difficult task of weighing out potential suffering at the point of death with potential suffering if the animal was not euthanized, in order to always aim for the best welfare outcome for the individual animal.

Are there legal implications?

Abandoned for 3 months, this horse was blind and suffered from joint problems (c) the Brooke

In Halaba, Ethiopia our local team worked hard to get by-laws in place that would allow abandoned animals to be euthanized without the legal risk of someone coming forward after the fact and claiming their animal was taken without consent.

Nationwide in Pakistan, our team is working tirelessly to overcome the challenge of carcass disposal due not only to environmental and practical concerns, but also the fact that illegal donkey meat is a rising problem that could be wrongfully attributed back to our organisation if a euthanized animal weren’t disposed of properly, allowing someone to eat it and get sick.

These are considerations we must keep at the forefront of our euthanasia decisions as the effects could be catastrophic to local initiatives benefiting whole communities of animals if our reputation became damaged or trust lost.

Is it culturally acceptable?

There are places where we work that euthanasia is not seen as an acceptable practice due to religious or cultural reasons, or because owners feel they are killing an animal that provided them with a service, and prefer a natural death for the animal. Our staff work sensitively with individual owners in such cases, trying to balance respect for cultural practice or religious beliefs with the welfare needs of the animal concerned.

Is it ethical for us to intervene?

It is crucial that euthanasia is not carried out without the owner’s permission, meaning our teams must always obtain informed consent. Our teams in the field strive to ensure owners do not feel coerced into the practice, but come to the decision based on the facts they have been given by medical professionals, and their own desire to do what is best for their animal.

Sometimes, euthanasia is refused because an owner has no other source of income to provide for their family. In some communities we work, for example in India, the Brooke has helped set up group savings funds and equine insurance schemes, which can help owners make the best decision for their animal without economics being a barrier.

When euthanasia simply isn’t possible

Despite our best efforts, for all of these reasons and more, euthanasia is simply not always an option, and we must be prepared to do whatever we can in such cases to work with owners to ensure the animal is well cared for, relieved of their pain and rested until the very end. This is a painful reality at times for our staff in the field.

I myself have seen animals in the countries we work in and I don’t even know how they have managed to remain standing, let alone pull heavy loads day in and day out; deformed and damaged limbs, debilitating disease, old, weak and worn down animals at the end of their working life. I have also seen and talked to owners with their own heart-breaking stories of survival, not knowing what the future holds for their family and how they will get by.

Abandoned for over 3 years before euthanasia, this gelding was suffering from severe knee and pastern joint damage. (c) the Brooke

Most often, the owners of these animals are not intentionally cruel, and although it may be easy to judge from far away, we must put ourselves in their shoes, as they work hard every day to put food on the table for their family and provide a better life for their children than they had for themselves.

Making assumptions or judging others will not erase or improve the suffering of working horses, donkeys and mules but what may help is a good dose of compassion for both the animals and the humans who care for and depend on them.

Yes, I have seen debilitated working animals abandoned to fend for themselves against hungry hyenas in Ethiopia, but just a few kilometres away in the same country I have also seen poor owners steadfastly caring for animals that cannot work or contribute anything economically to their family, bringing them into their own homes at night to protect them from those very same hyenas.

There are many reasons and situations where euthanasia may be considered and it is always an emotional decision, both for our own staff and the local people we work with, but it is our duty to do what we can to provide comfort and relief to suffering animals who work so very hard for the people depending on them.

The success of the by-laws in Halaba, Ethiopia, along with training of local service providers to ensure humane euthanasia is possible for suffering animals, mixed with engaging local communities to improve preventive husbandry practices and ensure euthanasia is an acceptable option when required, is proof of what can be done to help hard working animals.

This is our mission and this is what we stand for at the Brooke – I hope that you will stand behind us.

The Brooke is an international animal welfare organisation dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in some of the world’s poorest communities. The charity provides treatment, training and programmes around animal health and wellbeing, operating across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

You can follow the Brooke on Facebook, while more information on the organisation’s work is available on the website: www.thebrooke.org.