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How to Deal with the Tricky Horse
Pearson G.
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This presentation aims to present the delegate with an understanding of the mental capacities of horses and learning theory. This knowledge can be applied to horses under their care to reduce any unwanted behaviours, such as kicking out, exhibited by the horse, and to make working with the more difficult equine patient more time efficient
The mental capacities of horses
We are often guilty of overestimating the intelligence of the horses we work with. Often equine veterinarians will comment that the horse ‘knows’ what he is doing and is making a purposeful decision to misbehave; however, the behaviour can often be explained using equine learning theory (see below). Behaviours should never be attributed to higher processes of learning or understanding when they can be easily be explained by more simple processes. Key points to remember include:
- Horses have a relatively poor short-term memory. They may not associate punishment with the unwanted behaviour after even a few seconds.
- Horses have an excellent long-term memory. Memories in horses are triggered and so a horse may have a fear response triggered by a specific veterinarian or procedure they previously found fearful, even if they were not exposed to the veterinarian/procedure for many years in between.
- Horses learn behaviours in the context which they experience them in. For example, a horse may associate certain areas, such as veterinary examination boxes, with certain behaviours, such as pulling away, when it would not normally offer these behaviours elsewhere.
- Horses are not capable of problem solving but instead learn even apparently complex behaviours through trial and error.
- Horses cannot learn new behaviours through observational learning. For example, they cannot develop cribbing by copying another horse.
Nonassociative learning
Classical conditioning
Making associations between two previously unrelated cues; increases the predictability of the environment for the horse.
Most of us will remember the story of Pavlov’s dogs whereby he rang a bell before feeding his dogs meat. He then discovered if he rang the bell when no meat was present the dogs would still salivate in anticipation of being fed. This is the phenomenon of classical conditioning, when the horse learns that one cue predicts what will happen next. How quickly the association is made depends on how frequently the two events occur, how consistently one predicts another and how close together they occur.
Examples:
- How many horses do you know that whinny when they hear the latch slide open on the feed room door, or that become anxious when you raise the jugular vein prior to venepuncture?
- Clicker training relies on the fact that the ‘click’ predicts a reward will follow
Operant conditioning
Making associations between a stimulus and a response; increases controllability for the horse.
Operant conditioning allows the horse to learn how its behaviour can alter the environment. It is divided into reinforcement training – increasing the likelihood a behaviour will be repeated in the future and punishment – decreasing the likelihood a behaviour will be repeated in the future.
Positive reinforcement
The addition of something pleasant after the desired behaviour. This makes the horse more likely to repeat the behaviour in the future. This will only work with an innate reinforcer, for example food or a scratch on the withers (not patting or telling the horse they are good).
The timing of positive reinforcement is vital – it needs to be as close as possible to the desired behaviour. For this reason secondary positive reinforcement is frequently used. For example in clicker training the ‘click’ predicts the food reward and so the click can be timed to coincide with the desired behaviour.
Negative reinforcement
The removal of an aversive stimulus after a desired behaviour. Lots of people get negative reinforcement confused with punishment. Try and think of it from the mathematical sense of the word, negative means removal or subtraction of something and reinforcement means to increase the likelihood the horse will repeat the behaviour. A better way to remember this is often removal reinforcement. Pressure is applied to the horse which motivates it to remove the pressure, provided the pressure is released as soon as the desired response is offered the horse will offer that response next time the pressure is applied. An important thing to remember is that the pressure should never cause pain or induce fear as these are both detrimental to learning.
Examples:
- If you put pressure on the horse’s halter (pressure) they should walk forwards and the pressure be released
- If the horse feels pressure from the halter when tied up and pulls back, breaking the rope, this releases the pressure and the horse is more likely to repeat this behaviour in the future.
Positive punishment
The application of an aversive stimulus after an unwanted behaviour has occurred. This makes the behaviour less likely to be repeated in the future.
Negative punishment
The removal of a pleasant stimulus after an unwanted behaviour has occurred
Punishment should be avoided when handling horses as: it lowers the motivation of the horse to trial new (potentially correct) responses; horses can habituate to punishment and so increasing amounts are required with consequent welfare issues; the timing is almost impossible to get right; the horse may react in a fearful manner (increasing the likelihood of injuring someone); and the horse may make negative associations with the person involved.
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About
Affiliation of the authors at the time of publication
The Horse Trust & Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh, EH25 9RG, UK
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