UNDERSTAND HORSES

Fear causes great difficulty for many horse owners, trainers, riders and keepers, not least because fear in horses is often misunderstood, mismanaged and contagious, especially when half a ton of muscle is threatening the wellbeing of your toes...

  Many of the training methods commonly used and taught for managing a horse’s fear are at best ineffective, and at worst  cruel, often resulting in trauma. Many horses come to us with a history of trauma through injury, accident, or mistreatment. Trauma may create changes in the horse’s nervous system which can increase fear responses and lead to unwanted and dangerous behaviour. These behaviour changes may seem unpredictable and frustrating, but they can be understood and reversed if the trainer is equipped with the correct knowledge and appropriate techniques.

This course, from neuroscientist and equine behaviour consultant Dr Emma Lethbridge, aims to change the misinformation and damaging training that is rife within the equestrian world. Emma looks at how fear and trauma can affect the horse and how to resolve the resulting problems in a compassionate and welfare-focused way. You will benefit from a thorough understanding of how horses think and behave if they are frightened or traumatised as well as gaining useful practical skills to help you train and handle horses more effectively.

 You will learn:

• About fear and trauma and their implications for working with horses

• The psychology and neurobiology of fear and trauma in the horse

 • About the horse's fear response and how it affects the body

• How the 'fight' or 'flight' systems work

 • How trauma affects the horse physically and emotionally

• How post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect the horse

• How to work in a trauma-informed way

• How to rehabilitate a horse affected by fear and trauma

• How to create an appropriate behaviour modification plan

 • How to work with horses that have been abused, neglected or mistreated

• Which techniques can increase the horse's fear responses and why

• How to develop effective and welfare-orientated husbandry and training techniques

 • Practical techniques to resolve problems that arise when handling frightened horses

 This course is aimed at horse owners, students and equestrian professionals interested in learning about the neurobiology, psychology and practicalities of working with fear and trauma in the horse. You don't need any prior knowledge to take this course.

Once enrolled you have 60 days to complete the course.