Animal behaviorist and equine welfare expert Emily Weiss, Ph.D., reveals the key to solving any equine behavior challenge: positive reinforcement.
If you’ve ever wondered why your horse behaves a certain way, or why you’re having trouble solving an equine behavior...
If you’ve been around horses long enough, you’ve likely come across at least one who actively tries to evade being bridled. Perhaps this horse tries backing away, raising his head far out of reach to avoid the bridle, or clamps...
Cribbing is a self-soothing behavior that involves a horse grasping a solid object, such as a fence rail, with his incisor teeth, arching his neck, and contracting his lower neck muscles while sucking in air with a grunt.Cribbing is...
Emotions play a crucial role in social species, helping regulate interactions. In animals, emotions can be assessed based on physiological, behavioral, and cognitive changes. In a study published in BMC Biology, scientists from the University of Copenhagen and ETH...
For most of us, “trauma-informed horsemanship” likely brings to mind the plethora of equine-assisted therapy and learning programs in which horses help humans heal. But these days, we are witnessing a rise in approaches that apply the term to...
While horses rely most on body language to communicate, the noises they make are also meaningful. There are four types of horse vocalizations: whinny, nicker, snort, and squeal. Each equine vocal communication has a precise meaning, and the sounds...
Use this step-by-step approach to make a spooky horse more confident or handle an unexpected scary scenario.Spooking isn’t fun for either horse or human. We’ve all experienced this scenario: You’re enjoying a nice, relaxing ride when your horse suddenly...
Read the full article about equine behavior in Horse Illustrated’s July 2024 issue! Below is some great content we couldn’t fit in the print article, featuring insight from animal behaviorist and equine welfare expert Emily Weiss, Ph.D., on the...
If asked what type of personality your horse has, you might say he’s an alpha, stubborn, people-pleasing, nervous, difficult, easy-going, bold, bombproof, or some other personality trait. You may also believe your assessment is accurate because you know your...
A horse communicates how it is feeling at any given moment through his body language. A horse's mood is evident through various signs expressed, so as long as you know what you're looking for, you can determine how your...
