Devonshire Oct to Dec 17

Horse
Care
Empathy
by Natalie Bucklar
East Devon Riding Academy
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© Millie Moore
Natalie Bucklar
BSc (Hons), MSc (Equine Science)
Natalie has owned horses for over
30 years and owns East Devon
Riding Academy near Sidmouth.
She has previously lectured in
Equine Science to degree level and
produced research for preparing
Great Britains' equestrian teams
for the Olympics. Natalie provides
consultations in horse management,
training and problem solving using
a force-free, science based approach.
Empathy
At East Devon Riding Academy,
one of the skills we like to develop
in riders is empathy. The ability to
understand and share the feelings
of the horse undoubtedly makes
you a better horse person but
furthermore, it enhances your
own life too.
Amazing research carried out
with rats showed that they would
release other rats from a cage even
if there was no reward for doing so.
Taking it one step further, when
given the choice of two cages, one
containing a rat and one chocolate,
the rats would open both cages,
often sharing the chocolate with
the rat they had released. This
research clearly demonstrated
empathy in action and shows that
helping others brings rewards
beyond anything tangible.
I’ve often heard riders complain
that their horse won’t do
something, even though
they’ve asked it to several times.
At this point I like to go back
to square one, checking the
understanding and execution
of the communication offered
by the rider. Often something is
missing or physical actions are
contradictory and then there’s the
regular occurrence of perception
not matching reality. The rider
thinks they have done something
or asked a certain way but the
reality is very different. This can be
highlighted with a simple exercise-
try it. Put your hands out in front
of you, side by side level with your
shoulders, then close your eyes.
Put one arm up to your ear and
one arm down to your thigh then
bring your hands back together
in front of you. When you think
your hands are level open your
eyes. Are your hands level? If they
are, well done, you have better
perception than most. With many
people one hand will be higher
than the other, showing that even
though the person thought they
were level, the reality is different.
So many riders think they’ve got
their shoulders in the right place
or their leg aid was soft but in
many cases this is not an accurate
representation of what the horse
feels or even thinks. Perceived rein
contact has been shown to be
inaccurate even by experienced
riders- what they would describe
as light pressure has been proven
to be anything but when it has
been measured objectively with
strain gauges attached to the reins.
One other exercise to help
understand a horses perspective is
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attempting to swallow in different
ways. First, swallow normally. Then
try to swallow with your tongue
held down to the bottom of your
mouth. Feel the difference? Now
try to swallow with the tongue
held down but with the mouth
both open and closed, which is
easier? The hardest way to swallow
is with both the tongue held down
and the mouth shut- it’s possible
but it’s not easy as it completely
changes the way the mouth
needs to function to swallow
properly. Now think about the
horse wearing a bit in conjunction
with a tight noseband or one that
is designed to keep the mouth
closed. With this tack arrangement
the tongue is prevented from
coming up to the roof of the
mouth normally and the horse
is forced to keep its mouth shut.
This is why horses can be seen
with frothy mouths, it’s not
acceptance of the bit, it’s because
swallowing is being impaired. I am
hoping this exercise has inspired
empathy towards all those horses
that are expected to perform a
job, listen to the rider and even
carry out intense exercise whilst
having difficulty swallowing! And
hopefully for those who can, this
empathy can be used to help out
a horse or two.
Happy Riding!
Natalie x
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