So, if I’m a test subject and press a lever and get a shock instead of a M&M, I will stop pressing that lever. This is an example of a so-called positive (just to get everyone thoroughly confused) punishment because the aversive stimulus (i.e. the shock) is added (hence positive in the sense of addition). If, on the other hand, I have a pile of M&Ms and every time I press the lever, a M&M is removed, that is a negative punishment because something is subtracted, taken away. Both of these punishments are different from aversive stimuli, such as the dinging in your car when you forget to put on your seat belt. It’s annoying so you backle up your seat belt to get it to stop. Aversive stimuli are often mistaken for punishment.

So, for example a horse gets struck after balking at a jump, that is positive punishment. Striking a horse on the way towards a jump, i.e. to get him to accelerate into the jump is not so much punishment as it is an aversive stimulus; i.e., by striking the horse, I am encouraging him to flee so he picks up speed, much like you see jockeys do during a race when they are whipping the horse back and forth with their crops to get the maximum push from their mounts and the horses are running at top speed to get away from the swats with the crop (i.e. the horses are fleeing to try to make the aversive stimulus stop; i.e. like making the seatbell warning stop).

I would be apprehensive about striking a horse as he’s getting ready to take a jump because you want to reward the horse for taking the jump,not punish him for going towards it. The way a lot of trainers and riders do it is they “spank” the horse as it heads into the jump and then reward (stroke) the horse after the jump. The theory is that the horse will be anxious to avoid the spank by launching itself into the jump and looking for the reward from his rider after the jump.

I believe it is best to get the horse to thoroughly enjoy jumping and the feeling of suceeding at jumps and the praise and affection that comes from a well-executed jump than to mix the horse up with confusing swats with a crop. Leave the crop out of it. In fact, leave it at home.

Thanks!

This a common problem with horses that wean and stay with their moms for a long time. In the wild, this would be their natural pattern to stay with their mothers until they either are of breeding age, if they are mares, or are kicked out by the herd stallion, if they are males. The males go off and join bachelor gangs.
The trick is to take your focus off the mare. Can you bring a couple of other mares in with the dam and the filly? Just let them settle in to bond as a herd for a while. Then put them in a pasture adjoined with a gate or divide their pasture in two. Leave the gate open!! Let the filly wander back and forth at will. Just let it become very natural for her to find herself at times on the opposite side of the fence from her mom.
Then once in a while, close the gate. Start off with just a few minutes. Then open the gate. Just start casually increasing the length of time the gate is closed. Gradually work your way up until they can tolerate being separated by the closed gate for hours at a time. Keep this up. Always reunite the dam and the filly at the end of an interval of separation.
Gradually work your way up separating them until you can put the filly in a pasture where she is willing to be apart from her dam but can still see her. The trick is to always remind the filly that she can be separated from her mother but always reunited. This gradually gets extended.
The trick is to remind the filly that this about being reunited with her mother, not separated. Sounds like it might take a long time. It usually takes only a week or two and then you can keep them out of sight. Also it’s a good idea to let them spend time at night in different stalls; start with 5 minutes, then gradually separate them in different stalls at night for longer periods of time. Initially start with stalls right next to each other, then an intervening stall, etc., etc.
 You get the idea.

Gillian Asks:
Dear Dr. Hamilton,
I really enjoyed your excellent webinar presentation, Zen Mind, Zen Horse.  I am only sorry that it couldn’t go on for at least another hour.  I made lots of notes.  Here is my question:
I have a lovely 14-year-old Arab gelding who is my riding horse.  There are two mares and another gelding in his herd.  He is very herd-bound, and will act up when we are away from the others.  He is fine for the first half hour or so, and then begins to call and throw his head around to get back to his girls and his buddy.  He is not paying attention to what I am asking him and it frustrates me.  I realize that frustration is not helpful.  I usually just turn him in the opposite direction from home until he is calmer, at which point I head toward home again.  And then repeat as necessary.  When I get him into the yard, he will do a lovely collected trot and be good as gold.  I sure would appreciate suggestions.

Thanks so much for your wonderful advice.  I plan to buy a copy of your book for me and one for my friend.

Dear Gillian:
Here’s an interesting trick I have used once for a horse that was badly herd bound. It’s sneaky but worked like a charm! You may or may not want to try it but I will share it anyway. I turn the problem upside down, as I said in the webinar.

As I pointed out, it is hard for us to imagine just what a “collective” identity horses have as part of a herd. It is also only natural for a horse to want to “be” with his herd. That’s where he is in his comfort zone and where he feel safest. So we know it’s the herd your horse is yearning for and, in his mind, it is always back at the barn. So he’s dying to get there to get back to them.

But…what if he were wrong? What if he was mistaken and the herd is not back at the barn? You’re probably catching on to my idea. What if the herd were where he never expected it to be? On the trail!

So I had somone trailer two of my horse’s pals way up on the trail. We had pre-planned where we would suddenly–accidentally, on purpose–run into his herd pal on the trail. So he started fussing the farther away from the barn we went.

Just about where I knew he was going to throw a fit, guess what? Wow! There was his herd mate, all saddled up with a rider, just out for a walk on the very same trail we had been on! What a coincidence! My horse did a double-take! Calmed down immediately. My riding mate and I went down the trail…the two horses together. After ten minutes, we split up.

My horse and went down the trail by ourselves for a spell. Wow! Bumped into another member of the family, the herd. Walked for a while with them. Then they peeled off. We did this for a couple of weeks, planting horses along the trail when we went out (mostly weekends). After a while, he got into the habit of figuring he would bump into some he knew on the trail.

Eventually, one day we went for a trail ride and didn’t bump into anyone. Bummer! Then next time we went out, wow, stable mate again. Next trail ride? No one. Just gradually added more trail rides with no buddies, always throwing one in where we could one of his pals. Eventually, he just forgot about figuring out where his buddies might be.

This illustrates precisely what I mean about loving how horses teach us to turn the problem or question upside down: The question is not: What can I do to prevent him from returning to the barn to look for his mates? The real question is: What can I do to convince him to look for what he seeks out on the trail?
Speaking of which, Happy Trails,
Allan Hamilton, MD

Sally Leong asks:
How does the horse use its eyes in relation to the brain’s perception?

Dear Sally,
Great question! The horse can see almost 320 degrees around it; however, it’s mostly monocular viewing (meaning a single eye) as opposed to stereoscopic (like us humans), where there is depth perception. The horse can only see simultaneously with both eyes to about 20 degrees in front. This is why you will observe your horse dip its head a little bit before it goes over an obstacle on the ground. It’s trying to use its stereoscopic vision to see the obstacle better with a full 3-D view. Hope this illustration (from Zen Mind, Zen Horse) helps:

Dear Kathy,
The human brain is highly specialized with respect to right and left halves. For more in-depth discussion, see my Chapter Eight, “Prey, Predator, and the Rules of Learning” in Zen Mind, Zen Horse, which identifies the major differences between the two hemispheres of the human brain. In a nutshell, the left side is set up for speech and logical thinking while the right is nonverbal and devoted to more artistic and creative impulses. Incidentally, horses tend to appeal to or call upon our right-brain capacity to create an emotional connection with them.

With respect to the equine brain, the right and left cerebral hemispheres are not specialized. Both are non-verbal, and there is very little generalization or sharing of information from one side to the other. This makes it fairly easy to see the how horses actually function differently from humans. For example, having a horse is a bit like—as Clinton Anderson points out—having two horses: “Rightie” and “Leftie.” The left side of the horse’s brain can learn to approach a jump, and the horse completes it perfectly. But, now, when you approach the jump from the right side, the horse balks. What’s happening? Well, simply put, the horse’s right side has never “seen” the jump. This is why it’s so-o-o important to train your horse evenly—both sides of the horse’s brain have to get fluent. In the same way, even though we traditionally mount our horses from the left side, it’s wise to train your horse to be just as accepting about having a rider mount from the right side.

Best,
Allan Hamilton, MD

I was blown away by the number of times I had slipped up and found myself lying because I thought it was easier than telling the truth. One call I said to a friend: “I’m on my way to meet you.” I hadn’t even started the car. Another to an editor was: “I’m just going over the final draft.” Truth was: I hadn’t even started writing the first one. Why did I do that? The question is: how do we make ourselves exhibit more integrity in what we do and say?

This is where having a horse as a close friend comes in very handy. You can tell them all the lies you want. Not one of them works. The only thing your horse is interested in—the only thing that he will respond to—is what you are truly feeling. You may say that you’re there to have a patient and productive training session in the round pen but if you are checking your watch to see when it’s time to get to your next appointment, your horse will know it. You horse will sense that you are not really there for him. You have some agenda that’s clouding your heart. And your horse knows when he can’t see clearly into your heart! For your horse, actions not only speak louder than words, they are the only language your horse hears.

Candidly, it’s a refreshing break for me to be able to spend some time with a creature that would rather accept me for who I am than who I feel I should be. It’s a blessed moment too when I feel that utter relief when I longer need to expend precious energy pretending. My horse helps me to understand how much time and effort I put into sustaining lies that never help me and often hurt me. And, finally, my horse teaches me that if I want to progress in this life, I’d best face up to the truth that the real obstacles holding me back are the ones I put there and most dangerous lies—the ones that hurt me the most–are the ones I tell myself. Not bad therapy for a twenty-minute session in the round pen.

Horses don’t delude themselves about time. They understand that there was a past. If it was bad, they usually forgive it. If it was good, well, no reason to dwell on that too long either. As to the future, they don’t place too much stock in that either. Horses have a way of trying to size up the situation by confining themselves to the present. When they go into a pasture, they are not worrying if the grass was better at the other stable or worse than last week. Nor do they fret about what might happen to this year’s winter pasture or the rising price of hay. Instead, they step through the gate and go: “Good. There’s grass for today. Let’s graze.”

In that sense, they remind us that if we let our minds dwell anywhere else but in the present it can lead to needless regret or anxiety. Neither changes the history that has already been written or the future that might unfold. What matters is how we deal with what’s right in front of us. Let’s graze.

The market is flooded with people offering services for equine-assisted experiential learning, hippotherapy, and equine-facilitated therapy. Many of these experienced and accomplished professionals but others are well intentioned but untrained quacks. We need to separate those individuals who are qualified to offer equine-facilitated activities and those who are not.

One essential component of all equine-related services is the presence of a qualified horse professional. In the past, there was little need to put a premium on establishing credentials for horse professionals. Largely, the designation of a ranch hand or wrangler as a “qualified equine professional” was left up to the owner of the horse facility offering services to the public. However, this has now become a shortsighted policy that can undermine the future of equine-facilitated services. Standardized credentials need to be established. One reason is that the insurance industry is beginning to require more in-depth review of qualifications of horse professionals in order to ensure safety standards and reduce liability. In this regard, insurance premiums will probably serve as substantial incentive for horse facility owners to endorse the establishment of national standards for the designation of an equine professional. One would also hope that the numerous organizations in the United States and around the world offering equine-facilitated training would attempt to establish one global, universal standard of credentials to facilitate this transition. Not only will this be good for the industry, but it will also help establish a more professional standing for those individuals who find themselves charged with managing the livestock and overseeing the safety of participants in the equine-facilitated activities.

The same logic applies to the designation and certification of individuals who carry out equine-facilitated learning and therapy. I understand there may be substantial controversy amongst the various groups competing to offer education and certification in the fields of equine assisted learning and therapeutic services. But, in the end, all organizations must strive to reassure the public that people who are offering and advertising services in the immersive environment of equine-assisted activities are qualified to do so and meet professional standards and ethics. While there may be some controversy as to what techniques are useful or effective, I do not think there is any disagreement that we are better off ensuring that the best people are offering those services.

There is no doubt that those people who are offering equine-assisted learning experiences should be qualified educators, first and foremost. These are individuals who possess the credentials that allow themselves to be called “educators”—namely, a teaching license[1]. The same holds true for therapists: they are duly licensed by each state in which they hold themselves out to the public as qualified therapists. There is no limitation as to whether or not these professional services can or cannot be offered in conjunction with horses. What is constrained by statute is that one cannot call oneself a teacher or a therapist without the legal authority to do so.

There is also a great deal of confusion about the notion of “therapy.” Many of us have moving moments in our own lives such as time spent with our children or grandchildren, instances where nature’s beauty overwhelms us, or music moves us. These are all “therapeutic moments” but they do not constitute therapy. By the same token, those of us who feel close to horses often have moments of epiphany when we are relating to them. Just because horses move us does not mean that we are undergoing therapy.The only requirement for making an equine-facilitated activity into a therapeutic one is the presence of a licensed professional. It is their presence and their presence alone that moves the powerfully emotional interactions with the horse into the realm of a therapeutic relationship. However, the therapeutic relationship exists between the client and therapist, not between the horse and the client. In precisely the same way, the horse does not teach the individual mathematics during an equine facilitated learning experience aimed at engaging the student in mathematical principles, such as adding or subtracting.. It is the teacher who takes the moment and makes it into immersive, engaging instruction. We cannot afford to continue to confuse the horse with the professionals who offer those services with the horse.

For all these reasons, we must strive to establish universal standards that help define a horse professional, a licensed therapist who uses horses as a tool for therapeutic intervention, and credentialed educators who use equine-facilitated activities for learning objectives. Without establishing the standards for these three “pillars” of horse-related services, we will continue to see more and more self-designated “therapists” and “educators” who do not meet the public’s expectations. We will fail to provide professional status to those qualified individuals who safeguard the safety of clients and students when they are engaged in equine activities. The more stringent and objective we make our standards for credentialing and designating individuals in these three categories, the better we will serve the needs of our clients as well and provide the best for our horses.

Pursuing happiness often necessitates a long, twisting journey. One in which we can all use some guidance along the way. Here is a suggestion of  seven things to make you a spiritually happier person:

1. Keep a journal of blessings. Every day write down three items in your life for which you are grateful. Write as much as you can about each one.

2. Perform three acts of random kindness before noon and three more before sundown. Hurry. Make sure you will get no credit for them and that no one else will ever know about them.

3. Write testimonials of gratitude to three individuals who meant a great deal to you in your life. If they are still alive, hand deliver them in person. If they have passed away, deliver them in person to their next of kin.

4. Fill out three thank you cards each morning.

5. Buy three books for three friends and send them anonymously to their attention.

6. Make three apologies for three wrongs you have committed.

7. Give three days’ of earnings anonymously to a charity in the name of three individuals who have wronged you.