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Insights from ‘Stepping outside the Matrix: (Re)examining our relationships with horses.’

Insights from My Conversation with Renate Larssen

 

In the world of equestrianism, the bond between humans and horses is often romanticised as an unbreakable connection built on trust and understanding. However, a deeper exploration into this relationship reveals that our approach, training methods, and historical context often differ significantly from the romantic ideals and require a significant re-evaluation.

At the heart of this discussion is the importance of relationship building. Horses, like humans, are social animals that thrive on connections. Yet, our traditional training methods often prioritise obedience and control, side-lining the emotional needs and agency of the horse. It is crucial to foster a bond that is built on mutual respect, understanding, and not coercion and control. This requires us to move away from anthropomorphising and recognise that our horses have their own perspectives and experiences, a concept known as Umwelt, which emphasises viewing the world through the lived experiences of the horse.

Understanding the agency of horses is central to establishing effective communication with them. Horses are intelligent, sentient beings that express preferences, fears, and desires. Acknowledging their individuality and allowing them the freedom to express themselves, to have a voice, is vital. When we give them the options for choice, respect their choices and provide them with opportunities to engage in meaningful activities, we cultivate a relationship that is enriched and fulfilling for both parties.

An ecological perspective sheds light on the interconnectedness of all life forms and encourages us to consider our horses not just as our companions but as part of a larger system. This holistic view promotes a shift from an anthropocentric mindset, where humans are seen as the pinnacle of existence, to recognising the intrinsic value of horses as fellow sentient beings with their own needs and cultures.

The enrichment of environments plays a critical role in equine welfare. Horses should have spaces that allow for exploration, social interaction, and expression of natural behaviours. By creating dynamic environments, we can stimulate their cognitive development and enhance their overall well-being. Studies indicate that animals thrive in enriched settings, leading to happier and more adaptive individuals.

Furthermore, a critique of conventional training methods highlights the need to transition away from repetitive, uninspired drills toward approaches that foster active learning. Just as children benefit from engaging learning experiences, horses can also flourish when given opportunities to solve problems and make choices. This method encourages not only skill development but also deepens the horse-human connection.

As we navigate these transformations, it’s important to consider the historical and cultural influences that shape our perceptions of horses. Many of our practices stem from a military model that emphasises discipline and obedience, which is increasingly seen as outdated. These influences were as also prevalent in children’s physical education, sports, and coaching, but human activities have been moving away from these military influences for some time. Acknowledging this context helps us recognise that it is not just equestrian activities that need to unlearn harmful habits and adopt practices that prioritise empathy and compassion.

In summary, building meaningful relationships with our horses involves a profound shift in perspective. By integrating ethical considerations, respecting their autonomy, creating enriching environments, and embracing a holistic, ecological view, we can foster connections that honour the individuality of both horses and humans. As we embark on this journey toward deeper understanding, we not only enhance our horses’ quality of life but also enrich our own experiences as partners in this beautiful, intricate relationship.

Click the link below to listen to the podcast episode with Renate.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1975020/12913782

 

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Anthropomorphism and Anthropocentrism in Equestrianism

Both anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism play significant roles in shaping attitudes, practices, and policies within equestrianism.

The terms “anthropomorphic” and “anthropocentric” refer to different concepts:

1. Anthropomorphic: This term comes from the Greek words “antrhopos” (human) and “morphe” (form). It describes the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, perceptions, intentions or behaviours to non-human entities, such as animals, gods, or inanimate objects. For example, in literature, a talking animal would be an example of anthropomorphism.

2. Anthropocentric: This term also comes from Greek roots, combining “anthropos” (human) and “kentron” (centre). It refers to a worldview that places humans at the centre of importance, often viewing human beings as the most significant entity in the universe. In this perspective, human needs and interests are prioritised over those of other species and the environment.

In summary, “anthropomorphic” relates to assigning human traits to non-humans, while “anthropocentric” concerns a worldview centred around human beings.

Anthropomorphism in Equestrianism

Definition Recap: Anthropomorphism involves attributing human traits, emotions, perceptions, or intentions to non-human entities.

Impact on Equestrianism:

1. Training Practices:

Trainers and riders may inadvertently project their own emotions and motivations onto horses. For example, if a horse seems reluctant to jump, a rider might interpret this as the horse being “scared” or “stubborn.” This perception might lead to training methods that prioritise emotional rapport rather than understanding the horse’s physical or psychological discomfort or abilities.

2. Horse Welfare:

People may anthropomorphise their horses by assuming they understand human emotions the same way humans do. For instance, a horse may not enjoy being pampered in the same way humans enjoy affection or comfort. This can lead to misunderstanding the horse’s needs; for example, a horse that enjoys freedom and space may be kept too much in close quarters or subjected to excess handling.

3. Storytelling and Branding:

Many equestrian brands and products leverage anthropomorphism in marketing, using imagery or narratives that portray horses in relatable, human-like scenarios. This can enhance emotional connections but might also skew public perception of how horses actually feel and behave.

 

Anthropocentrism in Equestrianism

Definition Recap: Anthropocentrism is a human-centred worldview that prioritises human needs and interests over those of other beings or the environment.

Impact on Equestrianism:

1. Resource Management:

In the equestrian industry, anthropocentrism can lead to prioritising land use for horse facilities or events without regard for the local ecosystem or wildlife. This may result in habitat destruction, overgrazing, and depletion of resources.

2. Therapeutic Riding Programs:

While therapeutic riding programs are often focused on human benefits (e.g., therapy for individuals with disabilities), there may be little emphasis on ensuring that the horses involved also receive adequate care, mental stimulation, and downtime. An anthropocentric view might overlook the horse’s well-being in favour of maximising therapeutic outcomes for humans.

3. Competitive Practices:

In competitive equestrian sports, the pressure to perform at high levels can lead to practices that may compromise horse welfare for the sake of human enjoyment or achievement. Issues such as overtraining, insufficient rest, and the use of performance aids can emerge from a focus that values human goals above the health of the horse.

 

Conclusion

Both anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism play significant roles in shaping attitudes, practices, and policies within equestrianism. While anthropomorphism can enhance emotional connections between humans and horses, it may also lead to misconceptions about equine behaviour and needs. On the other hand, anthropocentrism can drive practices that are not always aligned with the well-being of horses or the environment. Balancing these perspectives with an understanding of equine psychology, physiology and welfare is key to fostering a more ethical and sustainable approach to equestrianism.

To move forward, equestrianism needs to move away from anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism. Two concepts that may help are those of umwelt (a term popularised by biologist Jakob von Uexküll, refers to the unique subjective world experienced by an organism based on its sensory capabilities and interactions with the environment) and telos (derived from ancient Greek philosophy, refers to the inherent purpose, goal, or end towards which something naturally tends. It is often associated with teleology, the study of purpose or design in nature).

To explore the concepts of umwelt and telos in more detail read the article Can the concepts of Umwelt and Telos help us to understand our horses better?

 

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Training your horse using contemporary movement science with Kathy Sierra.

Kathy Sierra shares practical tips for helping your horse become a skilful and motivated mover.

Listen here

Kathy and I have been excited about recording this episode for months. We finally managed to get the time (although I was on a stand up paddle board trip so not at home or on my own computer), and Kathy did not disappoint.

Days before we were due to record, one of the worlds top dressage riders withdrew from the Olympics because of the sharing of a video of a coaching session. We do not focus on the incident or the details, but thought that it was important to share some possible ways forward for training without the need to use whips or force.

This episode is about finding ways forward, embracing contemporary science in the fields of movement and motivation, and leaning in to finding the joy of movement.

If you enjoy this episode, you may want to listen to episode 6.

Exploring how and why we need to become ‘learning environment designers’ for our horses, with Kathy Sierra. Listen here.

Links:
Kathy’s website and information about her pain science courses and free resources.

The spider robot that learnt to limp.
Self-determination theory. How do we create optimal learning environments?
Learning the ugly zone.

 

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Can the concepts of Umwelt and Telos help us to understand our horses better?

Anyone who has engaged with my posts, podcasts or research articles will likely have heard me use the word umwelt to convey the idea that we need to try and understand the world from the horses perspective, intentions and lived experience.

In my podcast with Bonny Mealand and Emily Kieson, Bonny used the term telos and I thought it would be useful to expand on what both these terms mean and why they are important in helping us to move away from an anthropomorphic perspective and toward a greater understanding of the experiences of our horses as horses.

Listen to my podcast with Bonny and Emily (The importance of agency and relationships: A conversation about enhancing the wellbeing of our horses with Bonny Mealand and Emily Kieson).

The concepts of umwelt and telos originate from different fields of study and have distinct meanings.

Umwelt:

Umwelt, a term popularised by biologist Jakob von Uexküll, refers to the unique subjective world experienced by an organism based on its sensory capabilities and interactions with the environment.

It emphasises the idea that different species perceive and interact with their surroundings in unique ways shaped by their sensory organs, cognitive abilities, and behavioural predispositions, and intentions. While an individual’s Umwelt is influenced by its evolution as a species, it is also shaped by individual experience and learning.

For example, the umwelt of a bee includes perceptions of ultraviolet light and patterns of polarised light, which are crucial for finding nectar and communicating with other bees through dance language. Where are bee lives and how it interacts with other bees will influence individuals. The umwelt concept highlights the diversity of sensory worlds and the importance of understanding an organism’s perspective to comprehend its behaviour and ecological role.

How does Umwelt relate to affordance perception?

Umwelt refers to the specific perceptual world experienced by an organism, shaped by its sensory capacities and biological needs. From a Gibsonian perspective in ecological psychology, affordance perception relates to how an organism perceives its environment in terms of potential actions or interactions it can undertake. The link between umwelt and affordance perception lies in the idea that an organism’s sensory modalities and biological makeup determine which affordances are relevant. For example, a horse might perceive a fence as an obstacle to navigate, while a bird might see it as a perch. Thus, the umwelt influences how different species interpret their surroundings, highlighting that perception is not merely a passive reception of stimuli but an active engagement with an environment rich in meaning based on individual capabilities and ecological contexts.

Telos:

Telos, derived from ancient Greek philosophy, refers to the inherent purpose, goal, or end towards which something naturally tends. It is often associated with teleology, the study of purpose or design in nature.

In teleological thinking, phenomena are interpreted in terms of their final causes or intended outcomes. For instance, in Aristotelian thought, the telos of an acorn is to become an oak tree. Telos can also be applied to human actions and institutions, such as the telos of education being the cultivation of knowledge and critical thinking skills.

The concept of telos raises questions about intentionality, design, and the underlying purposes that shape the behaviour and development of organisms and systems.

In summary, while both concepts explore aspects of purpose and perception, umwelt focuses on the subjective sensory worlds of organisms and how they perceive their environments, whereas telos examines inherent goals or purposes guiding the behaviour and development of entities in nature.

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Podcast episode 46. The importance of agency and relationships: A conversation about enhancing the wellbeing of our horses with Bonny Mealand and Emily Kieson.

Carneddau ponies in the Sychnant Pass, Conwy.

I love all of my podcast episodes, but every now and again I get to record and be part of a conversation that I could have a profound influence on both me and other equestrians. This is one of those conversations.

Link to the episode https://www.buzzsprout.com/1975020/14968112

My guests on this episode are Bonny Mealand and Emily Kieson:
Bonny Mealand DEP MEPA

Bonny’s niche is trimming the hooves of wild horses, combining her extensive experience as an Equine Podiatrist , fascination with equine behaviour, and her skill as a trainer of the “untrainable”.

Her award winning work with the takhi (Equus ferus ssp.Przewalskii ) of the Highland Wildlife Park has been featured on BBC Inside the Zoo. She is a regular writer for the Concordia: A Voice for Horses magazine and runs courses teaching safe, low stress and effective handling techniques. Bonny is an advocate of ethological study and alongside Dr Emily Kieson runs “Learning Wild” equine behaviour courses. Having been involved for many years with both domestic as well as wild horses she is passionate about sharing the valuable information she has learnt and showing how inextricably linked these two worlds are.

Bonny is an enthusiastic Equine Science Masters student at The University of Edinburgh (Dick Vet). She volunteers as a welfare advisor for the BHS. She is a Somatic Yoga and Mindfulness teacher and a Retained Firefighter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Web site – https://www.touchingwild.com/

Online Course – https://community-touchingwild.mn.co/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/touching_wild

Facebook (Learning Wild) – https://m.facebook.com/learning.wild.global/

Facebook (Touching Wild) – https://m.facebook.com/TouchingWild/

Emily Kieson PhD, MS, PgDip

Emily Kieson serves as Executive Director at Equine International, a US-based nonprofit focused on research, education, and outreach in the fields of equine behavior, welfare, and equine-human interactions.

Emily holds a PhD in Comparative Psychology, a MS in Psychology, and a graduate degree in Equine Science. She also holds multiple certifications in various models of equine-assisted activities and recently served as Chair of the Equine Welfare Committee with the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH).

Her current research focuses involve looking at equine affiliative behaviors to study how horses create and maintain social bonds and how those can overlap with human affiliative behaviors for application in management, horse ownership, equine-assisted activities, and indicators of positive welfare in horses with and without humans.

She also has a passion for supporting sustainable systems of horse management and husbandry that promote physical and psychological welfare of the horse while simultaneously supporting sustainable ecosystem practices on small and large scales (for both feral and domestic equids). Emily currently develops and teaches courses at universities in the fields of psychology, animal-human interactions, animal-assisted interventions, animal behavior and training, and animal welfare and ethics.

For more information on Equine International visit equineintl.org (or equineinternational.org)
For more information on Learning Wild courses visit LearningWild.net

Related research papers:

Kieson, E, & Sams, J. (2022). Horse-Human Communication : The Roles of Language and Communication in the Context of Horse-Human Interactions. International Journal of Zoology and Animal Biology, 5(6). https://doi.org/10.23880/izab-16000414

Kieson, Emily, Felix, C., Webb, S., & Abramson, C. I. (2020). The effects of a choice test between food rewards and human interaction in a herd of domestic horses of varying breeds and experiences. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 231(April). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105075

Kieson, Emily, & Goma, A. A. (2023). Tend and Befriend in Horses : Partner Preferences , Lateralization , and Contextualization of Allogrooming in Two Socially Stable Herds of Quarter Horse Mares.

Lansade, L., Bonneau, C., Parias, C., & Biau, S. (2019). Horse’s emotional state and rider safety during grooming practices, a field study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 217(April), 43–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2019.04.017

Maeda, T., Ochi, S., Ringhofer, M., Sosa, S., Sueur, C., Hirata, S., & Yamamoto, S. (2021). Aerial drone observations identified a multilevel society in feral horses. Scientific Reports, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79790-1

Merkies, K., & Franzin, O. (2021). Enhanced understanding of horse–human interactions to optimize welfare. Animals, 11(5), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051347

Rudd, C., Pasiuk, E., Anderson, N., Hall, N., Foster, R., Schroeder, K., … Foster, R. (2024). A Preliminary Assessment of Equine Affect in Equine-Assisted Services A Preliminary Assessment of Equine Affect in Equine-Assisted ABSTRACT. Anthrozoös, 0(0), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2024.2333163