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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Here is a version of the ‘Can’t jump, won’t jump’ poster that is more practical and is linked (via the QR) code to a practice design resource that can be used for planning and reviewing your practice design.
