Equiosity

This week we’re talking about breaks. We’ll be talking about what breaks are and how you teach them. We’re also talking about the many uses breaks serve - including some very important ones for the handler. Breaks aren’t just for our horse’s benefit. We’ll go back to the very first steps in the training where the handler is using protective contact. The barrier makes it easy to give breaks. So horses are learning that the training stops and then starts up again. Frequent breaks can help a new learner settle. They aren’t frustrated when the handler stops the training, and they aren’t anxiously waiting for it to start up again.

That same environmental set up helps handlers develop the skill of assessing and adjusting their training. So breaks not only serve many functions, they are important for both horse and handler.

Before we begin our discussion of breaks we take a detour into equine dentistry.

This is Part 2 of a Two Part Conversation. Last week we followed up on our previous conversation with Michaela Hempen on horse welfare. Dominique shared some useful resources and I shared a goat story.

The goat story leads to a discussion of when and how to step in should you encounter rough handling. It’s never a comfortable situation, or an easy decision.

To provide a counterbalance to what can be a difficult subject, we switched gears to talk about training principles, rope handling and the t’ai chi wall.

For this conversation Dominique and I both wanted to follow up on our previous conversation with Michaela Hempen. We were talking about horse welfare. Dominique shared some useful resources that you can use to assess your horse’s physical welfare. These included Anja Beran’s Train Your Eye DVD, the horse grimace scale, and the equine discomfort ethogram.

It can be uncomfortable to stand up for our animals. In the second half of the episode I share a goat story in which I had to do exactly that. In the podcast with Michaela, we talked about being good guardians for animals. Days after we recorded the podcast, I got to practice putting those words into action.

This conversation was prompted by an event that occurred just before the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympics. One of the top dressage riders had to withdraw because of a video that showed her whipping a horse during a training session.

The video came out just as Dominique and I were planning our next podcast recording. Dominique said her social media feed was filled with posts discussing the video. Should we talk about it. Generally we shy away from talking directly about training that disturbs us. But horse welfare is an important topic and one we need to be talking about.

So I invited Michaela Hempen to join us. We’ve just finished the conversation with Michaela on the connection between riding and the Feldenkrais work. Normally we wouldn’t have a guest do back to back conversations, but Michaela was the perfect person to ask to join us. In her day job with the European Food Safety Authority she is currently involved in providing scientific assessments that inform the European Commission and other EU member states to formulate legislation to protect animals. This has primarily meant animals produced for food, but the mandate has broadened out to include equine welfare in general.

In Part 1 Michaela described what they will be considering under these new mandates. In Part 2 we consider the role each of us can play in moving the horse community as a whole forward towards more horse-friendly training.

This conversation was prompted by an event that occurred just before the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympics. One of the top dressage riders had to withdraw because of a video that showed her whipping a horse during a training session.

The video came out just as Dominique and I were planning our next podcast recording. Dominique said her social media feed was filled with posts discussing the video. Should we talk about it. Generally we shy away from talking directly about training that disturbs us. But horse welfare is an important topic and one we need to be talking about.

So I invited Michaela Hempen to join us. We’ve just finished the conversation with Michaela on the connection between riding and the Feldenkrais work. Normally we wouldn’t have a guest do back to back conversations, but Michaela was the perfect person to ask to join us. In her day job with the European Food Safety Authority she is currently involved in providing scientific assessments that inform the European Commission and other EU member states to formulate legislation to protect animals. This has primarily meant animals produced for food, but the mandate has broadened out to include equine welfare in general.

We begin with Michaela describing what they will be considering under these new mandates. Some of the practices that are currently done to horses are horrific. I was not aware, for example, of the blood farms. But this conversation is not intended to shock or depress you. Even when we

move on to consider the video that sparked this conversation we are focusing on solutions and the role each of us can play in moving the horse community as a whole forward towards more horse-friendly training.

Episode 289 Michaela Hempen and Anita Schnee Feldenkrais Work Pt 3: The Role of Visualization in Riding Instruction

For the past ten years Michaela has been studying with a Feldenkrais Practitioner, Nathalie Van Cauwenberghe. In the previous episodes Michaela described some of the riding challenges which the Feldenkrais work has helped her to solve.

Nathalie does not speak English well enough to participate in the podcast, so I invited Anita Schnee to join us. Anita is also a Feldenkrais Practitioner so we will be drawing on her expertise as we continue with this conversation.

In this episode we begin with a discussion of visualizations and the use of metaphors. Riding and the Feldenkrais™ work are both kinesthetic experiences. Translating what you feel into words can be a struggle, especially when you want those words to function as instructions. The use of visualizations helps to create translations.

This week we’re continuing our conversation with Anita Schnee and Michaela Hempen. Michaela has been our guest on this podcast many times. She’s talked to us about the research project she did on cribbing, about single subject design, and more recently about how animal welfare is assessed.

When it comes to horses Michaela and I share a love of beautiful movement, so she also joined us when we talked with Anja Beran, the classical rider whose work inspires both of us.

For the past ten years Michaela has been studying with a Feldenkrais™ Practitioner, Nathalie Van Cauwenberghe. In last week’s episode Michaela described the riding challenge Anja’s work poses. Anja has told her that in order to ride well you need to stabilize your torso while remaining loose in the rest of your body.

With Nathalie’s help, Michaela has been figuring out how to turn these words into a meaningful reality.

Nathalie does not speak English well enough to participate in the podcast, so I invited Anita Schnee to join us. Anita is also a Feldenkrais™ Practitioner so we will be drawing on her expertise as we continue with this conversation.

The goal is to ride well. Last week I ended with a description of the changes I see in horse handler teams when the handler learns to lift through their sternum. I left you with that image to enjoy. We’ll pick up again at that point in the conversation.

Michaela Hempen has been a frequent guest on this podcast. She has talked about her cribbing research, single subject design, and more recently about how animal welfare is assessed. When it comes to horses Michaela and I share a love of beautiful movement, so she has also joined us when we talked with Anja Beran, the classical rider whose work inspires both of us.

For the past ten years Michaela has been studying with a Feldenkrais™ practitioner, Nathalie Van Cauwenbergghe. In this episode Michaela is talks about the challenges riding presents and recent breakthroughs she has made.

We are also joined by Anita Schnee, a Feldenkrais™ practitioner. Anita helps us to understand the patterns Michaela has been exploring.

This week we’re continuing our conversation with Dr Susan Friedman and Rick Hester. In this episode we begin with a question to Susan: Is the teaching standard known as Lima the same as the hierarchy of behavior change procedures that Susan has written about? Susan provides an historical perspective for the LIMA acronym, and for many of the other labels people have attached to training.

This week we’re continuing our conversation with Dr Susan Friedman and Rick Hester. Dr Friedman has been a frequent guest on this podcast. She is a professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. She is pioneer in the use of Applied Behavior Analysis in the handling of captive and companion animals.

Her interest in developing scientifically sound, ethical standards for animal care and training prompted our this current conversation.

We are also joined by Rick Hester.

Rick is the curator of behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain zoo. Rick overseas the zoo’s training program for husbandry, medical and public show behaviors.

In this episode we consider many important questions, including what does it mean to be a positive reinforcement trainer? How do we operationalize that?

How do we evaluate new ideas? We don’t want to move too quickly but nor do we want to get stuck in old ideas. Why does novelty have such a draw for us?

We also consider why Susan has chosen to keep punishment in the hierarchy of behavior change strategies. This opens the door to a discussion of negative reinforcement as well as punishment. Do we need new words to describe the procedures we use?