Have you ever struggled to decide which rug to put on your horse?

In the U.K. it's a constant struggle to decide which rug to put on your horse. You go to the yard at 6am and it's pouring with rain, so you put a rug on only for the sun to come out by 11am, and you to find your horse is sweltering by the time you get back to the yard at 6pm. Or it's bright sunshine first thing in the morning so you turn your horse out naked, then feel guilty all day because it's poured with rain for most of it!

A new study carried out in Norway and published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science won't resolve this problem for you, but excitingly it does add to the increasing bank of evidence that horses understand more than has previously been believed. In this particular case, 23 horses were taught to understand the difference between 3 boards with simple designs on them: one indicating 'rug on', one indicating 'rug off', and one indicating 'no change'. In later tests, all 23 horses were shown to be able to make relevant and appropriate decisions as to whether or not to wear a rug. In the hot weather, all the trained horses opted for 'rug off' if they were wearing a rug at the time, or 'no change' if they weren't wearing a rug. In colder weather, the horses wearing rugs opted for 'no change', and the horses without rugs indicated they'd like to be wrapped up warm, all except 2 horses who opted for 'no change'. In really cold weather, all the horses opted to wear a rug.

The training was done by a highly experienced trainer using positive reinforcement only (clicker training method), and 2 experienced helpers. I'm sure that the experience of the trainer went a long way towards the success of this trial. I am a great fan of positive reinforcement techniques, and I recognise how much skill is involved. However I have seen inexperienced people confusing their horses using similar techniques, and given the power of a horse and it's motivation for food reward, this can lead to disastrous consequences. 

I know we shouldn't anthropomorphise, but I'm sure we've all seen a horse who is clearly happy, sad, angry or fed up. I'm not saying that we can provide a perfect world for horses - what's the chances of that, when we're nowhere near it for humans even?! And I'm not saying that we should always give horses what they ask for - any parent will tell you that won't work! We all have to work through some uneases and discomforts to achieve, and I believe in the majority of cases that the same applies to horses. The gaping difference is that as humans we're able to express our uneases and discomforts and choose whether or not to work through them - horses don't have that option. This is something I explain to people on a daily basis when I'm working as a Chartered Veterinary Physiotherapist - it's important to know as much as possible about the level of comfort or discomfort your horse is in, so that you can make a more educated decision as to how much to ask of him. Low levels of discomfort don't usually mean we should stop working, in fact they are often relieved by the strengthening and weight loss effects of work (you'll know of someone I'm sure who has been advised to exercise to relieve a sore back, for example). An experienced and knowledgeable pair of hands can help you to understand your horse better, and you can find your local Chartered Veterinary Physiotherapist in the U.K. at www.acpat.co.uk.

I've often wished I could understand horses better, and be able to give them what it is that they need to be comfortable, peaceful, calm and relaxed. It seems to me that this study is a small step towards this, if nothing else through encouraging people to recognise that horses do have needs and desires, just like us.

Sue Palmer MCSP

www.thehorsephysio.co.uk