Training aids and putting ourselves in the shoes of our horses for welfare

The Horses Inside Out conference covered equine welfare from birth onwards - and human perception

- LUCY ELDER

CHOOSING the right training aid and putting ourselves in horses' shoes to benefit their welfare were key points at a leading conference.

Russell MacKechnie-Guire gave an overview of lungeing training aids and polework, at the Horses Inside Out Conference (17-18 February).

Also on day one, Nicolas de Brauwere, head of welfare and behaviour at Redwings Horse Sanctuary, called on equestrians to take time to understand the limitations of the human perspective when making decisions on welfare.

The conference theme was growth and development, focusing on physical and mental progress of horses.

Dr MacKechnie-Guire stressed the importance of thinking of each horse as an individual, and what the aim is to achieve, before considering which training aid to use. He also cited the need to understand exactly how training aids work, urged practitioners to check that clients are proficient in lungeing and in fitting any aids.

"The other thing we have to remember with training aids, is does the horse have the capacity for it?" he said.

"We have to look at the individual horse - that's the theme in all this. So when you're considering using a training aid, be mindful of the horse's posture.

"Remember, not only are you altering the mechanics of the horse, we put them on a circle, and add a handler who may not have the skill to lunge efficiently, which alters it further."