Applied Equine Psychology
Horses are fascinating and deeply emotional beings. I often think of them as the definition of sentience—the ability to feel. In my limited close interactions with horses, I could feel their presence and feel that they know a lot about what is happening in my head and heart, and that is among the reasons I was pleased to learn of a new book titled Applied Equine Psychology: The Art and Science of Helping Horses by Felicity George, Marie-Louise Holmes, and Sharon Smith, all of whom are equine experts. Part of the book's description aptly summarizes what this landmark work is all about: "Applied Equine Psychology goes much deeper into the inner workings of the horse, drawing parallels from human psychology and looking at what is going on in the horse’s brain leading to that behaviour."
Marc Bekoff: Why did you and your colleagues write
Applied Equine Psychology?
Felicity George, Marie-Louise Holmes, and Sharon Smith:
This book was many years in the making! Essentially, we recognised more
similarity than difference in the emotional and psychological functioning of
horses and humans. Trans-species psychology supported our thinking.
Examining a wide range of approaches to helping horses with "behaviour
problems," we saw a significant gap between the real needs of horses and
standard approaches.
We saw strong parallels between horses and humans in physical healthcare,
such as vets and doctors, equine and human dentists, and equine and human
physiotherapists. However, in the realm of psychological healthcare, we saw
horses being "helped" in much the same way as humans were over 70 years
ago—primarily through behaviour modification. We wondered how core models
and applied practice in human psychological healthcare would transfer to
equines.
Within the equine behaviour affiliation, we explained these ideas through
courses and webinars. We defined the role of "equine psychology specialist"
with a professional practice model based on that of the clinical
psychologist for humans and trained students to fulfill this role. We gained
experience in real-world application, with multiple practitioners using this
approach with hundreds of horses. Having validated and tested our approach,
we wanted to make it available to a wider audience and help to shift the
prevalent unhelpful narrative of horses as psychologically simple beings. We
also wanted to stop endlessly explaining what we were doing, and just ask
people to "read the book"!
MB: How does your book relate to your backgrounds and
general areas of interest?
FG, M-L H, and SS: We all share a lifelong love of horses
and have worked in a wide range of equestrian settings from riding
instruction to the charity sector. We all became focused on wanting to help
horses who were clearly struggling in domestic environments, and all had
many concerns about the "solutions" that were offered.1
MB: Who do you hope to reach in your interesting and
important book?
FG, M-L H, and SS: Those who feel dissatisfied with the
approaches offered by the equestrian community and feel they are missing
parts of the puzzle. Those who have their appreciation of their horse’s
sentience dismissed. Those who are interested in radically rethinking how
equines and humans co-exist. Those who are interested in working to effect
human behaviour change within the equestrian world.
MB: What are some of the major topics you consider?
FG, M-L H, and SS: The first part of the book examines why
the approach we are describing is both valid and necessary—if we want the
equines in our care to feel better rather than just "behave." We summarise
relevant areas in the development of human psychological healthcare and
discuss trans-species psychology in this context to support our approach.
We also describe trans-species systemic formulation, an extension of a
well-established method of formulation used by clinical psychologists that
supports working with multiple species. This methodology is not restricted
to working with humans and equines but can be applied to any species.
We then go on to explore mental well-being for domestic equines in depth—the
factors that influence mental well-being and the interplay between them, and
the systemic issues of living in an environment your species did not evolve
to cope with. Relationships and the meeting of social needs are a big factor
influencing well-being; attachment theory and how it applies to domestic
equines and all their relationships is discussed in detail with lots of
examples. Trans-species psychology has been a foundation for approaches to
working with trauma for many species; following in the footsteps of Gay
Bradshaw and others, we explain the application of Judith Herman’s phased
approach to trauma treatment for equines.
Finally, we discuss the role of the equine psychology specialist in more
depth; those working in the field of human psychological healthcare will see
strong parallels in professional practice—for example, the approach to
client conversations and the importance of clinical supervision and working
as part of a multidisciplinary team.
All in all, the book provides a robustly evidenced professional practice
framework for providing psychological healthcare to domestic equines. It
also offers practical explanations of how to draw from the full breadth of
psychological schools of thought to better help and understand equines.
MB: How does your book differ from others that are
concerned with some of the same general topics?
FG, M-L H, and SS: This book acknowledges a much richer
equine psychological landscape—one that we can seek to better understand in
order to improve domestic equine well-being and provide enhanced care. We
aim to provide a deeper understanding of equine needs and how these relate
to domestic environments, bringing focus to changing the world—not the
horse.
We believe that this is the first book to propose an integrated application
of core models and practice from human psychological healthcare, supported
by trans-species psychology and practice-based evidence over a number of
years. The approach we describe empowers equine guardians to make good
decisions for the lifetime of the horse and not just solve a "behaviour
problem."
MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about these
amazing animals they will treat them with more respect and compassion?
FG, M-L H, and SS: Yes. In recent years, we do see a shift
in thinking. The vast majority of those involved with equines have a passion
for them and want to do their best by them. Many feel discomfort about the
many unhelpful narratives in traditional equestrian settings but lack the
information to challenge these narratives either internally or externally.
Researchers are considering broader measures of well-being than the purely
physical. In the general population, there is also a shift in considering
the emotional lives of animals and deeper consideration of how we co-exist
with each other.
References
In conversation with horse experts Felicity George, Dr. Marie-Louise Holmes,
and Sharon Smith.
1. Our areas of expertise are distinct and complementary: Marie is a
clinical psychologist with many years of applied practice, Sharon has an
extensive knowledge of equine neuroanatomy and many other areas related to
equine well-being, and Felicity has a background as a research scientist
followed by many years of applied practice of the ideas discussed in the
book.
'Hoof
Beats': How Horses Altered the Course of Human History; Wild Horses,
Reverence, and the Psychology of Awe; The Unknown Emotional and Physical
Lives of Sport Horses; The Compassionate Equestrian: Loving Horses with
Heart.
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