Horse Welfare Statement
Applied Ethology
Sid Gustafson DVM
In consideration of the horse’s nature and behavior horsemen are obligated to provide horses an appropriate environment, proper nutrition, sufficient sociobehavioral circumstances, as well as ethical training and horsemanship modalities. By nature the horse is a grazer of the plains, a social and herd animal, and flighty. Horsemanship and training are best accomplished through behavioral understanding of the horse and facilitation of the horse’s nature, rather than by force or coercion. Horses are best trained in the parasympathetic state. Training that puts the horse into the flight or sympathetic state generated by fear and contained by ropes or pens is discouraged, and not in accordance with acceptable standards of well being.
Horses graze and walk together 60-70% of the time under natural circumstances. Stabling should make every effort to accommodate or recreate these long-evolved preferences for proper physiological function and mental health.
Horses require other horses for proper health and prosperity. Horses require the constant companionship of other horses. A horse should seldom be kept alone. Every effort should be made to provide horses with the social benefit of appropriate other horses through times of stress and illness.
These behavioral considerations apply to horses in transport, and for those horses too, however unwanted, man is obligated to provide the proper environment, social functioning, nutrition, medical care, and exercise to sufficiently assure health and comfort.
Dr Gustafson provides consultations regarding the design and management of equine facilities to best accommodate the inherent nature and behavior of horses. He provides information and management assistance creating natural approaches to maintain equine health, prevent diseases, and resolve lameness.
Horse Health Veterinary Consults with Dr Gustafson
California, New York
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Language of Horsemanship
Dr Gustafson provides consultations regarding the design and management of equine facilities to best accommodate the inherent nature and behavior of horses. He provides information and management assistance creating natural approaches to maintain equine health, prevent diseases, and resolve lameness.
Upcoming Book Preview
The Language of Horsemanship, preview, summary, blurbs,
THE LANGUAGE OF NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP is a professional interpretation of the theory and practice of contemporary horsemanship. An appreciation and exploration of this theory will help horsemen and horses alike. Domestic horses are flight animals, herd animals, and grazers of the plains. They are sensual learners willing to please men for comfort and security. Effective horsemanship appreciates both the wild and domestic natures of the horse.
Sid Gustafson DVM
Book Introduction
The Language of Horsemanship brings man’s relationship with horse into contemporary perspective. Horse and man coming together in a mutual beneficial relationship reigns as the most important cultural-changing experience in the history of mankind. Since domestication horse has embedded itself in the psyche of many cultures in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa before spreading across the entire world. Linguists tell us that the words for mind and horse are similar in many of these ancient horse cultures. Horse bones from that time are found buried with the bones of men buried at that time. Horses as art, as cult, as culture, and as God appear in many ancient civilizations.
Today animal enlightenment flourishes in a refined fashion with horsemanship becoming a state of mind rather than the physical, coercive force it may have been at other times in the past. Horse remains integral to art and culture. Horsemanship through time has reflected the art and culture of the times. Two classes of horse emerge, pleasure and performance. Replacing military pursuit is athletic performance pursuit. Pleasure horses far outnumber all other horses. Today’s horseman is different than the horsemen of times past who were reliant on horses for subsistence and survival. Today’s horseman seeks enjoyment and honor and prestige with horses. Many seek enlightenment and release. Others are obsessed with equestrian competitive pursuit. Practical horsemanship survives in pockets as it has survived for time immemorial. Ranch and harness horses remain active on the remote ranches and fields and trails of America, but their percentage is smaller than ever. Contemporary horsemanship addresses varied pursuits; work, pleasure, and performance foremost among them. Additionally, the companionship of horses is sought by many today, more companionship than in times past, companionship unhindered by assertiveness and respect in some instances, companionships lacking balance.
In order to safely and effectively commune with horses, one best develop a deep sense of the horse’s nature. This requires considerable time be spent with horses; time which horse-dependent people in the past most certainly experienced. Horses once were the essence of civilized life. With horses man lived and worked. Horse/human relationships flourished in this continuum.
That sort of immersion with horses is experienced by few these days. Today people attempt to develop partnerships with horses, but many of the partnerships are limited by time. A goal of this book is to help horseman develop an appreciation of horse’s natures. Knowledge allows time spent with horses to be more efficient and productive. Knowledge prevents bad scenarios with horses from developing. Diverse approaches to knowledge allow horsemen to develop the accord, acceptance, and connection necessary to develop positive relationships with horses.
The Mongol word for horse is takh, meaning spirit. Mongols, the ones who introduced the riding of horses to the Greeks, are perhaps the oldest continuous horsemen. They relate to horse in a state of grace, a blending of body and mind. In Mongolia there remains a sharing of man’s spirit with horse’s spirit, a blending of the physical and metaphysical. In America blending with horse is in a state of renewal, a state of grace.
The premise of American horsemanship, like that of the Mongolian horsemanship, is to control a horse’s feet willingly. Horsemen must go though the horse’s mind in consideration of his nature to penetrate the horse’s psyche, to get to his feet, to become horse, to attain the consistent willingness horsemen so desire.
The Language of Horsemanship reveals the many renewed training and husbandry strategies emerging and evolving today. The goal of today’s horsemen is to master horsemanship rather than to master the horse. The ideology of dominance is being replaced by an ideology of partnership. The pleasure horse training ideology has perhaps differed from the performance horse training ideology in the past, but today both disciplines attempt to match natural equine behavior with the training and husbandry of the horse. The objective of most contemporary horsemanship is to achieve training and prevail in performance while sustaining health and preventing injury. Contemporary culture is seeking natural approaches to achieve these goals.
Veterinarian Finishes Anxiously Awaited Upcoming Horse Book, Volume I: The Language of Natural Horsemanship, by Sid Gustafson, DVM
⎯what his patients say:
“Finally, a book for horsefolk that brings the language of horsemanship into the present tense.”
Mister Ed
“If only Kent had read The Language of Horsemanship before the Belmont we could have had the Triple Crown and Horse of the Year. Dutrow could have used an awful lot of this advice and done his part to put me in a partnering mood, as well.”
Big Brown
Early blurbs from horse people:
“The Language of Horsemanship enlivens contemporary horsemanship as it needs enlivened… knowledgeably, honestly, and representative of the horse.
Dr Gustafson has delivered a poetically relevant cultural achievement, a horsemanship original.”
Jim Harrison, novelist poet, and essayist, author of Legends of the Fall and Wolf
“Dr Gustafson knows horse’s nature fluently. He is not afraid to ask the good question. He is keenly astute in assessing its needs both physically and mentally. His ability to increase awareness and progress horsemanship to a new level with his graceful blending of science, experience, and gifted insight are truly refreshing. I welcome his ideas in my daily horse experiences and I know others will do the same. Read his book, mine his wisdom, fulfill the promise between horse and rider.” Wylie, of Wylie and the Wild West, champion horseman and western singer.
“The Horse Medicine Man is at it again with his horse sensibility! The Language of Horsemanship combines the science with the spiritual, the past with the present. Feel horses like you have never felt them before…”
Hank Real Bird, Crow Horseman, teacher, and poet
Table of Contents
The Language of Natural Horsemanship
Part I
Horse and Culture
1 Mutual Beneficence
2 Contemporary Horsemanship Pursuits
3 Defining Natural Horsemanship
4 Natural Basics
5 The Theory and Practice of Watching Horses
6 Natural Trust and Mutual Respect
Part II
Essential Natures
7 Born Running—the first hours; mare teaches foal
8 If Let Be
9 The History of Horsemanship
10 Origins of Horsemanship
11 Horse and Human Relationships
Part III
Contemporary Horsemanship
12 Horse Training Pursuits
13 How Horsemen Teach
14 Applying Natural to Horsemanship
Part IV
Ancient Horse, Ancient Man
Ancient Natural
15 Equus caballus defined
16 Taming then Domestication
Part V
Natural Applications
17 Natural Approaches to Stabling
—enriching natural needs
18 Applying Behavior
⎯natural approaches to training
19 Natural Horsemanship across Disciplines
20 Communication is Sensation
—a most sensual seasonal herd-grazing creature
21 an Eye for Horsemanship
⎯talents horsemen acquire from horses
22 Taking Natural on the Road
23 Horse and Man Relational Goals
⎯seeking symmetry
Terminology
Appendix
Glossary
In Conclusion
Upcoming Book Preview
The Language of Horsemanship, preview, summary, blurbs,
THE LANGUAGE OF NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP is a professional interpretation of the theory and practice of contemporary horsemanship. An appreciation and exploration of this theory will help horsemen and horses alike. Domestic horses are flight animals, herd animals, and grazers of the plains. They are sensual learners willing to please men for comfort and security. Effective horsemanship appreciates both the wild and domestic natures of the horse.
Sid Gustafson DVM
Book Introduction
The Language of Horsemanship brings man’s relationship with horse into contemporary perspective. Horse and man coming together in a mutual beneficial relationship reigns as the most important cultural-changing experience in the history of mankind. Since domestication horse has embedded itself in the psyche of many cultures in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa before spreading across the entire world. Linguists tell us that the words for mind and horse are similar in many of these ancient horse cultures. Horse bones from that time are found buried with the bones of men buried at that time. Horses as art, as cult, as culture, and as God appear in many ancient civilizations.
Today animal enlightenment flourishes in a refined fashion with horsemanship becoming a state of mind rather than the physical, coercive force it may have been at other times in the past. Horse remains integral to art and culture. Horsemanship through time has reflected the art and culture of the times. Two classes of horse emerge, pleasure and performance. Replacing military pursuit is athletic performance pursuit. Pleasure horses far outnumber all other horses. Today’s horseman is different than the horsemen of times past who were reliant on horses for subsistence and survival. Today’s horseman seeks enjoyment and honor and prestige with horses. Many seek enlightenment and release. Others are obsessed with equestrian competitive pursuit. Practical horsemanship survives in pockets as it has survived for time immemorial. Ranch and harness horses remain active on the remote ranches and fields and trails of America, but their percentage is smaller than ever. Contemporary horsemanship addresses varied pursuits; work, pleasure, and performance foremost among them. Additionally, the companionship of horses is sought by many today, more companionship than in times past, companionship unhindered by assertiveness and respect in some instances, companionships lacking balance.
In order to safely and effectively commune with horses, one best develop a deep sense of the horse’s nature. This requires considerable time be spent with horses; time which horse-dependent people in the past most certainly experienced. Horses once were the essence of civilized life. With horses man lived and worked. Horse/human relationships flourished in this continuum.
That sort of immersion with horses is experienced by few these days. Today people attempt to develop partnerships with horses, but many of the partnerships are limited by time. A goal of this book is to help horseman develop an appreciation of horse’s natures. Knowledge allows time spent with horses to be more efficient and productive. Knowledge prevents bad scenarios with horses from developing. Diverse approaches to knowledge allow horsemen to develop the accord, acceptance, and connection necessary to develop positive relationships with horses.
The Mongol word for horse is takh, meaning spirit. Mongols, the ones who introduced the riding of horses to the Greeks, are perhaps the oldest continuous horsemen. They relate to horse in a state of grace, a blending of body and mind. In Mongolia there remains a sharing of man’s spirit with horse’s spirit, a blending of the physical and metaphysical. In America blending with horse is in a state of renewal, a state of grace.
The premise of American horsemanship, like that of the Mongolian horsemanship, is to control a horse’s feet willingly. Horsemen must go though the horse’s mind in consideration of his nature to penetrate the horse’s psyche, to get to his feet, to become horse, to attain the consistent willingness horsemen so desire.
The Language of Horsemanship reveals the many renewed training and husbandry strategies emerging and evolving today. The goal of today’s horsemen is to master horsemanship rather than to master the horse. The ideology of dominance is being replaced by an ideology of partnership. The pleasure horse training ideology has perhaps differed from the performance horse training ideology in the past, but today both disciplines attempt to match natural equine behavior with the training and husbandry of the horse. The objective of most contemporary horsemanship is to achieve training and prevail in performance while sustaining health and preventing injury. Contemporary culture is seeking natural approaches to achieve these goals.
Veterinarian Finishes Anxiously Awaited Upcoming Horse Book, Volume I: The Language of Natural Horsemanship, by Sid Gustafson, DVM
⎯what his patients say:
“Finally, a book for horsefolk that brings the language of horsemanship into the present tense.”
Mister Ed
“If only Kent had read The Language of Horsemanship before the Belmont we could have had the Triple Crown and Horse of the Year. Dutrow could have used an awful lot of this advice and done his part to put me in a partnering mood, as well.”
Big Brown
Early blurbs from horse people:
“The Language of Horsemanship enlivens contemporary horsemanship as it needs enlivened… knowledgeably, honestly, and representative of the horse.
Dr Gustafson has delivered a poetically relevant cultural achievement, a horsemanship original.”
Jim Harrison, novelist poet, and essayist, author of Legends of the Fall and Wolf
“Dr Gustafson knows horse’s nature fluently. He is not afraid to ask the good question. He is keenly astute in assessing its needs both physically and mentally. His ability to increase awareness and progress horsemanship to a new level with his graceful blending of science, experience, and gifted insight are truly refreshing. I welcome his ideas in my daily horse experiences and I know others will do the same. Read his book, mine his wisdom, fulfill the promise between horse and rider.” Wylie, of Wylie and the Wild West, champion horseman and western singer.
“The Horse Medicine Man is at it again with his horse sensibility! The Language of Horsemanship combines the science with the spiritual, the past with the present. Feel horses like you have never felt them before…”
Hank Real Bird, Crow Horseman, teacher, and poet
Table of Contents
The Language of Natural Horsemanship
Part I
Horse and Culture
1 Mutual Beneficence
2 Contemporary Horsemanship Pursuits
3 Defining Natural Horsemanship
4 Natural Basics
5 The Theory and Practice of Watching Horses
6 Natural Trust and Mutual Respect
Part II
Essential Natures
7 Born Running—the first hours; mare teaches foal
8 If Let Be
9 The History of Horsemanship
10 Origins of Horsemanship
11 Horse and Human Relationships
Part III
Contemporary Horsemanship
12 Horse Training Pursuits
13 How Horsemen Teach
14 Applying Natural to Horsemanship
Part IV
Ancient Horse, Ancient Man
Ancient Natural
15 Equus caballus defined
16 Taming then Domestication
Part V
Natural Applications
17 Natural Approaches to Stabling
—enriching natural needs
18 Applying Behavior
⎯natural approaches to training
19 Natural Horsemanship across Disciplines
20 Communication is Sensation
—a most sensual seasonal herd-grazing creature
21 an Eye for Horsemanship
⎯talents horsemen acquire from horses
22 Taking Natural on the Road
23 Horse and Man Relational Goals
⎯seeking symmetry
Terminology
Appendix
Glossary
In Conclusion
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Equitarian Philosphy
Equitarian:
If we can define humanitarian, then let us try to expound the definition of equitarian: making the world a better place for horses and horsemen.
How can we progressively address our contemporary relationship with horses in light of contemporary issues: slaughter, overpopulation of unwanted horses both feral and domestic, the thoroughbred fetlock epidemic, and the stress of intense stabling?
Although there are more pressing concerns, horsetraining methodology is one area I have a desire to establish parameters regarding exhaustion. The behavioral ideal of natural horsemanship as I define the discipline is to keep the horse in the parasympathetic state during training and handling, that is, a relaxed-unfrightened-cerebral-thinking state of body and mind. I realize this is not constantly possible, but the ideal is to stay parasympathetic the vast majority of the time, and to avoid using flight strategies. It is important to avoid panting--a distressed overwrought horse struggling to get oxygen during training is a contemporary welfare issue I would like to see addressed and minimized.
We do not know how the induction of sustained-flight afflicts a horse, but we suspect it can be is significantly detrimental to certain horses and in certain degrees. Certain training strategies, including those in the natural horsemanship realm, appear to exceed accepted contemporary welfare standards. Many trainers and horsemen take horses into a sympathetic, or flight state, while containing the horse’s flight in a round corral. The horse is chased with flags and gestures until it is exhausted, and resigns into a survival mode, allowing the trainer to approach and begin a desensitization process. Timed colt-srtarting contests televised on RFDTV display these exhaustive strategies, by many, including natural horsemen. Many of these horses are young and growing, vulnerable to growth plate damage from overexertion, and metabolic disease as a result of over-exhaustion. Their respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and musculoskeltal systems need careful attention during training. Induced metabolic stress states can adversely affect subsequent behavior and physical development in growing learning horses.
Q. What is too much, then, Dr Gustafson, in your opinion?
I would like to suggest that horses-in-training might be better off psychologically and physically if training is curtailed when the horse’s respiratory rate exceeds 120 breathes per minute. This seems high, and may be, but it is a breathing rate that is often exceeded during the training of young horses. To take care not to exceed acceptable metabolic limits, horsetrainers need to get in touch with horses’ respiratory rates, and learn to carefully and constantly monitor respiration by second nature as they train. Many young horses are brought into panting states that exceed 150 breathes per minute, and then kept there. Equine physiologists concur that "panting" is a stressed metabolic state for every system. Certainly, an observant horseman can see the distress in their horse's eyes. Beyond the physical, neurologists and behaviorists express concern about significant psychological affects that may impair the horse’s trainability and usefulness into the future with these exhaustive strategies.
The most vulnerable system of all, the equine system most frequently insulted in domestication, is the nervous system. Appropriate training should nurture the horse’s nervous system, and avoid unnecessary insults that may have unrelenting affects. I see too much “learned helplessness,” a survival mode stance that is docile and submissive, yet unspirited and dulled; a result of sympathetic overload during training, and undesirable in my developing view. We aspire to willing partnerships with horses, rather than coerced submission.
It is easy to monitor respiration and determine respiratory rates by simply observing the nostrils, flanks, and ribcage and counting the number of breaths per minute, or in the case of panting horses, the number of breaths per second—two, sometimes three breaths a second. Horses normally breathe 8-14 beats per minute.
The equitarian salon:
Promoting an EQUITARIAN concept to better man’s relationship with domestic equids.
Dr Gustafson provides consultations regarding the design and management of equine facilities to best accommodate the inherent nature and behavior of horses. He provides information and management assistance creating natural approaches to maintain equine health, prevent diseases, and resolve lameness. swgustafson@yahoo.com
If we can define humanitarian, then let us try to expound the definition of equitarian: making the world a better place for horses and horsemen.
How can we progressively address our contemporary relationship with horses in light of contemporary issues: slaughter, overpopulation of unwanted horses both feral and domestic, the thoroughbred fetlock epidemic, and the stress of intense stabling?
Although there are more pressing concerns, horsetraining methodology is one area I have a desire to establish parameters regarding exhaustion. The behavioral ideal of natural horsemanship as I define the discipline is to keep the horse in the parasympathetic state during training and handling, that is, a relaxed-unfrightened-cerebral-thinking state of body and mind. I realize this is not constantly possible, but the ideal is to stay parasympathetic the vast majority of the time, and to avoid using flight strategies. It is important to avoid panting--a distressed overwrought horse struggling to get oxygen during training is a contemporary welfare issue I would like to see addressed and minimized.
We do not know how the induction of sustained-flight afflicts a horse, but we suspect it can be is significantly detrimental to certain horses and in certain degrees. Certain training strategies, including those in the natural horsemanship realm, appear to exceed accepted contemporary welfare standards. Many trainers and horsemen take horses into a sympathetic, or flight state, while containing the horse’s flight in a round corral. The horse is chased with flags and gestures until it is exhausted, and resigns into a survival mode, allowing the trainer to approach and begin a desensitization process. Timed colt-srtarting contests televised on RFDTV display these exhaustive strategies, by many, including natural horsemen. Many of these horses are young and growing, vulnerable to growth plate damage from overexertion, and metabolic disease as a result of over-exhaustion. Their respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and musculoskeltal systems need careful attention during training. Induced metabolic stress states can adversely affect subsequent behavior and physical development in growing learning horses.
Q. What is too much, then, Dr Gustafson, in your opinion?
I would like to suggest that horses-in-training might be better off psychologically and physically if training is curtailed when the horse’s respiratory rate exceeds 120 breathes per minute. This seems high, and may be, but it is a breathing rate that is often exceeded during the training of young horses. To take care not to exceed acceptable metabolic limits, horsetrainers need to get in touch with horses’ respiratory rates, and learn to carefully and constantly monitor respiration by second nature as they train. Many young horses are brought into panting states that exceed 150 breathes per minute, and then kept there. Equine physiologists concur that "panting" is a stressed metabolic state for every system. Certainly, an observant horseman can see the distress in their horse's eyes. Beyond the physical, neurologists and behaviorists express concern about significant psychological affects that may impair the horse’s trainability and usefulness into the future with these exhaustive strategies.
The most vulnerable system of all, the equine system most frequently insulted in domestication, is the nervous system. Appropriate training should nurture the horse’s nervous system, and avoid unnecessary insults that may have unrelenting affects. I see too much “learned helplessness,” a survival mode stance that is docile and submissive, yet unspirited and dulled; a result of sympathetic overload during training, and undesirable in my developing view. We aspire to willing partnerships with horses, rather than coerced submission.
It is easy to monitor respiration and determine respiratory rates by simply observing the nostrils, flanks, and ribcage and counting the number of breaths per minute, or in the case of panting horses, the number of breaths per second—two, sometimes three breaths a second. Horses normally breathe 8-14 beats per minute.
The equitarian salon:
Promoting an EQUITARIAN concept to better man’s relationship with domestic equids.
Dr Gustafson provides consultations regarding the design and management of equine facilities to best accommodate the inherent nature and behavior of horses. He provides information and management assistance creating natural approaches to maintain equine health, prevent diseases, and resolve lameness. swgustafson@yahoo.com
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Horsemanship and Horse Racing
June 11, 2008, New York Times, The Rail
Horsemanship and Horse Racing
By SID GUSTAFSON
I have to be careful writing about jockeys and riding as I still do veterinary regulatory racetrack work from time to time representing the horses and jockeys safety and welfare on race day. I try to stay out of debates involving riding strategy, so as not to have jockeys lose confidence in me should I happen to perform regulatory work at their track in the future. In order to effectively carry out regulatory duties, veterinarians have to maintain trusting working relationships with the jockeys. On the other hand, proper horsemanship is essential for horse racing safety, and regulatory veterinarians are certainly responsible for that.
I teach natural horsemanship at the University of Montana Western, where I have the good fortune to ride in all of the horsemanship classes. We study the nature and behavior of horses and base our training on this understanding of horses.
After the gate opened in the Belmont Stakes, Kent was dealing with a Big Brown anxious to sprint to the lead. Brown seemed to shy sideways to the right away from the starter standing in the track after he slipped out of the gate. Kent reacted and Brown did not respond to the rider’s initial reaction and instruction like Kent had anticipated, and the rider had to apply a large amount pressure to the reins, repeatedly, wrestling the horse in one direction then the other. The early issues between horse and rider cascaded, and the partnership between horse and rider deteriorated out of the gate well into the first turn.
It seemed that the Brown team knew that a deficit in the connection between Kent and Brown existed when they last observed Kent gallop Big Brown. It was reported by the trainer through the media that the horse was all over the place on a morning gallop with Kent aboard.
The general horsemanship belief is that once a horse gets his way with an unassertive rider through the course of a gallop, the horse will attempt to have its way with the rider on future rides by ignoring the cues the rider gives with the reins and legs. According to the news media and Dutrow, Brown got the best of Kent the last time Kent galloped him. Kent was not able to get Brown to respond to his cues on the gallop.
Apparently, the trainer observed the horse get his way with Kent on the last gallop and did not take measures to correct the racehorse’s relationship with the rider before the race. Subsequently, the horse did not respond to Kent in the race. In essence, Kent had to retrain the horse to respond to his cues through the first quarter mile. If Brown understood he could get away with refusing to answer to Kent’s cues appropriately on gallops, Brown is not going to react any better to Kent’s cues in a race.
Dutrow’s description of Kent’s last gallop of Big Brown seemed to match the subsequent race ride Kent gave Brown, which is what horsemanship studies would expect, and even predict. In trying to find answers as to what might be done differently to prepare Big Brown for future races with Kent up, the horsemanship issues between horse and rider regarding response, connection, and communication need refined before the race.
Nothing is simple in horseracing, and most race finishes are the result of many, many factors and sequences of factors. Horses’ reaction times are lightning quick. However practiced, a human’s reaction to a horse’s reaction is not always a rhythmic thing when extenuating pressures and surprises arise, or when preparation has been lacking. In retrospect, it now seems that it may have been inappropriate to let Brown get away with a disobedient gallop with Kent up before the race. Brown also could have been better prepared mentally for the race, so to have been in a partnering mood with his rider. This is of course all very complex, and horses regularly fool horsemen. Developing a better understanding of equine behavior is the goal of all horsemen, but much of our learning is trial and error.
I do not share these horse behavior observations to place blame, but to clarify an aspect of horse training and memory. Certainly, losing the race was not Big Brown’s fault. He is in the hands of people, the training, the riding, the conditioning, the medication; everything the horse does is at the hand of man.
In natural horsemanship, we teach that the horse is never wrong. Riders have to develop partnerships of confidence, respect, and connection with each horse they ride, and consistently maintain all aspects of those partnerships to ensure a responsive partnership. If people are not consistent with horses, horses will not be consistent for people.
Not only was Big Brown unwilling to respond evenly for his rider, Desormeaux, Big Brown did not work as evenly as hoped for his regular exercise rider, Michelle Nevin, before the race. Horsetraining is in order for Big Brown, refinement of the basics of confidence, respect, and connection going both ways between horse and rider, all Brown’s riders. The owner and trainer’s idea to resume medicating Big Brown with Winstrol is a mistake, as anabolic steroids are notorious for making horses less trainable and responsive. Big Brown needs to get more connected with his riders, and anabolic steroids can contradict that goal.
If Desormeaux rides Big Brown in the coming races, the horsemanship issues between the horse and rider should be refined so that the horse and rider connection is more secure when the Haskell or Travers roll around.
Sid Gustafson is a novelist, social commentator, and former thoroughbred attending and examining veterinarian licensed in New York, Washington, and Montana, where he has had significant experience in the regulation of racehorses, especially as it pertains to soundness and breakdowns.
Horsemanship and Horse Racing
By SID GUSTAFSON
I have to be careful writing about jockeys and riding as I still do veterinary regulatory racetrack work from time to time representing the horses and jockeys safety and welfare on race day. I try to stay out of debates involving riding strategy, so as not to have jockeys lose confidence in me should I happen to perform regulatory work at their track in the future. In order to effectively carry out regulatory duties, veterinarians have to maintain trusting working relationships with the jockeys. On the other hand, proper horsemanship is essential for horse racing safety, and regulatory veterinarians are certainly responsible for that.
I teach natural horsemanship at the University of Montana Western, where I have the good fortune to ride in all of the horsemanship classes. We study the nature and behavior of horses and base our training on this understanding of horses.
After the gate opened in the Belmont Stakes, Kent was dealing with a Big Brown anxious to sprint to the lead. Brown seemed to shy sideways to the right away from the starter standing in the track after he slipped out of the gate. Kent reacted and Brown did not respond to the rider’s initial reaction and instruction like Kent had anticipated, and the rider had to apply a large amount pressure to the reins, repeatedly, wrestling the horse in one direction then the other. The early issues between horse and rider cascaded, and the partnership between horse and rider deteriorated out of the gate well into the first turn.
It seemed that the Brown team knew that a deficit in the connection between Kent and Brown existed when they last observed Kent gallop Big Brown. It was reported by the trainer through the media that the horse was all over the place on a morning gallop with Kent aboard.
The general horsemanship belief is that once a horse gets his way with an unassertive rider through the course of a gallop, the horse will attempt to have its way with the rider on future rides by ignoring the cues the rider gives with the reins and legs. According to the news media and Dutrow, Brown got the best of Kent the last time Kent galloped him. Kent was not able to get Brown to respond to his cues on the gallop.
Apparently, the trainer observed the horse get his way with Kent on the last gallop and did not take measures to correct the racehorse’s relationship with the rider before the race. Subsequently, the horse did not respond to Kent in the race. In essence, Kent had to retrain the horse to respond to his cues through the first quarter mile. If Brown understood he could get away with refusing to answer to Kent’s cues appropriately on gallops, Brown is not going to react any better to Kent’s cues in a race.
Dutrow’s description of Kent’s last gallop of Big Brown seemed to match the subsequent race ride Kent gave Brown, which is what horsemanship studies would expect, and even predict. In trying to find answers as to what might be done differently to prepare Big Brown for future races with Kent up, the horsemanship issues between horse and rider regarding response, connection, and communication need refined before the race.
Nothing is simple in horseracing, and most race finishes are the result of many, many factors and sequences of factors. Horses’ reaction times are lightning quick. However practiced, a human’s reaction to a horse’s reaction is not always a rhythmic thing when extenuating pressures and surprises arise, or when preparation has been lacking. In retrospect, it now seems that it may have been inappropriate to let Brown get away with a disobedient gallop with Kent up before the race. Brown also could have been better prepared mentally for the race, so to have been in a partnering mood with his rider. This is of course all very complex, and horses regularly fool horsemen. Developing a better understanding of equine behavior is the goal of all horsemen, but much of our learning is trial and error.
I do not share these horse behavior observations to place blame, but to clarify an aspect of horse training and memory. Certainly, losing the race was not Big Brown’s fault. He is in the hands of people, the training, the riding, the conditioning, the medication; everything the horse does is at the hand of man.
In natural horsemanship, we teach that the horse is never wrong. Riders have to develop partnerships of confidence, respect, and connection with each horse they ride, and consistently maintain all aspects of those partnerships to ensure a responsive partnership. If people are not consistent with horses, horses will not be consistent for people.
Not only was Big Brown unwilling to respond evenly for his rider, Desormeaux, Big Brown did not work as evenly as hoped for his regular exercise rider, Michelle Nevin, before the race. Horsetraining is in order for Big Brown, refinement of the basics of confidence, respect, and connection going both ways between horse and rider, all Brown’s riders. The owner and trainer’s idea to resume medicating Big Brown with Winstrol is a mistake, as anabolic steroids are notorious for making horses less trainable and responsive. Big Brown needs to get more connected with his riders, and anabolic steroids can contradict that goal.
If Desormeaux rides Big Brown in the coming races, the horsemanship issues between the horse and rider should be refined so that the horse and rider connection is more secure when the Haskell or Travers roll around.
Sid Gustafson is a novelist, social commentator, and former thoroughbred attending and examining veterinarian licensed in New York, Washington, and Montana, where he has had significant experience in the regulation of racehorses, especially as it pertains to soundness and breakdowns.
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