The Calm Companion

Ethologist Andrew McLean (VIC) discusses the use of a calm horse companion, how it can increase the learning process and create a less stressful situation for you and your horse and avoid setbacks in your training.

Studies done on horses’ stress levels when other horses are present are not to be argued with; the presence of another horse decreases the horses’ heart rate.

But what exactly happens, why and how can we use this in our everyday training?

Will all horses need a calm companion?

Dr Andrew McLean:

Andrew McLean is a clinical and forensic ethologist with specialist academic areas in animal cognition, equine learning, training and welfare science. He has dedicated the past couple of decades to teaching evidence-based horse training and management in workshops across Australia, Western Europe as well as the USA, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. Andrew founded and directed the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre in 1995 and is currently the CEO of Equitation Science International. He is a Patron of Pony Club Australia and as a former Director, he has instigated a revolutionary syllabus that leads the world in equestrian education for young riders. Andrew has himself enjoyed a decorated equestrian sport career and has represented Australia in three-day eventing and competed in State and National titles in FEI dressage, eventing and showjumping.

The answer is yes and no. Horses naturally live in social groups, and having other horses around and being able to copy behaviour in new situations, is natural to all horses. But inexperienced, young, or nervous horses (naive horses) will show greater results from using a calm companion in a specific situation.

Before starting training it is important to understand that underlying issues can be present if you have a particularly nervous horse. If this horse has previously done many of the tasks you are asking then nervousness can also be a sign of pain, so have your horse checked by a vet and have an ulcer scope performed. When all pain related issues can be ruled out, you are ready to start the training.

by Celine Bønnelykke

Selecting a companion?

When selecting a companion horse Andrew points out that a nervous horse beside a young horse is not a great combination.

“Select a very experienced horse with a lot of confidence. If the calm companion is relatively inexperienced, there is the chance that it can become affected by the nervous horse - so the exercise can work the opposite way. The calmer the companion, the bigger difference it will make to the naive horse and better results will be achieved.

Why do horses get nervous?

By nature horses are social, flight animals. They thrive in a group setting with other horses and in predictable situations where they feel safe. When they are taken out of one or several of these situations then fear can be triggered.

Andrew commented that we, as humans, have to remember that the horse’s brain does not comprehend logic like the human brain does.

We might think a certain situation makes sense or that the horse should not react in a scared or nervous way, but some of the things we ask of our horses are very unnatural to the horse and can trigger certain flight responses, which makes the horse react in what humans consider an ‘unreasonable’ manner

Recent equine science has proven that nine out of 10 ‘reactions’ occur from the gut to the brain and just one from the brain to the gut. This tells us that if the horse’s gut isn’t functioning 100 percent, these responses and therefore reactions may be more extreme than usual. Gut health is crucial for a balanced and relaxed horse.

What is fear behaviour?

“We really only see fear in our horses when it is at a reasonably high level. In that sense a lot of fear and fearful behaviour is quite concealed in the horse because it has evolved as a prey animal so it does not show fear or even some levels of pain to predators,” says Andrew. Fear can be measured in heart rate levels, heart rate variability and cortisol measurements (from a blood test). Previous research has shown that these levels can be high, without the horse showing visible sign of fear or stress to the untrained eye.

Andrew points out that it is essential to recognise and know the facial signs of stress in horses.

The THREE coping mechanisms for all animals:

Fight: On rare occasions, horses will choose to fight or be aggressive if they perceive they are in a dangerous situation.

Flight: Most horses resolve to flight mode when they perceive a situation as potentially dangerous. As horse people, we can quite often recognise this behaviour as when the horse is having a hard time standing still and the only thing preventing it from escaping is a leadrope, halter, reins, fence etc.

Apathetic: The horse can be showing or feel ing no interest, enthusiasm, or concern. Their response to signals can be stalling and not re sponding or it can have the opposite effect and become more reactive and be frightened and shy of things that previously did not affect it. The apathetic horse is more commonly known as a ‘shut-down’ horse.

“The term ‘naughty’ is often used for these horses, when they are simply trying to cope with the situation,” said Andrew.

Besides the facial expression, the muscle tone will increase, the horse will be more anxious and faster in its movements and often have a hollow back, raised head and choppy movements. Andrew comments, “Often people will only see the behaviour that is there before them and they will attribute the fear to something immediate, whereas often fearful behaviour is built up over time because of the horse’s insecurity.”

“Horses are very, very, very social species”

Horses are social creatures and they often use the presence of other horses to relax and calm down. A specific study investigated how the social activities between horses directly lowers heart rate by scratching each other’s withers. The handler can use this evidence and instead of patting the horse with a flat, hard hand they can scratch the horse. “Stroking at the back of the wither, we know this reduces their heart rate by up to 10 beats per minute. Studies have shown that the same reduction happens when people do it to horses.”

Due to facts like these Andrew underlines the importance of horses being able to physically touch and interact every day, “The horse maintains its mental security by touch and if they can’t touch another horse they can’t maintain it. It is not enough in a stable setting to just see another horse, they really need to touch. I think removing the top bars of partitions of stables is a really good idea.”

For a well-balanced horse, turnout with other horses is essential, ideally every day.

So, what does science say?

When horses are trained with high levels of fear present, it can have negative associations to the specific situation and negative effects on training, performance, health and welfare.

A study in 2008 showed that: “Horses paired with a calm companion horse showed less fear-related behaviour and had a lower heart rate. Fascinatingly, these results were consistent when the subject horses were tested by themselves, and those that had been paired with a calm companion had less fear-response when faced with the same stimuli.”

“The more insecurity, the more the horse is desperately going to need a partner. But when the horse is really secure, it is less likely to need another partner all the time. You become part of the horse’s social group, just like the goat, but of course, it still needs other horses wherever possible. But good training means that the horse will be very calm with you and this helps create some social bond.”

More research is needed to conclude whether there is a difference in gender, breed, habitat and so on.

Vets, farrier and other appointments

Especially the first time this can be helpful for the handler, the farrier and the naive horse. Again, gradually increase the distance between the horses and it will eventually become secure enough to not need a companion.

About weaning off the calm companion Andrew says, “It’s not always successful and it’s not always easy to do, because they create such strong social bonds. But in most cases a gradual process is essential for success and in addition the use of positive reinforcement (for example target training gradually away from other horses) can also be of assistance here.”

At a competition

Competitions can be stressful for both horse and rider. Practise this before even going away to a competition. Separate the horses at home and then do the same at the competition. Have the companion horse stand at the ringside for the first few rides. Then move the companion further and further away. Remember

A very recent study investigated whether goats could qualify as companions for horses. Again results were clear about the fact that horses benefit from companionship. If you house a horse with a goat for a longer period of time, the amount of stereotypical behaviour - such as crib biting and box walking - is decreased. Andrew points out that this reveals evidence that horses benefit from a social partner, but to be aware that probably not all abnormal behaviours would be cured, as goats are not horses and therefore it is not quite aligned to their psyche. But a goat is still better than nothing. Ponies are brilliant companions for many horses.

Can we predict the future?

Science-based equine research, new ideas, concepts and innovative products are emerging all towards bettering our horse’s welfare. Andrew is certain that every horse owner wants the best for their horse and the equestrian world is currently changing as owners, handlers and trainers are all becoming more curious and more enlightened as science is discovering more and more factbased knowledge.

“The market is changing, people are becoming more aware and many want their horses to be in social conditions, so I think we need to start modifying our architecture of the way we keep horses to enable social contact.”

You can use this research to strive towards good training and creating a strong bond with your horse. Aim to become a secure and calm figure for your horse, fulfilling some of that social need. Having another horse around in different training situations will most definitely calm the naive horse and utilise its learning potential.

Be aware that using a calm companion cannot be a stand-alone solution, but an overall assessment of whether the horse is happy and contented needs to be in place before starting any kind of training. As Andrew explains, all horses need access to forage, exercise, social interactions and receive clear communication in their training.

Top lEVEl HoRSES nEEd A FRiEnd Too

Olympian showjumper Katie Laurie and her homebred half Thoroughbred Django II, is a great example of top-level horses still in need of a companion horse.

Katie and Django overcame many of his challenges at home on the farm and she says, “We rode out over the farm, through

EVERydAy TRAining

rivers there. He was a proper Australian farm horse there for a little bit. And I think that helped him too.”

Together they have taken on the World Championships in Herning, Denmark in 2022 amongst many other international competitions, but Katie notes, “All we have to do is keep him calm,” this also means he will join his friend next to the ring, as Django can’t be left alone.

A common problem is that science-based research can be difficult to comprehend for the regular horse owner, therefore there can be a gap between connecting science with the horse handlers.

TRAil Riding

“Start the naive horse out by following another horse really close ly, the further apart you are from the other horse the more stressful it is and the less your horse learns,” explains Andrew. “Over time, start allowing the naive horse to be the one that goes in front. It’s all a matter of shaping it, so it is just a gradual ‘weaning’ process where the distance increases until your horse is finally not need ing a companion horse on trail rides.”

Practising a leapfrog exercise can be useful. You ride in front on

Andrew reveals a great tip for all horse-enthusiasts, “One of the effects that I have found useful and I started having them made; is mirrors. Plastic-coated mirrors are better than glass, as they can’t shatter. Having them in the float and in the stable, can give the horse some calming effect. There was a study back in 2005 from Lincoln University showing a 77% reduction in abnormal and stress behaviours, when horses were given a mirror in their stable. Even a visual picture of a horse will make a difference.”

Besides utilising another horse, using positive reinforcement such as treats or pats in the float, and making it a nice place to be, is a huge help, says Andrew. You can start a process of positive reinforcement together with the calm companion. It will create focus and distraction from other competing stimuli. This goes for every training aspect, but especially float training as you cannot gradually create distance between two horses.

Jump TRAining

“Floating with another horse is a really valuable exercise because floating is so scary when you think of it from the horse’s perspective.

They haven’t evolved to go inside ‘dark caves on wheels’ that rattle and move. But they are so good at habituation that they do learn quickly and there is certainly a great advantage in having another horse there for the first few trips,” comments Andrew.

“It is useful to introduce the horses to jumping with another horse,” said Andrew, who went on to explain that one of his friends worked for Olympic eventer Bruce Davidson who uses this approach for all his young horses when he trains them for cross country; they just all follow each other jumping. “It is just such an easy way to do things,” says Andrew. He also emphasises that we need to remember horses are wired differently than humans and the horse simply builds confidence by following another and will later be confident enough to jump alone.