Equitation Science – Page 2 – The Horse Magazine

A fresh look at the Training Scale With Andrew McLean

December 3rd, 2014
One of the refreshing things about Andrew McLean is that he is quite happy to cross-examine sacred cows, and always prepared to think outside the square. So while for most of us, the German Training Scale is very close to the revealed truth, for Andrew it is just another training method that needs to […] Read Article 8 Comments »

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 9 – Mentality

So important was the horse to Western civilisation in the last two millennia that all European cities are adorned with statues of the horse. The horse fought our wars, it toiled for us; it helped build much of the New World. Nowadays it fulfills our dreams... Read Article Comments Off

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 8 – The Fear Principle

The fear response is the horse trainer's greatest adversary. Fear in animals such as horses expresses itself as the flight response - the horse's attempt to flee from threatening situations... Read Article Comments Off

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 7 – Self Carriage

At first, the concept of self-carriage seems simple enough. It means that the horse self-maintains his own rhythm, tempo, stride length, straightness, outline and rein and leg contact and engagement... Read Article Comments Off

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 5 – Shaping

Shaping is a term used in behavioural psychology and understood by animal trainers of many different species. It is about targeting and rewarding responses, then step by step adding more refinement towards the ultimate desired response... Read Article Comments Off

The Principles of Horsemanship: Part 4 – Exclusivity Principles

When you communicate to horses (or men!), you have to issue one command at a time otherwise both commands will result in lowered responses... Read Article Comments Off

The Principles of Horsemanship: Part 3 – Pavlov’s Principle

Pavlov’s principle is all about training the horse to operate from light aids, including seat, weight and positional cues... Read Article Comments Off

Principles of Horse Training with Andrew McLean

All equestrian work, whether it is in hand or in any discipline under saddle rests upon sound basics of stop and go. Dressage represents the most sophisticated development of stop and go and the quality of the training of these basic responses is the foundation for a relaxed, problem-free horse... Read Article Comments Off

Andrew McLean on Attachment Theory – The New Dimension

December 6th, 2013
I’m interested in the area of Attachment Theory, as it applies to the horse/human bond in the hope it may shed light on the elusive (objectively speaking) qualities of trust, rapport and bonding. Applying Attachment Theory to horse training is new ground, but I think it applies well... Read Article 31 Comments »

Learning Theory and Biomechanics – with Andrew McLean

October 15th, 2012
It is surprising that while many areas of animal training have been rigorously examined and highly effective training methods established, horse training has remained largely untouched by the light of rationality, a rich field for the fakers and frauds... Read Article 5 Comments »