Human-animal relationships in south-east Turkey, a behaviourist’s personal perspective

There has been a more widespread move towards keeping dogs as pets over the last ten years in some areas, interesting sociologically and behaviourally. Two signs of (relatively) greater affluence in a locality are more estate agents and the emergence of pet shops. The introduction of trap-neuter-return (TNR) policies, animal welfare legislation and municipally-funded animal

Abuse in horse training

I was honoured to contribute to this thought-provoking article by Christa Lesté-Lasserre on abuse in horse training. Click on the link below for the full article. TheHorse article

Training – is it a choice?

Horse – health care treatment video Some of you will know I’m not a fan of some of the purportedly “animal has choice” videos that are out there in the worlds of horse and dog training and management. I see many where the animal is being asked to do something frivolous, not beneficial to its

Caregiver responses to equine emotions

This study (link below) reflects an important stage in human behaviour change. Participants reported beliefs that horses have complex emotions including fear, pain and joy; however they also reported that they act towards their horses in ways that will cause psychologically negative emotions, despite stating that they wanted their horses to have a good life

Equine Behaviour in Mind

Applying behavioural science to the way we keep, work and care for horses. I’m very proud to have co-authored this book with a group of esteemed colleagues. Intended for people who work with horses and for owners who want to learn more, Equine Behaviour in Mind provides ideas for practical ways that changes can be

Is your horse in pain?

It wasn’t a good look for wild horses to show that they were in pain. Click on the link below to open the article. Recognizing Pain in Stoic Horses

The animal welfare baby and the animal rights bathwater

The chief executive of World Horse Welfare has called for a “social licence” between the wider public and the horse industry. Gone are the days when lay people deferred to “expert” horse people as to which practices were acceptable and which were not; today the pressure from other parts of society on the treatment of

Beyond “being nice”

Who doesn’t understand the confirmation bias? I mean really. It’s so basic, all undergrad Psychology second years are just so familiar with it. See what I did there? Read on… there is so much to like in the article below (click on the link to open it). It’s interesting to think about human behaviour change