I found this really interesting! Researchers at Nottingham University conducted a test into the
benefits of patting horses as a positive reinforcement technique. It is
a bit of a grey area amongst horse riders - we all do it to our horses
when praising them ... but is it really beneficial?
In
their study, five frequently handled riding school horses (average age
of 13.4 years old) and five rarely handled rescue horses (average age of
10.4 years old) were patted or scratched for four 30-second
intervals, each separated by 15 second breaks. The tests were replicated
using a cross-over design. A control period consisted of the handler standing idle next to the horse.
All
of the horses were fitted with a heart rate monitor and their behaviour
was filmed for the duration of the experiment. The horse's heart rates
did not differ between the treatments. However, the unhandled
horses had an overall higher heart rate.
Interestingly,
patting resulted in more ear movement whereas head lowering was more
commonly associated with scratching of the withers.Wither scratching
also resulted in mutual
grooming and upper-lip movement, both of which were not observed when
the horses were patted.
The study went on to look at the use of patting while a horse was being ridden. They assessed footage of 16
horse and rider pairs competing at the 2012 Olympic Games competing in
dressage.They compared information on timing, the
location of patting, and any behavioural reactions. Three riders
interacted with their horses during the test and 15
patted their horse when they had completed their dressage test. Twelve
of these riders patted their horses for over a minute.
A
significant percentage of pats resulted in a reaction, most commonly
acceleration. The riders patted more on the right side of the horse (59
percent) than
the left (22 percent), or both sides simultaneously (19 percent).
The
researchers went on to say that even though patting was commonly used
during ridden work, it was wither scratching that invoked a positive
behavioural reaction.“Wither scratching could potentially increase horse
and human bonding and act as a more effective reward,” they said.
They
concluded “We found that patting was less effective than
wither scratching, with the latter resulting in responses similar to
those found in positive horse on horse interaction. Riders and handlers
should be encouraged to scratch rather than pat their horses as a
reward.”
Patting or Scratching: Which do Horses Prefer?
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