Shiatsu Bodywork by Devina Lester

13/05/2025

Horses often say No and are ignored or misunderstood. Please share to help awareness of WHO horses are

CAN YOUR HORSE SAY 'NO'? AND IF THEY DO — DO YOU LISTEN?

A horse’s “no” can be easy to miss — it might show up as hesitation, tension, resistance, or avoidance. Some horses hardly ever say no, often because past experiences have taught them that speaking up leads to increased pressure or discomfort.

But “no” is still communication. It’s not misbehaviour — it’s a signal that something isn’t right. The horse might be fearful, uncomfortable, in pain, or unsure about what’s being asked.

There’s a clear difference between a horse working with you willingly and one that’s simply complying because they’ve stopped trying to voice their feelings.

Unfortunately, many common training and riding methods reduce a horse’s ability to communicate. We often restrict their vision with fixed head positions, tighten nosebands to stop mouth movement, use whips, ropes and sticks to drive them forward, then harsher bits or pressure halters when they react. In some cases, medication is used to make horses easier to handle. All of this can suppress natural responses and discourage the horse from expressing how they feel.

But a horse shouldn’t need to shut down to be seen as well-behaved.

If a horse says no, I want to understand why — and what I can do to help them feel more able to say yes. Their feedback helps me adjust my approach and avoid pushing too far.

Listening and understanding builds trust in all relationships. And when we take the “no” seriously, the “yes” becomes meaningful.

20/01/2025

INDIVIDUAL STABLING FOUND TO ALTER IMMUNE RESPONSE

Research has found that horses moved from group housing to individual stabling showed changes in their white blood cell counts and plasma cortisol levels. These changes could mean they are at a higher risk of infectious disease.

Equine scientists at the University of Hohenheim in Germany studied 12 warmblood geldings aged 2-3 years old during several management changes, monitoring their behaviour and immune response.

The horses used were all living in a group, turned out at pasture. For the first part of the study the group was then split into two, each kept in a separate paddock so that the horses in one group could not see the others. After a trial period of eight days all the horses were returned to their original group, living together. They were then were left out at pasture for eight weeks.

For the second part of the study the horses were all moved into individual stables, where they could see and touch their neighbours through bars. During the first week of being stabled, the horses were given 30 minutes of turnout in an indoor area. From the second week onwards, the horses were lunged.

Throughout the study the research team collected blood samples from the horses to analyse their immune cell numbers and cortisol concentrations.

The results showed that moving the horses to individual stabling led to acute stress-induced immune changes. However, dividing the larger group into two smaller groups at pasture did not.

“The number of eosinophils, monocytes and T cells declined, whereas the number of neutrophils increased resulting in an increased N:L ratio. This pattern of change resembles the well-known picture of an immunomodulation induced by acute social stress."

The plasma cortisol concentrations didn’t change after dividing the group into the two smaller groups at pasture, but there was an increase in cortisol concentrations one day after stabling which then returned to the previous levels eight days later. However, the researchers reported that “Although cortisol concentrations returned to baseline level after 8 days, the alterations in most immune cell numbers persisted, pointing to a longer-lasting effect on the immune system of the horses."

The team also found that some of the horses started to perform stereotypical behaviours as soon as one week after stabling.

The team reported that the results “strongly indicate that social isolation is a chronic stressor with negative impact on welfare and health of horses and highlight the advantage of group housing systems in view of immunocompetence."

The researchers concluded that “relocation to individual stabling represented an intense stressor for the horses of the present study, leading to acute and lasting alterations in blood counts of various leukocyte types. In contrast, fission of the stable group did not result in behavioural, endocrine or immunological stress responses by the horses."

This sudden change from group turnout to individual stabling with training being introduced is a very common scenario for horses being started for the first time. This study gives us yet more evidence that stabling horses individually is stressful for them and detrimental to their physical and psychological wellbeing. The majority of the horses I see are stabled for the bulk of the day. I do wonder how much evidence is needed before horse owners, yard owners and professionals act on this information and change their management to increase turnout and group living...

The research is free to access and is a very interesting read: Schmucker S, Preisler V, Marr I, Krüger K, Stefanski V (2022) Single housing but not changes in group composition causes stress-related immunomodulations in horses. PLoS ONE 17(8): e0272445.

17/01/2025

Learn to recognize 24 vital behaviors that indicate pain in ridden horses. Science-based training from a leading veterinary expert. Limited-time offer.

08/07/2024

Lovely article which also explains how a gentle approach like shiatsu, for humans and animals, really works

23/01/2024