JKHindmarsh Equine Services

23/06/2025

When horses are denied regular contact with other horses, they can experience increased stress, which may manifest as restlessness, stereotypic behaviours (such as weaving or cribbing), and even health issues like digestive or musculoskeletal problems.

Social isolation has also been linked to heightened anxiety, learning difficulties, and a greater risk of injury, as horses deprived of companionship are more likely to become despondent or withdrawn.

Humans can offer comfort and support to horses during periods of social isolation, but cannot fully substitute for the social bonds horses form with other horses.

A recent (2025) study by Janczarek and colleagues examined this issue by measuring heart rate, heart rate variability, and behavioural responses in 12 horses during brief isolation periods.

The researchers found that even with attentive human support, horses still show physiological and behavioural signs of stress when isolated from other horses. Mares, in particular, remained stressed regardless of the type of human interaction.

Janczarek, I., Gazda, I., Barłowska, J., Kurnik, J., & Łuszczyński, J. (2025). Social Isolation of Horses vs. Support Provided by a Human. Animals

22/06/2025

Hearing the early communication - we, as humans, are generally not so great at this but we can train ourselves to get better! 🥰🦄

✨ ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕣 𝔹𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕥 ✨

When we’re around horses, it’s easy to miss the quiet ways they try to communicate with us, especially when we’re focused on a task or rushing through our routine.

Horses are always talking to us.
That sideways glance, the quick stop in eating, a little chew or blink. These are all ways they might be saying, “I’m not quite sure about this,” or “Can you give me a little space?”

Often these behaviours are labelled as “naughty” or “dominant” when really, they’re just a horses way of doing their best to be heard. If we pay attention to those early subtle signals, we’re much less likely to see those bigger behaviours show up later on.

Let’s give our horses a voice before they have to shout. 🧡

16/06/2025

So great!!! 🤩🦄

Watch the latest from ITV News - The University of Portsmouth believes the findings could lead to improvements in horse welfare

17/04/2025

Exactly this! Dominant/Alfa/top of the pecking order; all outdated terms that don’t help us to work better with our horsey pals. Understanding learning theory, internal and external motivations and how to set up for successful interactions is the way I like to work.
Let’s keep progress rolling forwards with a growth mindset and aim to give horses a good life 🥰

The concept of a fixed "alpha" horse leading a herd through dominance has evolved significantly in recent years.

The term "alpha" is increasingly seen as misused and outdated when describing horse behaviour (similar to its decline in wolf science).

Historically, the "alpha" horse was perceived as holding a permanent top rank, claiming priority access to resources like food, water, and preferred locations, and asserting dominance by chasing subordinate horses.

This belief extended into human-horse interactions, with some training philosophies advocating that handlers must establish themselves as the "alpha" to gain the horse's respect and obedience and methods interpreted as the horse 'accepting' the human trainer as its leader.

Contrary to traditional beliefs that only the highest-ranked or oldest horses in a group lead, research demonstrates that any horse can initiate movement.

As for the concept of humans as alpha leaders - this brings its own set of problems. This approach relies on anthropomorphism, transferring human concepts like authority onto horses, which can lead to training techniques that elicit fear, over clear, consistent communication.

Adapted from: Equitation Science, 2nd edition - written by Andrew McLean, Paul McGreevy, Janne Whinther Christensen & Uta König von Borstel

Available for purchase on our website!

19/03/2025

I really feel that if we could change the way we use land for horses we could see massive, all encompassing benefits for horses but also for the local ecosystem. Surely there’s a collaboration waiting to happen with an environmental organisation!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BhtDUShKm/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Lack of turnout – and owners without basic knowledge – mean ‘most horses’ in England and Wales are not getting what they need. Read more via link below

02/02/2025

Last Wednesday I went back to Brack(enhurst campus). Since I completed my Equine Sports Science degree at Nottingham Trent University in 2013 there have been some huge changes. The horses now live out 🌱🌳🍁🍂 all year round, only coming in for teaching, individual care and tlc. Wherever the horses are, they always have access to other horses. All of the housing is social. ALL OF IT! The least social housing is American barn style stabling with barred windows between boxes - this would be a dream in many yards! 🦄
The horses were so relaxed, one lovely mare was sleeping flat out while two other horses were being clipped by students next door (these hairy friends were also dosing). It’s spectacular.

There’s more - there is a policy for riding the horses where you must use one aid at a time. I cannot even begin to express how excited I am about this. The implications for horse welfare are MASSIVE. I can’t tell you how much I love the way this yard is run and managed. I can’t stop talking about it. 🫶

07/12/2024

🎄I finally got round to putting up the tree! 🎄I hope everyone is finding some time to find a little sparkle in this season. The weather has been not so great and everyone is wanting to hibernate so times can be a little trickier this time of year.
👌Good advice I’ve heard recently: Take the pressure off, stay in the moment, practice some mindfulness and try and highlight the things you’re grateful for.
🥕🥰🐴🦄

01/07/2024

What am I so excited about? Is it my over glasses sunglasses? Well those are a game changer BUT…I’m actually overcome with excitement that is less than 2 weeks away!!! The line up looks INCREDIBLE and I’m so excited to hear all the updates in evidenced-based equine behaviour science! One small step for us, one big leap towards a 🤩🤩🤩 https://www.understandhorses.com/understand-horses-live-event-programme-2024

22/06/2024

Anti-mapping cat! After a brilliant clicker training session this morning, I’m working through mapping the academic requirements for CCAB (certified clinical animal behaviourist) per-certification review, or at least I’m trying to! My prior degree in equine sports science, my vet degree, CPD and research all need to be evidenced so there’s a lot to go through and clearly, Custard Pot thinks it’s time for a break 🙃

26/05/2024

Cross-industry collaboration and knowledge sharing between hoof care professionals and vets? Yes please!! 🥳🐴

Please take a moment to fill out this survey and share it with others who work with horses: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DQLPPWB

This survey is to investigate how we can improve cross-industry collaboration and knowledge-sharing between hoof-care professionals and vets, and we will be delving into this topic even further at my next webinar.

06/05/2024

A brilliant resource to help assess for subtle signs of discomfort or stress within our normal interactions 😊😊😊

Are you aware of the subtle signs your horse might be trying to tell you there is something wrong? Download our horse behaviour checklist to see if your horse is trying to tell you something.

20/04/2024

Oh my goodness, what amazing steps we’re seeing in the equine world! This is incredible work.
The better we can recognise early signs of stress, the more we can avoid creating it and adapt our approach to increase welfare and safety.
Something I’m so excited to be teaching vet students at The University of Bristol School of Veterinary Sciences and anyone who enters my vicinity 😂

WHAT IS STRESS AND HOW CAN YOU RECOGNISE IT IN HORSES?

Stress can be defined as the body's reaction to mental or physical pressure. Some stress is useful in a horse’s life to protect them from potential danger and allows a horse to learn and adapt to their environment. However, too much stress can cause a negative impact to their health and well-being.

The first step to reducing a horse's stress is to recognise the symptoms. However, the early signs of stress are often missed or ignored. Horses are all individuals and may show different signs of stress, they may also display more than one sign at a time. Horse owners and carers need to be able to recognise these signs to identify the cause and improve the horse’s situation.

The Horse Care & Welfare team at The British Horse Society have produced a really useful guide explaining what stress is, what causes it, how it can impact the horse, how to recognise signs of stress and what you can do to reduce it.

I have loved working on this project with the BHS and am so pleased this vital information is getting out to the wider equestrian audience. A massive well done and thank you to the BHS!

You can find the guide on the BHS website here: https://www.bhs.org.uk/horse-care-and-welfare/behaviour/equine-stress