Category: Horse Training
An equine behavior and psychology podcast grounded in ethology rather than training ideology. The host, a certified equine behaviorist, examines how horses think, communicate, and respond to pressure based on their evolution as prey animals and social herd members. Each episode focuses on a specific behavioral concept — fight versus flight thresholds, learned helplessness, habituation versus sensitization, social hierarchy in domestic herds, and how confinement affects psychological health. The show draws clear distinctions between behavioral science and popular training mythology, addressing topics like dominance theory, join-up, and why some desensitization approaches backfire. Guests include veterinary behaviorists, university researchers, and ethologists studying feral horse populations. Practical episodes have covered barn sourness, trailer loading as a behavioral problem rather than a compliance problem, and reading subtle stress signals before they escalate. Required listening for trainers, barn managers, and anyone troubleshooting a horse that has been labeled dangerous or difficult.