8.45AM - ROSA VERWIJS & JUSTINE HARRISON

9AM - Lecture: ROSA VERWIJS

A synopsis of some of the latest scientific advances and how they can influence our horse management practices.

9.45AM - Lecture: ALINE BOUQUET

Aline will consider the balance between tradition, scientific evidence and on-farm practicality for artificial weaning and how to set your horse up for lifelong success.

10.30AM

Tea & Coffee

11AM - Lecture: ROXANE KIRTON

Roxane will explore the current literature and evidence around equine obesity, touching on equine metabolic syndrome, as well as how to best tackle weight monitoring and management in horses. Delving into the pros and cons of the different weight management strategies available, when, and how to best implement them as well as looking at how to critically evaluate their health and welfare impact and effectiveness. She will also review the latest evidence around exercise for weight loss and discuss how this might be practically applied.

11.45AM - Lecture: JUSTINE HARRISON

Horse owners want to be able to travel their horse for fun rides, competitions, events and to the vet whenever necessary. However, horses understandably often find the loading and travelling process difficult for a number of reasons. Justine considers how behaviourial science applies to transporting horses and how to approach resolving any issues.

12.30PM

A short Q&A session with the morning’s presenters.

12.45PM

Buffet lunch

1.45PM - Lecture: EMMA LETHBRIDGE

Emma will explore how horses experience and express emotions. She will guide you through the spectrum of equine emotions and their significance in bonding and communication. Discover the fascinating dynamics of equine emotional recognition and contagion in horses and gain valuable insights into their social behaviours and interactions. Explore how emotional responding shapes their interactions with humans and fellow equines, providing a deeper understanding of their cognitive and affective capacities.

2.30PM - Lecture: TAMZIN FURTADO

“Why is he doing that?” Using the latest research, Tamzin will explore how we as horse people piece together information about behaviour. Exploring human psychology, bias and decision making, we will consider how we can make sure to do the best for our horses.

3.15PM

Tea & Coffee

3.45PM - Lecture (Online): SAM COUPER

Dominance has been used to model the social structure of wild horses for decades, but it has nothing to do with an alpha! Learn about the ethological definition of dominance and how aggression in horses is more complicated than it first appears. In wild scenarios, outright aggression is rare. Learn the signs of escalating aggression and about natural and social environments that reduce aggression between equines in the wild.

4.30PM - Lecture: Trudi Dempsey

Why does clicker training (R+ based) remain on the fringes of mainstream equestrianism and how can we make it more accessible? Although the popularity of clicker training has grown in recent years, Trudi will delve into the future and discuss how we can improve understanding of learning theory and its application to everyday training. This lecture will introduce the ‘behaviour builder’ system that uses R+ by ‘stealth’ to engage and motivate horses.

5PM

A Q&A session with the afternoon’s presenters.

5.30PM

8.45AM - ROSA VERWIJS & JUSTINE HARRISON

8.50AM - Demo: JUSTINE HARRISON

How can we make the loading and travelling process easier for both horses and handlers? Justine will consider how to improve the training environment and demonstrate different approaches to loading.

8.50AM - Demo: ALINE BOUQUET & ROSA VERWIJS

During Justine’s demo, Aline & Rosa will give a practical demonstration of some of the research tools and techniques used to measure equine behaviour and welfare.

10AM - Demo: EMMA LETHBRIDGE

Through the subtle power of mirroring and mimicry in equine communication, Emma will demonstrate the dynamics of emotional intelligence in horses. You will see the intricate ways horses mirror human emotions which can forging deeper connections and enhance mutual understanding.

10.30AM

Tea & Coffee

11AM - Demo: BARBARA DREYER-ROWLANDS

In this introduction to equine agility, Babs will show you how to navigate different obstacles, how to use agility to improve your relationship with your horse, build confidence, and prepare them for the world outside the yard.

11.30AM - Demo: TRUDI DEMPSEY

Trudi will demonstrate how to break down behaviours to train things like the labyrinth or halting over poles using distant reinforcement routines. This uses her ‘behaviour builder’ system to back chain/sequence patterns and can easily be adapted for any ground or ridden work. This simple reward process, combined with breaking down behaviours, is easy to use and a great (stress free) introduction for those not yet using R+ methods.

12.15PM

Packed lunch

1.15pm & 2PM - Demo: ROXANE KIRTON

In this session we will get hands on with some practical weight assessment techniques including estimating weights, taking measurements, cresty neck scoring and body condition scoring. We will use case studies to design practical weight management programmes based on the needs of the horse, owner and resources available with appropriate monitoring and review schedules built in.

1.15PM & 2PM - Demo: Holly Gallacher

Learn how to perform a variety of massage techniques for mental and physical relaxation, creating a deeper connection with your horse.

2.45PM

Tea & Coffee

3.15PM & 4PM - Workshop: Tamzin Furtado

You want to do things differently, but change is hard! How can we use human behavioural science to help us? In this practical and interactive session Tamzin considers how we can apply what we have learned to effect human changes in the equine world.

3.15PM & 4PM - Workshop: Trudi Dempsey

Sooz and Trudi will delve into scent work for horses in a classroom session that will have you testing your sense of smell as well as picking up tips on how to get started with your own horses. They will look at the basics of odour detection, scent discrimination and how to teach an indication. Advice on how to get started, materials you’ll need and how to set up your scent detection environment will set you up for this fun activity.

4.45PM

Prizes kindly donate by our sponsors will be allocated to selected attendees.

5PM