Recent research on horses suggests that concepts such as alpha, dominance, submissive, boss, “lead mare”, and “lead stallion” are a poor fit to the intricacies of horse social structure. Inter-horse aggression is so scarce in wild horses that, in some studies, researchers had to artificially create restricted resources to record a dominance hierarchy! But, if dominance is dead, how do horses organize themselves?

Lucy Rees, an ethologist who has observed horses worldwide, has proposed a predator-escape model as an evolutionary explanation for the lives of wild horses. Its focus lies on how behaviours necessary for escaping predators are occurring at all times - and that friendliness and bonds between horses are crucial for their survival.

In this webinar, Lucy Rees and Samantha Couper take a deep dive into the behaviour of wild horses, interpret videos of wild horse behaviour, and discuss how a paradigm shift away from dominance can result in stronger partnerships with our horses and improve their welfare.

Topics discussed include:

• What does wild horse social structure actually look like?

• The origins of the dominance model and a discussion of its pitfalls

• The core concepts of the predator-escape model

• Harnessing knowledge of horse behaviour to improve your relationship with your horse

• The latest science looking at synchrony and friendly behaviours in horses

• Videos of aggression in wild horses and possible interpretations of these behaviours

• Videos of rarely shown and under-discussed aspects of horse behaviour, such as autonomy and choice in mares

This webinar is aimed at horse owners/carers, students and equestrian professionals.

After the pre-recorded presentation, Lucy and Samantha will answer questions from the live webinar audience.