A recent study in the UK found 91% of leisure riding horses had behavioral issues as reported by their owners. 

Researcher J Hockenhull PhD said that of the 1,326 horses, 78% were ridden with artificial aids—such as martingales, whips, or flash nosebands—to control their behavior, she said.

According to Hockenhull, this could be reason for concern.

“Poor riding may lead to the development of behavioral problems or learned helplessness in ridden horses, and these problems may be exacerbated as the owner attempts to address the problem by increasing the intensity of the aids or the complexity of the tack used to control the horse,” she said. Horses with ongoing or increasing ridden behavior problems are at greater risk of changing hands or euthanasia

Not many of us would suggest that employer/employee communication issues are best solved with a megaphone. Carefully explaining my viewpoint, listening to the response and finding clearer ways to express myself is bound to yield better results!

Now if the hearer doesn’t speak english, and comes from an entirely different worldview, the challenge is greater. Makes me wonder how many of those behavioral issues are really communication issues….


Next post, I’ll list Lindsay’s top 5 reasons for the horse and rider communication gap!