Hilton Hall Sport Horses
R.R. #3 L0G 1M0 East Gwillimbury, ON, Canada

IS PATTING REWARDING TO THE HORSE? We often see riders slapping their horse on the neck enthusiastically at the end of a showjumping round or dressage test. Pat...ting is considered by many to be a way of telling the horse that they have performed well but is this the reward we think it is, or could it cause them discomfort? Horses are extremely sensitive to touch and many riders use different pressures ranging from a light pat to a slap. To find out more about how horses feel about this, a team of equine scientists at Nottingham Trent University set out to investigate the eects of patting and wither scratching horses when ridden or being handled. For the first part of the study, footage of 16 competitors in the dressage Grand Prix at the 2012 London Olympics was analysed to see how and when the riders patted their horses, and how they reacted. Fifteen riders patted their horses, with 12 continuing to do so for over a minute. A signicant percentage of these pats resulted in the horse reacting. Most commonly, the horses accelerated sometimes they changed gait from walk to trot. This could indicate that the horses found the patting unpleasant, or that they took the opportunity to accelerate because the rider dropped the rein contact and/or leant forward. In a second part to the study, a group of ve well-handled riding school ponies and ve relatively un-touched rescue horses were patted or scratched four times, for 30 seconds at a time. The study was lmed and the horses’ behavioural responses were noted. Patting resulted in little behavioural reaction. However, wither scratching seemed to be much more eective as a reward to the horse. Some lowered their heads, moved their upper lips and tried to mutually groom the handler all responses similar to those seen in positive horse-to-horse interaction. The researchers concluded that riders and handlers should be encouraged to scratch rather than pat their horse as a reward. Previous research has shown that scratching the withers consistently lowers the horse's heart rate and can therefore be a useful aid to calm them in anxious situations. Wither scratching may also improve the horse/human relationship as mutual grooming does between horses. Research team: Emily Hancock, Sarah Redgate and Carol Hall of Nottingham Trent University. 2014. Image by lhourahane 2012 Olympics - Team Dressage Final, CC by 2.0.

Lennox by Paganini Crown and out of Adessa Keur Preferent bred by Hilton Hall Sport Horses and now owned and loved by Teresa in New York State. He looks to be in perfect condition no doubt as a result of the loving care given to him. Teresa, and Courtney his trainer, treat him like a Prince!

Piper’s Heath out of Adessa Keur Preferent and by Special D, bred by Hilton Hall Sport Horses. Piper has been gelded and is sound and in good health. He is waiting to find his perfect person to help him to develop into the show horse he is meant to be.

https://youtu.be/44CYSfz_0xI

Adessa Keur Preferent has arrived at her new home in Sisters, Oregon. Congratulations to Kanoe Godby on her purchase. Kanoe has been Adessa’s biggest fan and has followed her career since she tied for the highest score for mares being inspected in the KWPN-NA Keurings in 2008. Adessa will continue her career with Kanoe, producing First Premium foals and hopefully will make a valuable contribution to the Gelders gene pool.

Adessa continuing her travels. Today’s stop was Cheyenne Wyoming where she had a chance to unload and have a snooze in a stall.

Adessa on day two of her journey out west. The shippers have her on camera throughout the trip. It’s nice to see that she looks alert and interested, watching out the window as they roll along.

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20 minutes after separating mommy and baby, Adessa is more interested in eating and Piper is not even close to the fence line that separates them. I love it when separating a mare and foal is a non event.

The final step in weaning. This is Piper, now turned out with his sister 20 minutes after being separated from mommy. Interval weaning makes for a low stress event. Piper calls now and again but mommy doesn’t bother to respond.

Mira-Dessa out of Adessa Keur Preferent (x Koss Keur Preferent) and by Franklin ( x Ampere), bred by Hiltonhall Sport Horses. Mira-Dessa is now owned and trained by Allie and is showing herself to be very work willing!