HORSE AND RIDER
TEXT: SKYE LITTLEFIELD
PLAYTIME WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO PLAY WITH YOUR HORSE
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s humans, we make important distinctions for ourselves between work and play, taking the time to step away and recharge when we feel it’s necessary. Oftentimes our form of rest involves seeing our horses; whether we’re perfecting our trot or going for a hack. Working with horses provides us with a different form of both mental and physical stimulation, and for me is a welcome escape from daily obligations. If our horses provide us with this getaway, then we owe it to our horses to help them love their jobs.
WHY REST? Without rest our brains cannot function properly, and our ability to concentrate is greatly reduced. Not only that, rest also ensures improved mental health and allows the body to heal itself. But, have you considered that your horse also needs mental and physical rest? If we observe how horses behave in their natural environments, we see them partaking in a wide variety of activities, both alone and with fellow herd members. The standard behaviours that we expect to see at any given
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time are eating, eliminating, investigating, and resting. And, when kept in a herd environment, we see a fair amount of play, as well as care-giving (epimeletic) and care-seeking (et-epimeletic) behaviour. Perhaps the easiest way for us to recognise epimeletic behaviour in horses is to pay attention to how a mare and her foal interact; the mare will spend the first year of her foal’s life providing the care and attention needed, from feeding to grooming. Similarly, et-epimeletic behaviour in horses can be seen in foals nickering for their mom’s attention, or in horses calling out to each other for engagement. Both epimeletic and et-epimeletic behaviours fall under a larger category called contactual behaviour, which relates to the benefits of contact with other animals and humans, hence the name. Each behaviour that horses partake in is essential to their health and well-being, physically and mentally. Of course, we understand that modern-day horses are kept very differently from their ancestors, either paddocked separately throughout the day to prevent injuries, or stabled early in the day to minimise insect bites. In these instances you need to consider that you are your horse’s herd
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