advocacy
Horses with Voices: Be Your Equid’s Advocate The PPG Equid Committee has launched its Horses with Voices initiative to raise awareness of equine welfare issues and education that is accessible to all “The Horse. Here Is Nobility Without Conceit, Friendship Without Envy, Beauty Without Vanity. A Willing Servant, Yet Never A Slave.”— Ronald Duncan (1954)
P
PG has launched its Horses with Voices initiative, the primary aim of which is to improve companion equid* welfare by educating and empowering owners to commit to a higher standard of care for all species, from stabling practices to training practices and more. Horses with Voices takes the format of a sevenpoint pledge whereby owners, guardians and caretakers commit to advocating for their equid companions while striving to create a harmonious and equal partnership with them. Each individual point is then broken out into a supporting document that provides further details and guidance. Horses with Voices is a movement, a paradigm shift within the equid world, empowering equids by giving them a voice in their care and training; empowering equid enthusiasts worldwide to adopt more equidconsiderate approaches in caring for their equids; and empower ing every equid guardian to embrace the science of equid emotion, learning, and behavior.
Evolving Science Why do we need to give horses and their equid friends a voice? Because the science of equid behavior and training continues to evolve. We have a broader understanding of the speciesspecific needs of our equids— needs that often remain unmet with current stabling and training prac tices. We have a growing body of knowledge proving that horses trained utilizing positive reinforcement learn faster, learn more complex skills, and are safer to work with than their counterparts trained using forceful methods. 14
BARKS from the Guild/November 2021
By giving voice to equids—and the people who work with them— we open a door to the complex, rich emotional worlds our equids live within. We give them better lives. “Supporters sign the pledge to make a commitment to themselves and their equine(s) to be their best, learn, progress, and stand up for equines by advocating for their best interests,” explains PPG Equid Com mittee cochair Mary Richards. “Broadly speaking, the topics we cover are education, relationships, and communication, so that we can under stand and communicate effectively with our equine partners, friends, and companions. All of the seven pledge items have support in the form of what this means for the individual and their equid, links to relevant information, and contact details of professionals who can answer ques tions and guide people further.” “With this program, we hope to raise awareness and improve edu cation in all areas of equid care, for all equid species,” adds PPG Equid Committee cochair Michelle Martiya. “I’m excited about this program because I feel it gives all equid owners, from horses to donkeys, to mules and zebra, guidelines they can easily follow to improve the wel fare of their animals.” Join us in pledging and committing to the key principles which truly give our equid friends a voice in their care and training. n *Equid [definition]: Any of various mammals of the family Equidae, having a single hoofed digit on each foot, which includes horses, don‐ keys, and zebras. (Your Dictionary, 2021)
