Working together remotely can be a great way for Lauren to help you address horse behaviour problems. You'll need access to a few things to make the process easier
For 30-minute behaviour help hotline calls:
a few minutes to fill out a short history form about your horse
a reliable phone connection, or high-speed internet access so that we can meet for an audio only call on Zoom
For 90-minute consultations:
high-speed internet access for the initial consult and follow up sessions, so that we can meet via Zoom
a good quality camera or a smartphone with which you can film short videos
a way to share those films with Lauren (e.g., WhatsApp, email, private upload to YouTube etc.)
a homemade or purpose built camera or smartphone holder or tripod, to make filming yourself and your horse easier
and most importantly, a strong willingness to commit to working with your horse in short but frequent sessions in order to achieve results!
Great question! Short answer, No! Most behaviour problems in horses occur because of things like pain or stress, emotions like fear or anxiety, because of unmet needs, or as a result of prior learning.
When horses have behaviour problems, the best way to address them long-term is by first determining the cause of the behaviour, and then by making changes to how the horse is managed, handled, and trained. Having the horse's owner or primary handler learn the information and skills needed to bring about positive changes in their horse's behaviour is perhaps the most critical part to address even serious behaviour problems.
While our goal when working together is to resolve your horse's problem, we will achieve that by giving you the information and skills needed to understand your horse's behaviour and address the issue.
No matter if I am doing an in-person consult or a virtual one, the two main tools I use to determine the root cause of the problem - and devise a retraining plan - are the same: 1. I take a detailed history, helping me to determine what factors are causing your horse to behave this way.
2. I observe your horse's behaviour in various contexts. In the case of remote consults, these observations are done using specific, short videos I have you provide.
Together, these tools help me gather the information needed to create a personalized training plan for you both.
Numerous research papers have shown that virtual consults are indeed just as effective as in-person consults - even when animals display serious behaviour problems. This makes virtual horse behaviour consults with a qualified professional a viable option, no matter where you are in the world.
One of the nicest things about the approach I use is that it is never necessary to deliberately trigger unwanted behaviour in order to resolve it. For example, it is never necessary to deliberately cause a horse that bucks under saddle to do so during retraining, nor is it necessary to deliberately trigger the horse that bites when tacked up to bite during retraining . In fact, doing that is actually counter-productive to resolving the issue, and could even make the problem worse or create new problems! When horses behave in ways that are dangerous to people or themselves they are generally doing so because they are experiencing high levels of stress or emotions like fear or anger. No animal can learn what we want them to learn when in those states. Setting up training situations so that the horse is triggered to perform the unwanted behaviour often results in the trainer then using corrections or punishment to try and address the issue - and keep themselves safe! But while this approach may briefly suppress the symptom - stopping the bucking or biting in the moment - it cannot change the underlying issue that is causing this behaviour to happen in the first place. Thankfully, there is a safer, effective, and horse-friendly way to address even serious behaviour problems. It involves getting to the heart of why the horse is behaving this way, and making changes so that the horse can more easily learn how to behave instead.
I've been teaching horse owners and equine professionals both the theory and practical hands-on skills to train horses and address behaviour problems since 2006. I understand the logical order in which to share information and how to teach hands-on skills so that my students can be successful. Using tools such as how-to demonstration videos and real-time video feedback of your 'homework', I can help you hone your skills, no matter where you are in the world.
Numerous research papers have shown that virtual consults are indeed just as effective as in-person consults - even when animals display serious behaviour problems. This makes virtual horse behaviour consults with a qualified professional a viable option, no matter where you are in the world.