Creating Optimal Learning Environments for Ourselves and Our Horses

When you tack up your horse each day, what are you looking to accomplish? Regardless of your discipline, and whether you compete or not, I’m willing to bet that your goals are always related to learning. As riders we want to learn the physical, technical, and mental skills involved in partnering with a horse. We also work to help them learn the aids, manage their own bodies and nervous systems, and respond consistently and safely in a variety of circumstances. It all comes back to learning.

In this article I will share a conversation with Equine Learning and Behaviour Consultant, Emma Kjelson. Together, we look at how environment and circumstances impact learning. By asking better questions we can start to create better learning experiences for ourselves and our horses every time we get in the saddle. The result? Happier horses, happier humans, and a lot more progress.

Emma Kjelson was inspired to become an Equine Learning and Behaviour Consultant through her desire to understand one of her own horses who was challenging everything she knew about horsemanship. Obsessed with resource guarding, this horse regularly and violently attacked other horses and dogs. Determined to help her horse be a happy, adjusted member of her herd, Kjelson discovered the power of combining science, ethology, and learning theory to understand and change horse behaviour. Today, as a qualified practitioner, she sees every day how respecting the learning and psychological needs of horses creates better behaviour and protects horse well-being.

As an Equestrian Mental Performance Coach, I often work with riders who approach each ride with a preconstructed set of expectations. When either they or their horse fail to meet these expectations, they feel like a failure. This leads to asking unhelpful questions such as: What’s wrong with me? Why am I not good enough? What’s important to recognize is that 99 percent of the time when we sit on our horses, the goal is to learn something, not perform perfectly. This helps us to zoom out and consider the bigger picture of the learning environment we are creating. If these riders view both themselves and their horses as learners with specific learning needs, it can dramatically