Samantha Couper - Equine ABCs

09/03/2026

This mirrors my thoughts on “pain memory”

Pain memory 🐴

I know I’ve written about this extensively before, but this idea of “pain memory” is still so commonly used to justify training horses who are still in pain.

I have never seen any evidence that pain memory exists in the way people suggest it does, if it did nerve blocks and pain relief wouldn’t work.

I am not denying that if a horse has perhaps had a sore back, that they may anticipate that soreness when they come to deal with things like saddling or being mounted again, but these things tend to resolve fairly quickly if the horse is truly comfortable. Especially if we train gently and counter-condition appropriately.

Unfortunately what usually happens is, a horse is given the “all-clear” by saddler/bodyworker/vet and people take this as permission to ignore all of the horse’s communication and just carry on to “show them” it doesn’t hurt any more. Often even using punishing methods like pushing the horses face away or making them move their feet when they try to communicate. Usually these horses are still in pain, it has just been missed and now they are being told to shut up.

Even if it was “pain memory”, ignoring a horse’s communication and continuing to do things to them they are telling you they are really uncomfortable with is not the way to create a safe, calm partner. Its a way to create a shut down horse who learns their communication is ignored. So how are you going to decide what is “real” communication of pain and what is this alleged “pain memory”? How is the horse supposed to communicate pain to you if you’re picking and choosing when to listen?

So how do we train ethically if we think we have successfully treated a horse’s pain but they are still communicating that they are uncomfortable? I’m going to briefly explain my process with 2 horses who were unhappy at the mounting block, they both had pain issues which were treated. For the sake of this post not being 6 pages long lets just assume these horses were fine with being saddled and only showed discomfort at the mounting block.

My process is counter conditioning each step and seeing where it is they start to become anxious, this is different for every horse. People mistakingly try to counter condition by putting the horse into an uncomfortable situation then feeding treats on top when the horse is already upset. This will not work nor will it give us the information we need about how the horse is really feeling.

We need to break it down really small, horses are excellent at recognising patterns and predicting what might come next, so often their anxiety starts long before we actually get to the mounting block.

So my process might look something like this, using low value food to create new, positive associations with these scenarios. Can the horse have a human move down their body and stay relaxed? Can they do it in different areas? Are they any different with a saddle on/off? Are they different if the human is wearing a riding hat? Can the human face their back and touch them? Can they stand next to the block? Can they stand still while the human moves to the block? Can the human walk up the first step? The second step? Can they walk up and touch the horse’s back as if to mount? Can they lean over? I am not just looking for tolerance here, I am looking for any signs of anxiety such as bracing their neck up or shifting their weight back, we don’t go any further if we see these signs, we wait for them to be comfortable.

If we move through all of these steps successfully, my next questions are what happens if we get on and ride a bit? Does the rest of the behaviour regress? There’s my big pain red flag, all without having to terribly stress the horse out or teach them I will ignore their communication of discomfort.

So back to the 2 horses I wanted to talk about. Both went through the same process, one progressed really well and is back to hacking out with no regression in his behaviour at the mounting block. The other horse started to step back at the block after one single short ride. We repeated this process several times over several weeks to get the same result. He was referred back to the vet and found to have further arthritis that had not been treated.

There is much more to talk about here, if the way the horse is being ridden is horribly stressful or difficult for them, that will also cause a regression in behaviour, so that is something that needs to be addressed too. But we have got to move away from just trying to get rid of behaviour we don’t like, it is not helping horses and it is not ethical. Shutting down horses is really easy, apply pressure until horse does thing (or stops doing thing) and quite often now we see people adding a treat to make it seem kind. Really listening to horses and learning how to assess what’s going on is hard.

If a horse is acting like they’re in pain, then they’re probably in pain. If your horse moves away when you go to tack up, is girthy or is tense to mount, you likely have a discomfort/pain issue regardless of any checks you’ve had done and if we ignore this one day they might shout a lot louder to get you to listen. 🐴

08/16/2026

The horse is the same in each clip. Why? Because every horse displays their emotions a little differently.

So how’d you do on guessing the general emotional state? Which expressions were hardest for you to read?

08/15/2026

Some very interesting talks at ISES this year.

🐴 Can company make stressful situations easier for horses?

Horses are highly social animals, but can having a familiar horse or human nearby actually change how they respond to something potentially frightening?

At the ISES 2026 Conference, Debora Cinganelli and colleagues investigated social facilitation in horses approaching a novel stressor.

Twenty seven horses were divided into three groups. Horses encountered a colourful inflatable object with moving ribbons either alone, with a familiar human, or with a known horse that had previously been familiarised with the object.

Researchers assessed behaviour, distance from the object, facial expressions, heart rate and salivary cortisol to build a broader picture of each horse's response.

Horses facing the stressor alone showed the greatest physiological stress response. Their heart rates were significantly higher than those of horses accompanied by either a human or another horse. Cortisol also significantly increased after the test in horses facing the object alone, while neither accompanied group showed a significant increase.

Behaviour reflected these differences too. Horses tested alone were found furthest from the object more frequently and showed more lip pressing than horses with company.

Interestingly, horses accompanied by a familiar human and those accompanied by another horse did not significantly differ in heart rate or cortisol response. This suggests that, in this situation, a familiar person may also provide meaningful social support.

The findings have potential applications beyond novel object tests, including veterinary procedures, transport, training and introducing horses to unfamiliar environments.

The key message? Social support matters. When faced with something potentially stressful, having either a familiar human or equine companion present may help reduce a horse's acute stress response and provide a simple way to support welfare.

07/01/2026

Volume up for this one!

06/26/2026

Some strong support for what we often say to clients—a horse that looks calm externally may in fact be distressed!

A recently published article examines how Icelandic horses respond emotionally and physiologically to different fear-eliciting situations.

The results indicate that while a horse may look quiet and calm, it can still be physically aroused and in a fearful state, while another may move or react more obviously externally without the same level of internal stress response.

The study tested 48 horses in a sequence that included acclimatisation, an approach toward a novel person, crossing a novel surface, and a sudden startle event, while recording both behaviour and heart rate.

The authors found that responses varied across the different tests and were not consistent from one situation to another.

Horses that reacted strongly in one test were not necessarily the same horses that reacted strongly in the others, which suggests that emotional reactivity depends on the type of stimulus and the context in which it is presented.

Heart rate and behaviour did not always match closely. The clearest alignment appeared in the startle test, where stronger behavioural reactions were associated with higher heart rate responses.

In the approach and bridge tests, the relationship was weaker, indicating that visible behaviour alone does not always reflect the physiological response with the same precision.

The study also identified effects of s*x and age. Mares showed higher heart rates and expressed more fear and frustration related behaviours than geldings in several parts of the test battery, while younger horses showed more investigative , curious behaviour and tended to be more reactive in some situations.

These findings remind us that we should always remember a horse’s emotional reactivity depends on both individual personality and the kind of situation it is facing. A stoic horse is not necessarily unbothered, and an reactive horse externally may not be as stressed internally as it seems.

📑 Context matters: Behavioural observations alone do not reliably capture emotional reactivity in Icelandic horses” by Johanna Stenfelt, Rebecca Grut, Vincent Bombail, Hanna Sassner, Reza Belaghi, and Maria Vilain Rørvang, Applied Animal Behaviour Science

06/12/2026

🚨 WEBINAR ALERT!
📅 June 18 @ 4 PM ET

On June 3, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed New World Screwworm in the umbilical area of a calf in Zavala County, Texas. This expansion into the United States is alarming.

US Equestrian is partnering with the AAEP to bring you the information you need about the risk to horses and how you can keep your equine partners safe.

Dr. Katie Flynn, Senior Staff Veterinarian for Equine Health and Biosecurity at USEF, will be joined by Dr. Neil Gray, sport horse practitioner in California.

Webinar registration link: https://usef.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uwgRdUs4Rx-gEHPiBfqvSQ #/registration

06/11/2026

GENERATIVE AI FREE SPACE

I'm surprised more businesses aren't jumping on the counter-culture, but Artificial Intelligence has gotten so extensive it's probably time for someone to start.

Generative AI is a literal plague. It is disastrous for the environment and corporate pushes for new centers are already drowning out objections of voices of local communities. Don't believe me? Check out what is happening around the data center being proposed for Box Elder County, Utah. Utah is already experiencing massive drought (and it's not the only place in the west) and they're in a state of emergency: https://water.utah.gov/drought-update-06-11-26/

Every time we use google's search engine to give an AI summary (you can avoid it with -ai or switch browsers to Vivaldi), every time we ask Chat GPT something (studies show this makes us stupider), and every time we use those helpful grocery store AI recommendations (why?), it's contributing to environmental destruction and encouraging companies to build more to keep up with our use.

Now, there are applications starting to pop up to use generative AI to give you recommendations on your horse's health, and act as animal behavior consultants for your pets.

Like all generative AI, it's going to comb what exists and spit it back out at you. And if you've ever combed the internet for pet advice, you'll understand how dangerous this can be. It can't help you with your training technique in person and it won't get to know you and your horse. We talk about needing to adjust for the individual horse constantly in this field--why are we suddenly throwing it out the window?

I never use generative AI for any of my materials. No emails, no consultation reports, no social post ideas. I'll be honest, it does slow me down compared to some of my peers that do. But, the cost to the environment and to my clients is far too great to trade for a little bit of time.

So there you have it. Pretty picture I took with my own hands to capture attention.

05/21/2026

This is an incredible class--if you're a trainer using R+ or you're interesting in learning R+ in more detail, there is no place better to truly deepen your understanding.

Trudi has a gift for teaching others, as well as undeniable skill using R+ with horses. It's hard to get the two in combination in someone so humble and kind.

We've just crossed into the final chapter of this year's Professional Horse Trainer Certificate, and I couldn't be more proud of this cohort.

These students are working so hard - the theory, the practical training, the wobbly moments and the breakthroughs and now they begin what I think is the most exciting part of the whole process: training their own student.

Watching people grow into confident, thoughtful, ethical trainers is genuinely one of my favourite things. I don't understand how any course for trainers can be solely theory based. If you are going to train humans and their horses then you need to practice that skill and be supported in doing so using THE most modern training techniques.

If you've ever thought about taking this course, the next one starts in March 2027, drop me a message. There's always a scholarship place at a hugely discounted rate!

05/02/2026

03/30/2026

27-28 June 2026 at Reasheath College, Cheshire. Lectures, demos & workshops on horse behaviour, training, physiology, equine science and welfare.