About Us:

What is Equitation Science?

The field of equitation science first emerged as a discipline in 2006 to combine learning theory, biomechanics and ethology to examine the salience and efficacy of more traditional horse training techniques.

As the welfare of horses in sports and the future of these sports are continuously scrutinized, equitation science holds great promise in providing a clear, systematic and sustainable approach to horse training, based on the principles of learning theory.

Our Vision

We strive to modernize horse training with the latest scientific data on the natural behavior of horses, their learning processes, human and equine biomechanics, handler and rider effects, and attachment.

When horse training is aligned with these elements, it becomes optimally successful and safe, thus greatly improving horse welfare in the equestrian sport.

We aim to use the most effective teaching techniques to disperse this information, in doing so, liberate horses and riders from the trappings of tradition, mythology and hearsay.

 

Our Mission

At DH2, our mission is to educate horse riders and handlers in equitation science to enable efficiency and safety in all horse/interactions. Equitation Science is an emerging field that explains why horses behave as they do, their biomechanical patterns and limitations and on this template, how we can modify horse behavior. It explains what is likely to work and what is unlikely to work in horse training, and how we can communicate more effectively with horses. Equitation Science is not an ideology but rather a body of knowledge that provides evidence-based ‘first principles’ that ensure safety, efficiency, best-practice welfare and ultimately sustainability. It informs all disciplines and ideologies of horse training and horse sports in a non-partisan way, and privileges horse welfare as the top priority. The practice of Equitation Science provides a full understanding of horse training and enables the most effective pathways to all equestrian disciplines and activities.

Our Philosophy on Learning Theory

At DH2 our fundamental principle is to train according to a horses innate ability to learn and respond to basic cues. This ensures that horses are trained or re-trained by using properly timed reward and release techniques. This is proven to define the roles of negative and positive reinforcement in equine training and promotes habituation, desensitization, and retention. Our training philosophy follows the 10 principals of safety in equitation.

1.Train according to the horse’s ethology and cognition.

2.Use learning theory appropriately.

3.Train easy-to-discriminate signals.

4.Shape responses and movements.

5.Elicit responses

6.Train only one response per signal.

7.Form consistent habits.

8.Train persistence of responses (self-carriage).

9.Avoid and dissociate flight responses.

10.Demonstrate minimum levels of arousal sufficient for training