Author Archives: Renate Larssen

Baby season is upon us, so I thought a post about the mare-foal bond would be suitable. The first thing we need to understand about the relationship between a mare...

Recognizing signs of stress in our horses is important for both their welfare and our safety. Unfortunately, this can be a tricky task, because their behavior doesn’t always match their...

Question: What areas of horse behavior would you personally like to see studied to a greater extent and why? Renate Larssen: I am personally very excited about the prospect of...

Intrinsic motivation is an ongoing discussion within the horse training community, particularly among positive reinforcement-based trainers. The idea that horses can experience intrinsic motivations and flow states similar to humans...

You’ve probably heard the phrases: “she’s just being moody,” “that’s classic mare behavior,” “you caught her on one of those days.” They’re typically used to explain unwanted behaviors in mares,...

Question: I read in one of your interviews that horses don’t have the capacity to show off. But they do have a capacity for fear. Can you talk a little...

Question: Top riders often say they can feel when a horse “tries” extra hard for them in a class (i.e. puts in extra effort to jump clear at a wide...

What makes a good leader? Traditionally, leadership in horses has been understood as a function of dominance, embodied in the myth of the “lead mare”: the highest-ranking individual in a...

Question: I know a horse that I would typically call brave. The mare is excellent at horse shows, on roads, in parades, and most other settings. However, she is petrified...

More than a hundred horses have died in international eventing competitions in the last two decades, according to a compilation by Horse Sport NZ. Many more have been injured. Horses frequently crash...