Let me begin by saying that I am not a behaviorist, so anyone who thinks Iām trying to build myself up by tearing down others is just wrong. Secondly, if I have a child with schizophrenia, I donāt go to a teacher for help, or even to a family practitioner. I go to a specialist (psychiatrist or psychologist). It is not ādissingā teachers or family practitioners to say that they are not the best source of help for mental problems. Trainers are not behaviorists, and behaviorists are not trainers. If you want to teach your horse dressage, you go to a trainer, not a behaviorist. If your horse has a stereotypy, you should go to a behaviorist, preferably a vet behaviorist who can prescribe drugs if needed. If a horse is bucking because it feels good, you lunge it before you ride ā trainer territory. If itās bucking because it has a sore back ā vet territory. If itās bucking because somebody screwed up its mind by punishing it for bucking because of a sore back, youāre getting into behaviorist territory (because you can, in fact, sometimes change the way the brain is wired).
Can trainers do appropriate behavior modification? Certainly ā which is why vets use them to help implement behavioral treatment plans. However, they have to have appropriate training, which doesnāt happen by osmosis. The Karen Pryor Academy has a 6-month certification program for dog trainers, and their teachers (trainers) can work magic with behavior modification. You donāt have to take a 6-month course, or even get certified, to learn the basics of behavior modification, but a good trainer has more tools in the toolbox than just āpressure.ā Training principles are the same for all species, and the KPA does teach about other species than just dogs (but imo, you need to read horse body language, too, to be really good), so they are an option for formal training in behavior mod. I know there are also horse trainer certification programs, but I donāt know enough to recommend one. With trainers, as with behaviorists, anyone can use the term, so there are good and bad ones out there, but a trainer who understands and properly uses the scientific principles of behav mod will, for example, know how to teach a horse to come when called or how to use clicker training to get a horse to stop kicking (and no true behaviorist ever blames the animal).
Cribbing is a good example of a behavior that could use more research funding. We still donāt have all the answers, but we have more than we did in in 1993. Dr. Houpt is a vet behav specialist, and Dr. McDonnell is a non-vet certified behav specialist, and if they wrote an article on cribbing today, it would be very different from what they wrote in 1993. Another benefit of using a certified behaviorist is that they keep up with the scientific advances in understanding behavior problems. New Bolton is one of the few places where people can consult with an equine behavior specialist, but we should have more than just one referral center. The purpose of Dr. Dohertyās survey is to see how we can expand the market for such services. Also, we need more than just one person doing equine behavior research. Donating to New Bolton will fund their research, but donating to a funding organization will fund more than just one person. Dr. McDonnell was actually on the board for Morris Animal Foundation that recommended which studies to fund ā but weāre only funding one study a year because it takes $20,000 to fund a study, which is 1000 donors of $20 each, and so far (over several years), Iāve had 7, most of which are friends of mine, not horse people.
I am beginning to think it may be possible that there will never be a healthy market for equine vet behaviorists. Horse owners often arenāt bonded to their horses the way dog owners are, and behavior problems are different when the animal lives in your house. If a dog with separation anxiety is tearing up your house, and you donāt want to euthanatize it, you will go to a behavior specialist. If a horse with separation anxiety is whinnying and pacing in its stall, you ignore it. I hope Iām wrong, and that suffering horses will eventually ALL get the help they need, but there are still suffering dogs, too, so maybe we canāt solve all the problems. Iām not going to stop trying, though.