Description

Helping horses recover through enrichment

Merging the science and practical application for professionals working in equine rehabilitation and rehoming, for behaviour consultants and instructors (and owners)   working with horses with a challenge.

This 2 day, in person, workshop will provide a unique opportunity to learn about the science of enrichment including types of scentwork, proprioception as well as visual, tactile, auditory and taste whilst offering a variety of practical application opportunities.  These will include observing and assessing video footage, working in small groups with and without equines and  using materials to practice creating low cost, eco friendly environmental enrichments.

Topics we address:

Amber Batson:

• Defining enrichment and considerations of types and underlying physiology as can impact on mental and physical rehabilitation.
• Considerations of how to use enrichment in recovery from physical versus emotional trauma. Physical recovery: movements to facilitate tissue and viscera function recovery, methods of achieving these through enrichment.  Managing rebound (transitioning confinement to free movement / turnout)
• Emotional recovery: how appreciating the difference between post trauma stress and conditioned responses may impact on our rehabilitation choices and where storage of fear memories is affected by sensory perception. Introduction to sensorimotor integration.

Rachaël Draaisma:

• Scent tracking: giving insights to the benefits of scentwork to the mind and body of horses. Tapping into the many benefits scentwork has when especially working or living with a horse that has behavioural challenges.
• Creating a practical plan for an individual horse: Giving insights of the parameters that help you decide which form of mental stimulation and scentwork would suit a particular horse and how to proceed and to avoid pitfalls.
• Using mental stimulation and scentwork for those horses that experience many moments or longer periods of shut down, experience multiple moments of stress or chronic stress and have to resocialise to people.

Topics for the  practical demonstrations:              

• Treat search (in arena with horses)
• Scent tracking (in arena with horses)
• Practical ideas for environmental enrichment in stable, track, field etc (in arena without horses)
• Proprioception / sensory integration activities (in lecture theatre with video footage)

Practical Information:

Date:  13 & 14 May 2023

Location: Tinkerhoeve De Bonte Parels, Nederland

Powerpoint presentations alternate with practical sessions with and without horses

Spoken language: English (Help in Dutch when needed)

Price for two days, including lunch, coffee/thee and snacks: 350,- euro including VAT.

KNHS- , PDTE and IEP -members get a 25,- euro discount, including VAT. Do include your membership number when paying.

This lecture has been accredited for 35 points by the KNHS for KNHS member.

This lecture is for a minimum number of participants available

If you need to cancel, you can do so with full refund up till March the 13th. From the 14th of March till the 31th of March you get a 50% refund. From April 1th and on, you do not get a refund. Ofcourse it is possible to sell your ticket to another interestee.

Co-teachers: dr. Amber Batson & drs. Rachaël Draaisma

Amber Batson graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London as a veterinarian and surgeon in 1999. She has always had a keen interest in animal behaviour and has undertaken several years of part time study alongside her veterinary career to become an equine, feline and canine behaviourist. Amber has researched companion animal welfare, including subjects relating to responsible pet ownership, and psychoneuroimmunology, a branch of veterinary medicine that deals with the influence of emotional states (such as stress) and nervous system activities on the immune system.
She has undertaken voluntary work for international animal charities including a position as welfare consultant for WSPA (now WPA). She lectures on animal behaviour and welfare education for owners and animal professionals, including the veterinary profession, in multiple countries across the world.
Her aim is to improve scientific understanding of behavioural issues, at a practical level for pet owners and animal professionals.

Rachaël Draaisma: behavioural consultant, researcher and author of the book Language signs and calming signals of horses and Scentwork of horses. Rachaël is an expert in reading the horses body language. Various features (some very detailed) and behaviours are given meaning to and are linked to comfort or possible tension levels. Another pilar in Rachaël’s life with horses evolves around equine mental stimulation and scentwork. Rachaël developed a method to do scent tracking with horses. Both expertises combined give Rachaël the tools to help horses expand their comfortzone while living in our shared world. Rachaël travels throughout Europe and the globe to lecture and give workshops about calming signals of horses, and equine mental stimulation and scentwork. Many University’s and educations are interested in her work. China, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, Spain, Slovak, Sweden, The UK, the Netherlands, the USA and Canada are only a few countries she has visited.