Bonds are more important than medals.
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British equestrian Charlotte Dujardin withdrew from the Paris Olympics yesterday after a video was released showing her abusing a horse. The discovery was a moment of deep sadness for horse lovers around the world. Fortunately, the international and national governing bodies for equestrian sport took immediate steps to remove the three-time dressage gold medalist from competition. However, the video is worth careful analysis. It shows that the human prefrontal cortex is overriding the better judgement of the horse’s trainer. At first glance, this seems odd, since it is the prefrontal cortex that underpins human judgement.
Dujardin is revered in the dressage community for her performance aboard Valegro at the 2012 London Olympics and remains one of the sport’s top riders. This makes the way she “trains” the unnamed horse in the video all the more disappointing. The video shows her giving a lesson to a student riding a dressage horse at a very slow, contracted canter. The horse’s performance is good by most intermediate standards, but Dujardin complains that it doesn’t lift its legs enough. Leg movement is a desirable trait in high-level dressage competition. To enhance it, Dujardin chases the horse and rider with a 12-foot long whip off the ground, hitting the horse’s hind legs 24 times a minute. The horse is clearly spooked and tries to avoid the whip, but is held in place by the rider.
There are many ways to deal with this kind of training “problem.” One is to demand that dressage judges stop awarding riders whose horses display extreme leg movements, and boycott competitions until the rider does so. The second option is to choose a horse that is better suited for the job. Some breeds and individuals tend to have more extreme leg movements than others. The third is to train the horse with a more advanced rider who can encourage movement out of the saddle without the use of whips, spurs, or harsh bits. The fourth is that a veterinarian should check the horse’s soundness and see if it can lift its legs in the desired way without pain. The fifth is that horses don’t have a choice, but humans do. You can refuse to participate in lessons that require leg movements on horses that are not bred for them. The sixth is to help separate identifying the problem from solving it. In other words, instead of reacting to the behavior in the moment, observe it, remember it, and then calm down for the rest of the day and think rationally about how to deal with it. Come back tomorrow and try a solution.
These are the six options that immediately come to mind. With more careful consideration and a greater knowledge of horses and riders, the options may expand. But the overriding priority must be that our educational methods, as trainers, jockeys, parents, coaches, athletes and adults, always have welfare as the ultimate goal.
This video is disturbing for several reasons, beyond the fact that a horse is being whipped because the trainer chose the wrong training method. The trainer is teaching his student by his own example how to mistreat a horse. This is wrong. The relationship between trainer and student is very close, like that of a parent and child, which gives special authenticity to the trainer’s teachings. Instead of learning gentle and effective training methods, this student is learning to educate an animal through punishment. This type of punishment is not only unethical, but it is also the least effective means of achieving the goal.
The video also shows the sin of forcing a horse into an unnatural position, something no good trainer would ever do. The horse is being whipped on its hind legs, urging it forward, while at the same time being held down by the jockey’s strong hand, using a strong bit. While the furore has been centered on the trainer, Dujardin, the jockey who is complicit in the abuse of the horse should also be judged. Demanding greater forward movement while simultaneously preventing it is a dilemma that the horse’s brain cannot comprehend, and that the human brain should never create.
Laughing can be heard in the background of the video, clearly coming from a spectator just outside the arena. The laughter becomes more pronounced when the horse kicks in resistance to the whip, as if it is funny that the horse is trying to escape unnecessary punishment. Many spectators are unaware of the horse’s psychological state in this situation, and I sincerely hope that even if they did, they didn’t giggle. And it is important to remember that at least one spectator was not giggling, or at least not for long: the anonymous viewer who recorded the video and submitted it to the authorities.
Why does this happen? Because sometimes the human prefrontal cortex fails. It takes over in an attempt to achieve the training goal at all costs, but it becomes tired and unable to consider all the options. Dujardin admits that she is “deeply ashamed” of her behavior and describes it as an “error in judgment.” Judgment is one of the main abilities of executive function, along with goal setting, option selection, decision making, emotion control, and risk assessment. Clearly, Dujardin’s risk assessment ability was impaired at the time. She also chose the wrong option and acted on it. Perhaps all of us have chosen the wrong option at some point in our lives when the camera was not pointed at us. It does not excuse our behavior, but it does give us the opportunity to correct it privately.
The same thing happens when a parent hits his child or a husband hits his wife. The prefrontal cortex wants to achieve the goal, but it chooses the wrong option. This can happen when you are not aware of other options, as is common in people who have been abused and have experienced little kindness in their lives. It can also happen because you are in a hurry and do not give your brain time to remember and think about other options. Maybe you are working while feeling stressed or tired. Everyone gets hungry and irritable sometimes. That is why you need to develop good training options in advance and train your brain to choose them.
Personally, I do not want writing this article to bring Dujardin’s actions to further public attention. Many horse trainers and equestrian writers have remained silent in public to avoid criticism from within. But we cannot turn a blind eye to issues of horse welfare and social license. Most of us ride horses because we love them and take pride in providing them with the best care we can. Equine and human brains function in fundamentally different ways. Understanding how those brains interact (for better or worse) can help us make more responsible decisions for horse welfare.
I would like to set a challenge to all of us, myself included: let us vow to train our animals, educate our children, and manage our relationships without resorting to harsh methods. It may be difficult, and it will take time, but we must prove to ourselves and each other that we can succeed without putting others down. Just as it is possible to educate a child without physical punishment or emotional coercion, it is possible to train a horse without the extreme use of whips, spurs, and hard bits. Let us learn gentler techniques. These techniques exist. The bond between horse and rider, child and parent, or loving couple is far more important than how high one’s foot lifts.
Tara Thomas Agency stands at the forefront of the entertainment industry, with years of experience dedicated to nurturing the most exceptional talents and successful acts.
