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Dr. Paul McGreevy

Invited Speaker

Equitation Science and the 5-4-3-2-1 Framework for Ethical Animal Training

Abstract

Established traditional equestrian techniques bypassed the findings of modern learning theorists. Meanwhile, many observers now question the welfare of ridden horses since most are trained using negative reinforcement and pressure-based cues. The relatively new discipline of equitation science combines learning theory, ethology and physics to examine the salience and efficacy of horse-training techniques. It is removing emotiveness from the horse-riding welfare debate because it permits consideration and, in some cases, assessment of equine discomfort, pain and learned helplessness. Equitation science acknowledges the complex nature of horse-animal interactions and embraces the dynamic interconnection of five constructs that characterise safe, ethical and sustainable [best] practices in the management, handling and training of all non-production animal species. The novel 5-4-3-2-1 framework for ethical animal training interdigitates the 2020 Five Domains Model for animal welfare assessment, four over-arching training modalities, the three influences of arousal, affective state and attachment, and the two contrasting ethologies (human and animal), with a One Welfare approach that considers impacts of interventions on animals, humans and the environment. It reveals that, while arousal and affective state influence behavioural outcomes of operant conditioning, the trainer’s application of the operant quadrants have a cumulative influence on attachment, arousal and affective state.

Get to Know Paul McGreevy

Paul McGreevy BVSc, PhD, FRCVS is a veterinarian and ethologist. He is the author of over 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications and seven books. With expertise in learning theory, animal training, animal welfare science, veterinary behavioural medicine and anthrozoology, he is a co-founder and honorary fellow of the International Society for Equitation Science. He led the VetCompass Australia initiative that brought together all of the Australian veterinary schools to provide ongoing national disease surveillance for companion animals and horses. With the additional involvement of Massey University (NZ), the same schools collaborated under Paul’s leadership to create the One Welfare teaching portal.