Sharon Smith - EBA Registered Equine Psychology Specialist

29/04/2026

Lovely Venya! 🫶

Konecne prvy naozaj holisticky seminar!

Ked ma Veterinárne služby - BoldiVet oslovila minuly rok, ci spolu nespichneme seminar o nervovej sustave, tak mi hned vyskocilo: to je mega napad! Uz roky som som nosila v hlave napad, ze by to chcelo nejake prepojenie tela a hlavy, ale kedze ja viem o tele velke prd, neriesila som.

Ked s tym Zuzana prisla, tak az o dost neskor mi docvaklo, ved toto je ono! Seminar. kde sa nebudu riesit len manualne techniky a rozne telesne prepojenia, ale zapojime aj vplyv psychiky na telo a budeme sa bavit o jednom celku - lebo telo a hlava su sucastou jedneho systemu.

To samozrejme nie je ziadna novinka. Ale fakt je ten, ze ked sa spomina termin holisticky, tak sa riesia hlavne prepojenia v tele, vplyv bolesti ci fyzickej nepohody a stuhnutosti na psychiku. Ale opacne sa to rozvija minimalne.

So psychikou to konci pri 3F - friends, freedom a forage. Je to ako keby sme v pripade tela hovorili len o vode, krmeni a pohybe.

Mame prirodzenu tendenciu sa fokusovat len na telesnu stranku, ale malokto si dovoli uprednostnit psychiku, pretoze porozumiet dopadu psychiky na telo je na prvy pohlad trosku abstraktnejsie. Castokrat sa to nedej ani v pripadoch kedy je to pre kona vacsia priorita, ktora ma vacsi vplyv na celok nez riesenie telesnych nedostatkov.

Avsak tak ako ma tento napad potesil, rovnako ma aj vydesil. Mam hodinu a pol na to, aby som vybrala co je najklucovejsie v pripade vplyvu psychiky v rehabke. Good luck, Venya :D. Na druhu stranu, od jeden a polhodinovej prednasky sa neda ocakavat viac nez len uvod do problematiky. A uz ten uvod mna osobne mega potesil ked krasne ukazal, ze ucastnici uz maju ten spravny mindset a su na tej spravnej vlne. A to je nieco, co sa neda naucit. K tomu clovek musi prist. Takze polovica prace vybavena hned pri prvom slajde :D. A zvysna polovica, ako sme sa zhodli zo Zuzanou a ako aj dotazniky ukazali, vyzaduje aj prakticku cast.

Ta sa diala v mikro sukormnej miere u jednej ucastnicky kurzu, ktora ma ako hlavnu prioritu pohodu koni. A ked uz sme mali spolocnu rec z kurzu, stretnutie nam otvorilo priestor venovat sa praktickym veciam. Napr. tomu ako konovi vypustat stresove vedro, ako si vsimat stav nervovej sustavy a prepojenost s prostredim a ako mu umoznit byt sam sebou, poodstupit a pozorovat ho v novom svete, ktory pre neho vytvorime. Vo svete, v ktorom aj napriek obmedzeniam domestikacie moze bezpecne objavovat svoju konsku podstatu vo svojej vlastnej rezii.

Tato navsteva mi zaroven potvrdila, ze ta prakticka cast je priestor, kde sa deje skutocna zmena. Lebo jedna vec je porozumiet a druha vec je zacat robit nieco nove.

A tak uz tvorim novy seminar, kde sa zameriame cisto na prakticku cast - ako citat stav nervovej sustavy, ako vypustat stresove vedro a ako aktivne pracovat so psychikou kona v kazdodennych situaciach.

Tesim sa na dalsie strenutia a vase pribehy!

PS: sorry za chyby, som na behu a keby som to nenapisala teraz, tak uz nikdy :D

PS2: Chyba nam spolocna foto - pripomienka do buducna :D

29/04/2026

Critical thinking moment (bear with me, not AI generated!):

The health headline today broadcast by BBC Breakfast regarding bowel cancer in younger persons reports ‘excess weight’ is the only lone risk factor they studied to rise in line with those increased rates, not alcohol, smoking, low fibre intake, red meat…

My mind went straight into overdrive- not least because any mention of ‘excess weight’ is triggering for me and many others in the equine world, and we’ve said goodbye to some lovely friends in recent years to this condition.

It’s a great example of where critical thinking and an understanding of scientific studies and processes can help us see the woods for the trees.

The first thing is the limitations of the list of risk factors. The study looked at SOLE risk factors and life doesn’t work like that, we know. And in limiting the list there could be bigger risks the study just misses, like microplastics or ultra processed foods.

Secondly, risk factors like smoking are ‘yes’ or ‘no’. You either smoke, or you don’t. ‘Excess weight’ is a symptom of multiple behaviours and physical factors. It isn’t a ‘lone’ factor.

In relation to the above, the scientists would recognise that science intends to create new questions to test. It’s the press and people that want easy final answers. Science doesn’t work like that.

The progression would be to consider biopsychosocial factors as to WHY someone experiences excess weight. What are the biological, psychological and social factors and how might THESE link to the bowel cancer.

The point of this post in relation to equine wellbeing is that we shouldn’t stop with one explanation, no matter how ‘scientific’ it may be. Be a critical thinker. Think biopsychosocial.

12/04/2026

I used to watch it when I was a kid. We’d make our own course out of grass cuttings in the back garden and race eachother on space hoppers (no horse for me in a 3-bed semi in Swindon!). I wrote to Jim’ll Fix It to ask to meet Red Rum. I get it.

Then to hear of the equine deaths and go through the denial about the racing industry… that horses enjoy it or wouldn’t do it, they’re well cared for, the safety standards, training standards, whip design and whip rules…

And then I did an equine science master’s assignment on ‘wastage’ in the horse racing industry in the U.K. And I visited a racing yard or two with RoR as part of my BHS CPD and developing products. I also listened to fellow liveries who were working in racing and what they all went through, both employees and horses.

And no…. this ‘industry’ is fundamentally flawed. The whole concept and competition drives all the wrong behaviours. Some are trying to make the best of it, but they can’t change what it is, and how it works against equine and human welfare.

I can’t watch it any more.

From the Private Eye archive.
Issue 1597, May 2023.

17/03/2026

Our next EBA webinar is coming soon!

Join Venya Bonebakker for a thought-provoking webinar exploring how everyday management shapes the mental and emotional lives of equines in our care. Ever wondered how your horse really feels? Does their routine truly suit them - and how can we know? This session will explore what ‘care’ can mean, and how it’s often shaped by our own biases, perspectives, and expectations. You’ll walk away with simple, practical ways to improve your horse’s well-being by enriching their environment, rethinking routines, and reducing unnecessary stress.

Venya is EBA registred Equine Psychology Specialist. Living in Slovakia with 7 horses and helping owners to see their horses in a new light.

01/03/2026

Love this from the HERD 🫶

12/02/2026

🥳🫶

05/02/2026

What is Shepherd School?

Shepherd School is a learning environment where handlers develop a clear, coherent relationship with their dogs through self-awareness and refined body communication.

Handlers (the “shepherds”) work with tasks of their own creation, bringing together the non-cognitive elements of body language, posture, movement, and subtle cues into a unified, observable whole. By mastering this internal and external coherence, handlers become legible to their dogs.

Dogs, who are naturally attuned to reading human cues, respond voluntarily and accurately, joining in the task in a way that is accessible and mutually reinforcing. This approach emphasises shared responsibility and self-regulation rather than control or coercion.

Unlike traditional behaviourist methods, where dogs must infer hidden intentions, Shepherd School makes the structure of the task fully visible, like a clear newspaper headline allowing the dog to engage meaningfully and predictably.

Participation in Shepherd School fosters increased cooperation, reduced frustration, and a deeper, more secure relationship between handler and dog. It is suitable for dogs who may have struggled with emotional or behavioural regulation, providing them with a safe, structured environment in which they can exercise choice and control.

Pictured: Anna and Pat and Georg's sheep in Schwabia. Their ability to do the work pictured rests firmly on a relationship made in the method described as Shepherd School (above). Photo credit Georg Krieg.

08/01/2026

Horse talk...

Would you like an hour of someone's undivided attention, listening to you talking about your horse?

Or, would you like to help the Equine Behaviour Affiliation training new equine psychology specialists?

If either or both appeal, send me a message, or email me at [email protected].

Meetings would be online over zoom, and the only requirement is that there is some aspect of your horse's life you would like to discuss - it could be a concern when riding or handling, or about how they socialise with other horses or your relationship with them.; how to enrich their environment or practical ways to meet their well-being needs, tailored to you. Maybe you would like to understand their reactions and behaviour better.

If this appeals, get in touch - it'll be hugely appreciated!

02/01/2026

🤩 brilliant post!

“It’s a herding dog” is not an explanation.

This comes up repeatedly in professional dog spaces: a behaviourist or trainer struggling with a young dog, excusing the difficulty by invoking breed, “it’s a herding dog”, as though that closes the matter.

From an ethological perspective, it does the opposite. It shuts enquiry down.

1. Breed labels are not behavioural explanations

Ethology does not explain behaviour by naming a category. It explains behaviour by examining function, context, and regulation.

Saying “it’s a herding dog” tells us nothing about: what the dog is actually doing, under what conditions the behaviour appears,
what environmental features are amplifying or suppressing it, what regulatory systems are failing or compensating.

A label is a description of ancestry, not a diagnosis of behaviour.

2. Labelling replaces observation with narrative

Once a label is applied, observation often stops. Behaviour is no longer read; it is interpreted through a pre-existing story.

Ethology proceeds in the opposite direction. It begins with: distance, orientation, tempo, thresholds and responses to structure and pressure.

When labels lead, the animal disappears behind the narrative.

3. Inherited behaviour is treated as pathology

Herding is a functional system shaped for livestock environments. When it is invoked as an explanation for difficulty, it is implicitly reframed as a defect.

This is a fundamental error. Inherited systems are not problems. They are context-dependent tools. When expressed without appropriate structure, they may appear chaotic or maladaptive, but that is an environmental mismatch, not a behavioural flaw.

4. Responsibility quietly shifts away from environment and handling.

Breed-based explanations absolve the human system of responsibility. If the dog is difficult because of what it is, then: environment need not be questioned, pressure need not be reduced, structure need not be examined, human behaviour need not change.

Ethology does not allow this move. Behaviour is always understood as relational.

5. The problem is amplified in reconstructed or marginal breeds.

When loosely defined or reconstructed breeds are described as “herding dogs,” the explanation becomes even weaker.

These dogs are not selected in livestock contexts. Whatever herding ancestry exists is diluted, unstable, or expressed in fragments. Invoking “herding dog” in such cases overstates inheritance and under-investigates the individual animal in front of us. Think, some of the 'manufactured' shepherd dogs but not (YET) in my experience the GSD.

6. Labels obscure developmental and ecological factors

In adolescence for example, a dog is navigating: neurological immaturity, changing thresholds, shifting social and environmental demands.

To attribute difficulty to breed rather than development, ecology, and learning history is to miss the most relevant variables.

7. What is lost when labels are used as explanations

When behaviour is explained away by breed: self-regulation cannot be assessed, thresholds cannot be identified,
environmental solutions are not explored, interspecies and intraspecies communication is ignored.

The dog remains “difficult,” but nothing is learned.

An ethological alternative

Ethology asks not what label applies, but:

What behaviour is occurring?

What function might it serve for this individual?

What environmental structures are present or absent?

What pressure is the human adding or removing?

Without those questions, there is no behavioural science, only storytelling. In my next post I'll give you a brief example of what a visit to GSD trainer, working within the framework of ethology looks like. You can compare that to the illusion of control presented by trainers who happen to work with GSDs.

And just to say. If you want an in to this line of work, you only have until February to sign up, entry opportunities are now very limited and I think only available through the tracking programme as a vehicle.

31/12/2025

A very Happy New Year to all friends and followers of this page!
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