"As a professional horse trainer for decades, a life-long student of equine behaviour, and a sociologist, I often come across articles by purported experts in the field of horse training and behaviourism that leave me perturbed because of the absurdity of the claims made. Your series of articles, and in particular the one included in the March 2006 issue of Equi-Ads, is a prime example of an article making claims about horse training that contains bizarre, unfounded, unproven and nonsensical statements about horses and their training. Allow me to comment on a few of your statements:

You state: "We noted last month, that television film producers are not usually inclined to show programmes filled with scenes of non-violent, cooperative life in a herd." What television programmes are you talking about? I watch just about every programme presented on the BBC regarding animals and natures and don’t know what you are referring to. The occasional display of male dominance including courtship rituals and battles between two male leaders is sometimes shown, while 90% of the time the programme focuses on the herds of whatever animals are being photographed cooperating in finding food, water, and safety from predators.

You state: "But this out-dated perspective of how dominance works in equine social hierarchies is now widely criticised for being flawed by animal behavioural scientists." Who are these animal behavioural scientists? What are their names? Where have they presented these viewpoints, and where have they published the results of valid, documented experiments in valid, internationally recognised journals which prove or disprove what they say?

You state: "The Natural Animal Centre too has been observing zebras in their natural habitat for around a decade and not once in that time have we seen the force, domination and submission processes that many trainers would have us believe is a near-constant way of life in wild equids. . . . It is important to appreciate that if we unquestioningly accept the approach of the dominant-stallion-with-harem-of-subservient-mares around him, then this so-called knowledge starts to affect our own relationship with our horse. . . . it is just not practical for one stallion to go round herding up the females keeping them together through force and intimidation." Aside from the fact that I know of no horse trainers (who seem to be the ones under attack in your article) who train zebras, which are very different from modern-day horses, just who, exactly, are these trainers who supposedly believe this rubbish about constant force and domination or about dominant stallions? Every decent horse trainer seeks to minimise conflict and the use of force in dealing with horses; that’s why it’s called training. And every Western trainer, at least, down through the centuries knows that the best way to put a cocky young stallion in his place is turn him out with a herd of broodmares who will make him submit and be dominated.