Equine Psychology Diploma Course

This comprehensive and insightful course will teach you everything that you need to know about horse behaviour and how horses learn. If you allow it, this course will dramatically change how you perceive, interact, manage and train horses.

This course was created using our expert writer’s professional experience, of over 16 years of horse training and the most up-to-date scientific research. The sciences used to create this course includes:

• Ethology (the study of natural behaviour)
• Psychology (the study of the mind and it’s functions)
• Neuroscience (the study of the structure and function of the nervous system and brain)
• Biology (the study of physiology and anatomy)

This course is aimed at those that either have or look after horses, or those who would like to learn more about the behavior of these wonderful animals and how they learn.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Equine Psychology will take you up to 150 hours to complete working from home. There is no time limit for completing this course, it can be studied in your own time at your own pace. The course comes with a course assessment in the form of quizzes, written questions and short essays, once you have completed your course assessment please email or post it back to us for marking, you will then receive your feedback and certificates.

Certificate of completion

Digital certificate - Included

Module 1: Evolution of the Horse and Behaviour

1. Evolution and domestication
2. Why the horse looks like he does?
3. Why horses live in groups?
4. Who is in the group?
5. Hierarchy and dominance
6. The key needs of the horse
7. Assessment questions

Module 2: Communication

1. Vocalisation
2. Ears positions
3. Tails positions
4. Noses and mouths
5. Defensive and aggressive body language
6. Assessment questions

Module 3: Reproduction and Stallion Behaviour

1. Harem maintenance
2. Courting and mating
3. Breeding in the domestic environment
4. Stallion behaviour towards other horses
5. Assessment questions

Module 4: Behaviour of the Young Horse

1. Life before birth
2. Birth and early development behaviour
3. Bonding
4. Weaning
5. Educating the young horse
6. Assessment questions

Module 5: Learning Theory

1. Habituation, desensitisation and sensitisation
2. Operant conditioning
3. Natural vs contrived negative reinforcement
4. Reinforcement schedules
5. Classical conditioning
6. Extinction
7. Aversive-based training
8. Appetitive-based training
9. Analysing a training scenario using science
10. Considering other forms of learning
11. Emotions
12. Assessment questions

Module 6: Horse/human Relationship

1. Enhancing horse/human relationship
2. Changing the way we interact with horses
3. Anthropomorphism and speciesism
4. Communication through symbols
5. Assessment questions

Module 7: Equine Behaviour in the Managed Environment

1. Welfare of the domesticated horse
2. Abnormal behaviours
3. Enriching the life and meeting the needs of the domesticated horse
4. Assessment questions

Module 8: Training Horses Using Humane, Science-based Methods

1. The handler toolbox
2. Techniques to obtain desired behaviours
3. Training sessions
4. Reinforce your horse
5. Putting a behaviour on cue
6. Generalising behaviours
7. Shaping behaviours
8. How to teach your horse to target with his nose
9. How to teach “the rules of the game” to your horse
10. How to teach your horse to back up
11. How to teach your horse to move his shoulders and hips
12. How to teach your horse to walk over something
13. How to teach your easily spooked horse to relax
14. How to help your horse overcome separation anxiety
15. How to get your horse cooperation for medical care
16. Assessment questions

• Resources

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