equine behavior | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ask The Experts: What’s Up With Firenze Fire’s Savagery?

Viewers of the Grade 1 Forego Aug. 28 got a surprise in the stretch run when experienced competitor Firenze Fire reached over and attacked rival Yaupon around the sixteenth pole. The act of one horse attacking another is called “savaging” and while not completely unheard of during the running of a race, it's not exactly common.

Up until now, the most famous image of a similar incident was probably taken in the final strides of the 1980 Tremont Stakes, where Great Prospector reached over to bite at eventual winner Golden Derby. A black and white photo of the moment, shot from underneath the inside rail by Bob Coglianese, became the Eclipse Award winning image of that year.

Firenze Fire, a 6-year-old intact male with multiple graded stakes races to his credit, came at Yaupon with his teeth several times before jockey Jose Ortiz was able to straighten him out. If Yaupon was disturbed by the behavior, it didn't impact his performance, as he prevailed by a head at the wire. Local reports indicated Yaupon was unharmed by the incident.

Strangely, Firenze Fire has been on the receiving end of such treatment, too. During the running of the G3 Gallant Bob in 2018 he was bitten by Whereshetoldmetogo just before the wire — although he seems to have only gotten a single, somewhat discreet nip on the neck, rather than a teeth-barred facial attack like the one he dealt to Yaupon.

Unreal. Firenze Fire, you savage. pic.twitter.com/hNNCOZcATj

— Ray Paulick (@raypaulick) August 28, 2021

We asked a few equine behavior experts about Firenze Fire's behavior to learn more about what makes horses do this. Here's what we learned.

Dr. Sue McDonnell, founding head of the Equine Behavior Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Certified Animal Behaviorist:

I'm always wondering why this doesn't happen more often. That bite gesture seems almost a reflex response when horses are play or seriously chasing and running head to head.

I don't think it does have much to do with dominance, but of course can't be sure. I see this all day every day in the herd and I don't think it gains the perpetrator any advantage or dominance. I think it's a reflex gesture that communicates, 'Slow down and let's play fight!' I agree to people it looks vicious, and people often assume it's a dominance thing, but that's a big assumption, probably without much evidence. What I see doesn't support that at all.

I see this among foals playing, bachelors play chasing and wrestling, usually after a long run or “race” if you will, and they are tiring and ones seems to want to slow or stop and wrestle. In serious combat between stallions, that particular biting gesture is not seen. It's more of very serious lunge to take the other down to the ground.

My first thought is that the previous incident is likely coincidence. The only thing that I can think of concerning the possible relationship of having been involved previously is that Firenze Fire is the type of horse that is paying attention to the competitor horse in the sense of actually “racing” the other horse rather just running in response to the rider direction and training — a different motivational state, which is likely perceived among horses. And that in the previous incident where he was the receiver, that competitor horse was reflexively responding to Firenze Fire's natural racing motivation/behavior.

Firenze Fire #10 (R) with Irad Ortiz, Jr. riding overcame a bite by 2nd place finisher Whereshetoldmetogo (L) with jockey Jeremy Rose to win the $300,000 Grade III Gallant Bob Stakes at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pennsylvania on September 22, 2018. Photo By Taylor Ejdys/EQUI-PHOTO

Dr. Nicholas Dodman, program director of the Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and diplomate of American College of Veterinary Behaviorists:

Biting with ears pinned back is a typical behavior of an intact horse or a gelding given steroids. If you walk down track shed rows, you can pretty much tell the stallions by the way the horses lay their ears back and charge at people with teeth bared or they do it only to horses being hot walked around the shed rows. The walker knows to give them a wide berth from the stalls and needs to have their horse strong in hand when going by.

I doubt very much that Firenze Fire's biting behavior was a reaction to his being on the receiving end of similar behavior some years before.

Kerry Thomas, founder of the Thomas Herding Technique and THT Bloodstock:

[This incident is not necessarily about exerting dominance] because dominance and physical expression do not always go hand-in-hand by the laws of herd dynamics in nature. In this scenario I view it as more related to the manner of physical expression in what we at THT call a “close-space-fighter”, which means for us horses that have a tendency to exaggerate their physical expression during times of protracted competitive stresses.

It's more a re-direction of focus than a fracture. The same amount of emotional energy that was housed in the forward competitive aspect gets shifted to what the horse views as a close space infraction. This shift in emotional energy disrupts physical efficiency and subsequently affects physical pace. In short, what you have is the mental horse going one direction and the physical horse another for those moments.

By and large I view these as unrelated, separate incidents. However that said, Firenze Fire's herd dynamic rhythms and competitive nature in close space battles can lend itself to a variety of both dishing-out & eliciting of arbitrary expressions, most of which are subtle, some of which, as we have seen, not so subtle.

The emotional expressions of these athletes reminds us we should never underappreciate the beauty of their nature, nor undervalue the impact of it.

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Ask Your Veterinarian Presented By Kentucky Performance Products: When Stall Rest Isn’t So Restful

Veterinarians at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital answer your questions about sales and healthcare of Thoroughbred auction yearlings, weanlings, 2-year-olds and breeding stock.

Question: Sometimes stall rest is part of a horse's recovery program but some horses don't tolerate it well and may even self-injure. What makes them do this, and what can be done about it?

Dr. Lindsey Rings, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital: Stall rest can be a very important and necessary part of your veterinarian's treatment plan for your horse and finding ways to make this time less stressful for you and your horse can be a challenge. Stall confinement can lead to the development of unwanted behaviors such as cribbing, weaving or stall walking. To help to avoid these behaviors, efforts to keep your horse engaged or entertained throughout the day should be utilized.

As herd animals, horses benefit from the companionship of other equids. Stall rest can make this difficult to impossible. Placing a calm companion animal within eyesight of a stall-rested horse can be of benefit and can help to reduce the stress in the stall confined horse. If a companion horse in an adjacent stall is impractical or impossible to provide, the placement of a shatterproof mirror in the stall may be of benefit. Horses that engage with their reflection are found to have reduced stress and anxiety.

Dr. Lindsey Rings

Toys placed in your horse's stall can occupy their down time. Commercial horse toys are available on the market and some even dispense treats or feed to your horse. The addition of stuffed animals, traffic cones, or make-it-yourself stall toys can also engage your horse's mind during confinement.

Adjustments to your horse's diet should also be implemented while maintaining a horse on stall rest. A stall-rested horse may not require the same caloric intake as they did while being more active. Therefore, reductions in concentrate/grain intake should be implemented. The use of a slow feeder or nibble net can extend the amount of time a horse spends consuming their hay and this can help to reduce their unoccupied time.

In a horse that is behaving in an unsafe manner towards either itself or its human care takers or whose behavior has remained retractable to management changes, the use of pharmaceuticals should be considered. Medications such as acepromazine, reserpine or fluphenazine have classically been used to reduce anxiety or induce long term sedation in stall confined horses. The use of trazadone orally is relatively new and seems to offer a safe and effective means to facilitate confinement and enhance calmness. Other products such as alpha-casozepine (Zlykene), magnesium sulfate and herbal combinations are also available and can be effective when used appropriately. Always consult with your veterinarian prior to starting treatment with any of these medications or supplements.

While stall rest is never easy for the horse or its human caretakers, there are several key areas of consideration that can help to make this event much less stressful on all involved.

Dr. Lindsey Rings aspired to be a veterinarian since she “could ride around in a car” with her mother, Marylou, who has a farm animal ambulatory practice and her father, Mike, an Internal Medicine Specialist himself.

After graduating from The Ohio State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012, Rings, a Columbus, Ohio native, interned in New Jersey before completing an internship in 2014 at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. After completing the internship, Rings returned to her alma mater and completed a three-year residency in Equine Internal Medicine while earning her Master's degree in Comparative and Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Rings practices at Rood & Riddle in Saratoga hospital as an internal medicine specialist working heavily with ambulatory veterinarians and other veterinary specialists.

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Can Horses Recognize Themselves In Mirrors?

Many horses like to look at their reflection in shiny surfaces, whether that's a mirror or the window of a trailer or barn. But do they know what they're looking at? The answer is complicated.

An animal's ability to recognize itself in a mirror is a building block of self-awareness; it highlights the cognitive and emotional skills necessary to develop social relationships and engage empathetic behaviors, say Drs. Paolo Baragli, Elisa Demuru, Chiara Scopa and Elisabetta Palagi.

The scientists acclimated four horses to an enclosure that had a mirror—first with the mirror covered, then with it uncovered. They then conducted a test where, in theory, a self-aware animal would perform a sequence of behaviors that leads them to understand that what the mirror is showing them is not another animal, but a reflection.

If the horse were to respond the way other self-aware animals did, they first would look in the mirror inquisitively, wondering who is in the mirror. They then would inspect the actual mirror, look behind the mirror and then test the mirror by making strange faces to see what the reflection does.

The scientists videotaped each of the horse's responses to the mirror the first time it was uncovered. After the initial exposure, the team placed an “X” on each horse's cheek, which the horse would only see when looking in the mirror. The researchers then observed the horses to see if they tried to remove the mark from their cheek, which would indicate that the horse recognized the reflection as his own.

The results from their study did not confirm that a horse could recognize his own reflection. The research team says this may be because the methodology was designed for primates; they also noted that horses simply may not be motivated to remove a mark from their face.

The team is hopeful that more research, possibly with a different testing format, will allow them to determine if a horse recognizes his own reflection.

Thoroughbred Aftercare Summit: Understanding OTTB Behavior And Equine Learning Key To Success

As anyone who has trained a horse knows, physical conditioning is only part of the equation — the mental side of an athlete's development can be just as critical to their career trajectory, if not more so. A recent virtual session of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Summit tackled questions surrounding learning theory and behavior in horses, and examined the way our understanding of equine learning can apply to retraining off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs).

Our academic understanding of the way horses learn doesn't always mesh with traditional training methods, according to Dr. Robin Foster, certified behavior consultant and research professor at the University of Puget Sound and Dr. Camie Heleski, equine lecturer at the University of Kentucky.

To understand the differences, it's important to know the basics of learning theory. Learning theory refers to the way an organism, from slugs to humans and anything in between, navigates its environment by creating associations between its behavior and its environment. Generally, different species are thought to have different capacities for learning and cognition based on academic research. On a basic level, an organism may learn from positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or punishment. Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, is designed to increase the frequency of a behavior, while punishment is designed to decrease the frequency of a behavior. The term positive reinforcement describes the addition of something the animal wants — in a horse's case, a treat or a scratch on the face or withers, as a reward for a desired response. Negative reinforcement refers to the removal of something the horse doesn't want.

“In the horse industry, we don't use positive reinforcement enough,” said Heleski. “Negative reinforcement is mainly what we use for traditional training. We squeeze the horse with our legs, applying pressure. The horse moves forward, we remove the pressure.”

Of those three choices, horses (and lots of other species) are shown to learn best through positive reinforcement. Punishment is commonly employed with horses, but isn't actually the most effective way to teach them.

“This is not only true with horses but it is perhaps especially true with horses — when horses do something that is unwanted, maybe it's unsafe, it's not a behavior we're looking for, it's annoying — it draws our attention,” said Foster. “I can't tell you how many people will say, 'I just want to stop that behavior.' It we want to decrease a behavior we don't want, we punish it. But there are better alternatives because punishment itself does not provide any alternative for the horse. It's really important to focus more on the behavior you want the horse to do ad make sure you reinforce that.”

It's easy to think punishment is effective, because it often generates a quick response, but Foster said it's rarely a permanent one. Because the horse hasn't been shown what the handler does want, it's likely the horse will repeat the undesired behavior eventually. This is especially problematic with Thoroughbreds, who Heleski and Foster agree are more sensitive to perceived threats and are therefore sensitive to punishment or reinforcement.

Heleski said she tends to encounter a bias against positive reinforcement in much of the equestrian world because many trainers are averse to giving horses frequent treats. The concern for many is the horse will come to expect food, and become mouthy or pushy in search of it. Most experts suggest handlers ignore pushy behavior and focus on rewards in specific instances where a horse is exhibiting desired behavior — keeping in mind that sometimes, the desired behavior is the absence of something, like kicking out or pawing in a grooming stall. Some horses are especially reactive to treats and will get excitable, searching for the food or trying to guess what their handler wants from them (which, at the start of positive reinforcement training, may be unclear to them). In those cases, Heleski suggests putting a gate or stall door between the horse and handler at first, or dispensing treats into a pan on the ground rather than feeding by hand.

If handlers are really concerned about “mugging” for treats, Heleski said research shows scratching on a horse's withers is a hugely impactful positive reinforcement. The attention, which mirrors mutual grooming, has been shown to decrease heart rate. Foals are also well known to enjoy scratches to their foreheads or the undersides of their necks.

One question Heleski and Foster are asked often is what to do about stereotypic behaviors like cribbing and weaving, which seem to be a focus for some horses no matter what type of reinforcement or punishment is used to stop them. Foster explained that although it may not feel this way, horses aren't doing these things to frustrate the humans around them.

“These repetitive behaviors that bother us — and they really bother people — they are very soothing to horses,” said Foster.

On a biochemical level, many of those behaviors have been shown to provide an enormous stress relief for the horse. It's a coping mechanism for anxiety about something around them. If the horse isn't doing significant harm to themselves, Foster suggested, it may be better to let these things ride. Otherwise, you're trying to take away a coping mechanism that could be very important to the horse, probably without providing alternate stress relief.

The good news for OTTB owners is not only that Thoroughbreds are known as a breed to be quick learners, but they also come off the track knowing a lot already. The racetrack routine includes lots of different stimuli that a horse wouldn't necessarily get in a riding barn.

“If I were to adopt a 3-year-old of another breed, most of the time they would not have had anywhere near the number of experiences that a 3-year-old Thoroughbred has had,” said Heleski. “I think that's a huge selling point to adopting these horses.”

Catch a full replay of the seminar below.

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