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Contrafreeloading in Horses: Why Horses Choose to Work for Food agency contrafreeloading equine enrichment equine welfare foraging behaviour horse behaviour horse care horse psychology positive reinforcement training puzzle feeders trauma-informed horse care Dec 08, 2025

Contrafreeloading is a term that I haven’t heard in the horse world for a while, but recently I have had a few conversations where it’s cropped up.

It is a fascinating behaviour observed across many animal species, where animals choose to ‘work’ for food or rewards even when the same reward is free...

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Be Trauma Informed equine welfare horse behaviour trauma-informed horse care Nov 01, 2024
I recently had a lovely conversation with a member who has taken on two horses with past trauma.
 
Supporting horses that have experienced trauma in the first few months of rehoming isn’t about training; it's about understanding.
 
It takes time ⏰️for horses to adjust to new environments
...
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What's Love Got To Do With It? equine welfare horse psychology horse/human bond Jun 01, 2024

What’s love got to do with it?

A question was recently raised by one of our members that really struck a chord with me. She asked “Do horses really love us or is it just Stockholm Syndrome?”. Stockholm Syndrome is a theory that tries to explain why hostages sometimes develop a psychological bond wi...

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