THIS All SOUNDS GREAT, KERRY...
BUT HOW DOES THT APPLY TO ME?

We understand that some of what we talk about here at Thomas Herding Technique can sometimes seem a little... lofty, perhaps, so here are a few "real world" examples of how our services can be applied and an explanation of our more commonly-used phrases.

Please visit our F.A.Q. for even more information on how our services may be of value to you.

REAL WORLD EXAMPLES

Pre-purchase yearling assessments
A key tool for Bloodstock Agents, Trainers & Owners, the behavior/potential assessment of the yearling being considered is nothing short of an added advantage. Pedigree alone is one thing; pedigree with the added annex of the THT EthoGrade Quick Start takes your game to another level and can help streamline your purchases saving you time and money. If a selection of 10 possible purchases is made, we can use the scale to narrow down the top 5 by grading their behavior and potentials based on the herd dynamics.

The Rescued & Retired
Any horse rescue or retirement center can tell you about the extreme variables that occur within the horse as they often arrive from unknown backgrounds. Making the horse happy in a new environment, useable in a new career, assessing and working out the many levels of equine depression and Human Attachment Disorder, (various forms of equine institutionalization) all should start from within. The THT EthoGrade is the window inside, used to break down and understand the equine psyche. The gradient scale can offer you a great starting point and help the horse be nurtured along without further psychological damage.

Performance
A deeper understanding of the horse can do many things from unveiling behavior issues to formatting an applying different training protocols designed specifically for your horse. Inconsistency in training and performance may very well stem from a skewed view of the herd dynamic. Gaining the knowledge of where your horse see's his or her place can offer a great insight into the ways in which the horse should be trained to reach the goals that have been set. This also impacts the horse in motion and is an aid to performance strategies, to revealing Behavior Overcompensations and works very well as an extended assist to further training progress.

Lay-Ups & Convalescence
The management of stress in the artificial environment is among the toughest tasks for the horse, the owner or the trainer/handler. An equine psychoanalysis of your horse offers an insight to the individual propensities within the horse and therefore is a tremendous asset. This monitoring of behavior during recovery is the guide to the first step in preparing the horse to return to his/her career. It is also a beneficial monitoring service for the mare during a rough pregnancy as it can be an aid to determining her stress levels and mental condition.

Breeding Characteristics
Among the most influential of assets is having all of the information one can acquire during the selection process. Breeding for potential and behavioral characteristics should be as much a part of the process of making a match as are the physical pedigrees. Working alone or in unison with the pedigree consultant, THT EthoGrade Plus, offers an extra dimension to the process. THT's Double P, Pedigree + Personality is a special feature of EthoGrade Plus. We also here apply the THT 70/30 Sire/Dam ratio; 70% of the behavioral characteristics from the Sire, focused on the Individual Herd Dynamics, with 30% of the female's Group Herd Dynamics, as the handed-down ingredients, are considered within EthoGrade Plus.

Pre-Race Assessments
Strategies formulated pre-race can have a deeper meaning when accompanied by the added knowledge of where the horse to be ridden is fitting into the herd dynamic. Understanding how the horse is interpreting the environment and the various stimuli as both Jockey and horse are preparing and being prepared, can be a tremendous asset during the ride. Gaining a better understanding of the horses' pre-race psyche, could make all the difference.

DEFINITIONS

Assimilated Imprinting
Assimilated Imprinting is a socialization technique for the individual horse based on the discovery and understanding of the IHD. A combination of all that makes the horse who he/she is within the current environment; and the rebuilding of the foundation of the equine puzzle by blending the environment and triggers into new associated memories. Well suited for the normally well adjusted horse that is being introduced to a new environment, or the horse in training transition.

Foal Imprinting
Proper foal imprinting starts before the foal is born. Foal imprinting should be approached with an understanding of the dams' propensities and those of the sire when possible. The initial goals are what THT refers to as the Human Companion Project; introducing the foal to his/her world in such a way that allows them to accept, from a natural herding aspect, the human as a normal companion and leader. The future goals of the foal can then be considered and specialized imprinting techniques can subsequently be implemented with the best interest of the horse in mind at all times.

Herding Holdup
Horses in close proximity unable to physically assert their position within the band hierarchy will build a great deal of unvented stress. The need to jostle and affirm the herd arrangement continues beyond the pasture and into the barn. Many cases of Herding Holdup occur when two or more horses within a confined area, stalled, cannot by movement set the hierarchy, the build-up of stress from this simple obstacle can have lingering affects when the horse is free to move about. Herding Holdup can be an imposition to training and abhorrent behavior issues can also be a resulting factor and can result in future breeding issues.

Light Touch Therapy
Thomas Herding Technique's application of Light Touch Therapy offers a very high degree of equine stress management with concentrated stress dissemination. Light Touch Therapy is neither massage therapy nor acupressure in the purest understandings. Light Tough Therapy offers the dual advantage of neurovascular and neuromuscular stimulation with the cathartic benefit of natural stress dissemination. We use physical comfort as an avenue to connect with and stimulate the spiritual, so as to embody optimum stress release. THT Light Touch Therapy can benefit the athlete in training leading up to, or even on-site at the event, LTT is also uniquely beneficial for lay-ups and convalescence.

Natural Herd Dynamic
Within a normal herd there can be a nearly continuous jostling of position, a hierarchy that is manifested by constant challenges, especially for those below, or adjutant, (just below) the lead mare of the herd. This is a natural herd posture that ensures the ultimate safety and survival of the herd itself, and does indeed happen in the barn, though to an obvious limited capacity that can carry over when the animals are put out together. An understanding of this basic herd dynamic is at the very heart of Thomas Herding Technique development.

Individual Herd Dynamic
The makeup of all social animals is the intricate puzzle that is the individuals within the group. IHD is a term used to describe the way the horse sees his/herself within the group. What level of the hierarchy is the horse's comfort zone? This embraces how stimulus is interpreted and the level of influence the individual has over the group. An understanding of this is highly beneficial to streamlining training and troubleshooting performance problems.

Group Herd Dynamic
Group Herd Dynamic is relative to the individuals' influence over the group, and how much the group influences the individual. Each horse is made up of both the IHD & GHD, with the GHD showing its face very often when a group of horses is in motion. If you have four horses in motion in relative close proximity, each individual will likely have a different number of others in their GHD, and be influenced by the one or more within it. Horse A may be in between B & C, but may only respond to the movements of horse B, when horse C is influenced by both A & B. Horse D, even amidst the others, may not reflect the influences of any of the others, and move ahead. Understanding the GHD plays an important role in assisting the athlete in his or her performance by processing the GHD and elevating the confidence of the individual.

Potential Withholding
Any environmental act or influence that directly or indirectly inhibits the equine and/or causes undue stress that inhibits the potential of the athlete.