Scentwork for Horses

"My training has been given a whole new dimension, and the effect of the training has been mind-blowing with each of the highly sensitive competition horses (of various disciplines) I am working with."

Susan Kj rg rd, Director Blue Berry Hill, Equine Instructor and former Grand Prix rider, Denmark

"Giving horses the opportunity to use their scenting ability restores natural behaviours and anatomical functional movement. It also bestows autonomy, facilitating positive confidence through freedom of movement and thought."

Julia Robertson, Director and Founder of Galen Myotherapy, UK

Scentwork for Horses is the first practical guide on how to implement scentwork into the lives of domesticated horses, enhancing behaviour, welfare, and the human-animal bond. Scentwork is a new discipline in the field for horse and handler, and expert author Racha l Draaisma arms the reader with a pallet of information to enable them to put this technique into action. As well as theoretical background information on the nose of the horse and biomechanics, Draaisma discusses how scentwork improves horses' learning abilities, development, socialisation, and their bond with the handler. Readers will learn how to have their horses explore their environment, participate in scentwork games and follow a footstep track to find a missing person or food bag.

Easily accessible for anybody working with horses at any level, scentwork can be done in small areas as well as in larger spaces on various surfaces. Whether veterinarian, behaviourist, trainer, animal-assisted therapist, equine physiotherapist, osteopath, or interested horse owner, this book promises to bring both you and the horse enormous benefits, strengthening the human-animal bond.

Racha l Draaisma has always lived with and had a passion for dogs and horses. In 2002, she decided to make it her profession. Achieving several diplomas, she started to work full time as a trainer and behavioural consultant, first with dogs, later with horses. Her best-selling book Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses, published by CRC Press in 2017, has been translated into several languages. Another pillar of Draaisma's working life with horses revolves around equine mental stimulation and scentwork, and she has developed an extensive method to undertake scent tracking with horses, a new tool in enriching the human-equine relationship. Draaisma travels throughout Europe and the globe to provide workshops and lectures on calming signals of horses, equine mental stimulation, and scentwork.

You can purchase scent bags to aid your scentwork practice at the author's personal website https: //calmingsignalsofhorses.com/scentwork-for-horses/