Much of what Pembroke writes is remarkably enlightened and insightful, particularly given that it was written several hundred years ago.  I will reproduce an example of this writing below:

CHAP. VIII

The method of curing restivenesses, vices, defences, starting and stumbling, etc.

Before any mention is made of the different kinds of restivenesses, vices, and defences, etc. it is not amiss to observe, that a horse's being good or ill-natured greatly depends on the temper of the person, that is put about him, especially at first; and consequently one cannot be too careful and watchful in this point.

Whenever a horse makes resistance, one ought, before a remedy or correction is thought of, to examine very minutely all the tackle about him, if any thing hurts or tickles him, whether he has any natural or accidental weakness, or in short any the least impediment in any part.  For want of this precaution, and previous inspection, many fatal, and often irreparable disasters happen: the poor dumb animal is frequently accused falsely of being restive and vicious; is used ill without reason, and being forced into despair, is, in a manner, obliged to act accordingly, be his temper and inclination ever so well disposed.  It must never be forgot, that it is necessary to work on the minds of horses, at first by slow motions which give them time to reflect.  By degrees every thing may be done most rapidly by us, the good temper, docility, and obedience of a horse, that almost any thing may be done with him by good-nature, and science.  Even the domestic, worthy, friendly dog is not more susceptible of education.

Pembroke does tackle the subject of punishment also - whilst he sees harsh punishment as generally unnecessary if a horse is well trained from the outset, he does go out of his way to describe how to use it ... effectively ... (you'll see what I mean) in certain circumstances.

Rearing is a bad vice, and in weak horses especially, a very dangerous one.  Whilst the horse is up, the rider must yield his hand, and when the horse is descending he must vigorously determine him forwards by approaching his legs to the horse's sides: if this be done at any other time, but whilst the horse is coming down, it may add a spring to his rearing and make him fall backwards.  With a good hand on them, horses seldom persist in this vice; for they are themselves naturally much afraid of falling backwards.  If this method, which I have mentioned, fails, (which it scarcely ever will) you must make the horse kick up behind, by getting somebody on foot to strike him behind with a whip; or, if that will not effect it, by pricking him with a goad.

Pembroke seems like the type of man who calls a spade a spade.  To his credit, his general attitude towards punishment is described in the following:

When a rider quarrels with his horse, he is generally the dupe of his passion, and the fray commonly ends to his disadvantage.  Whenever you see a man beating any animal, you will almost always find, that the man is in the wrong, and the animal in the right.

What a fantastic insight into the culture that surrounded horse training in the 18th century. 

I headed off to Birmingham to the BSAVA congress in April, to attend the Companion Animal Behaviour Therapy Study Group (CABTSG) day.  CABTSG usually try to cover a variety of species, however when I saw the initial list of speakers for the 2009 conference I was disappointed to see a distinct lack of equine topics!  Cats, dogs, rabbits, lizards and all sorts of other creatures are considered to be companion animals, however it is usually cats and dogs that get all the airtime. 

Technically horses are considered companion animals within the UK too, although they do seem to sit on the periphery of the group.  Perhaps this is partially because in wider Europe they are classified as a food-producing animal (as they are killed for meat in some countries - which will remain nameless!) ...

Although I would have preferred to just moan about the lack of equine content, I decided to be brave and put my hand up to do a short 10 min talk on the current state of equine behaviour modification training, as carried out by riders and mainstream instructors.

On the day there was an audience of around 70 people, mostly veterinarians and professional animal behaviourists.  Fairly daunting!  This is not my usual scene, however my husband is a behaviourist so he recognised a few faces which made integrating a little easier.

As I was researching my topic, I was reminded of how little horse training techniques and equipment have changed over the millenia.  I found photographs of spurs and bits that I had taken while at the Louvre, and other museums, and managed to match them up with their very similar modern-day counterparts. 

I can't help but feel that a change is in the wind though, that advances in our understanding of horses and other animals may allow us to achieve greater results than we previously thought possible.  The equipment and techniques employed in dog training has changed markedly over the past 20 years, and for the better I think.

Hopefully the same is in store for us?

Mat and I also spent half a day in the Louvre looking through their amazing collection. I couldn’t help but notice how strongly horses featured in art, and human culture throughout the ages. I have included my favourite shot for the day (see pic).

Check out the lovely riding pants (just goes to show that jodhs have always been unflattering), and the tiger teeth right about to land on that horse’s rump! No wonder the bloke riding him needs to use such a strong bit to keep the horse from shooting forward ...

It’s amazing when you think about it – horses have played an integral role in the development of human civilisation. They allowed us to transport ourselves long distances, pull heavy loads, go charging into battle, and even provided us with food, milk, cheese and skins.

Amazing creatures.