Dr Marc Pierard holds a PhD in applied ethology from KULeuven and an MSc in zoology from the University of Antwerp. He is a senior lecturer in animal and veterinary sciences at the University of Lancashire. He has worked with police horses, horses at riding schools and horses partnered for equine assisted services. Besides horses he has participated in research on a range of animals (elephants, gorillas, bonobos, oryx antelopes, wolves, African wild dogs, parrots and monkeys) both in-situ and ex-situ. He was a civil servant for 18 years, working on aspects of environmental and conservation policy.
His teaching focuses on methods in measuring animal behavior, behavioral indicators of animal welfare and evidence-based management and training of horses and other animals. This includes guest lecturing on postgraduate certificates in equine assisted therapy at multiple educational institutions. He has provided training for horses and staff in evidence-based handling of horses for a local organization in equine assisted therapy and was invited to present on the topic of evidence-based horse training and equine welfare at meetings of national organizations in equine assisted services in Belgium.
“Horses have provided services to humans for thousands of years and helped shape our societies. The nature of those services has changed in industrialized countries but they are still supporting humans in many capacities, including equine assisted services. I feel it is our duty to provide the horses with the best care possible. In my opinion, that means applying evidence-based management and training techniques and prioritizing their welfare. Robust scientific research is crucial to keep optimizing the evidence base needed to do that. HHRF supports such research and the education of people to apply it correctly.”