This page is a safe place for people who love horses and who are interested in science-based horse training, As the owner of this page, I would like it to be a discussion forum that promotes the use of positive reinforcement in horse training but accepts and understands the benefits of negative reinforcement or “pressure and release” as well. I should note that I am in the beginning stages of learning about positive reinforcement training with horses and am not starting this page with the intention of teaching you all how it’s done. I would also like it to be a place for us to share our studies of learning theory, operant and classical conditioning and behavioral psychology.
In my own training, I aim to use as much positive reinforcement as possible. I also try to incorporate the use of negative reinforcement at the level of information only - without quick, indiscriminate, formulaic escalation. As a trainer with a “natural horsemanship” background, it is a challenge to not escalate, and I accept the challenge.
My goal is to become a skilled enough in the use of positive reinforcement training that I do not have to use the escalation of pressure at all. I want to be able to provide information to the horse solely through positive reinforcement, and “pressure” in the way of touch that does not get heavier and body language/movement that does not get bigger.
Learning about horse training is a never-ending process, a journey, a quest. This page is intended to share information among like-minded and open-minded people to help all of us along our way.
If you share my beliefs and want to discuss these topics on this page, I would absolutely LOVE to hear you. If you do not share my beliefs but are able to be respectful and diplomatic, I would absolutely LOVE to hear from you as well.
HOWEVER, RUDENESS AND LANGUAGE THAT IS DISRESPECTFUL TO OTHERS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. It’ s my page so I get to decide what constitutes rudeness and disrespect. I make no apologies for this.
My beliefs as a horse trainer and horse handling/riding instructor are these:
I revere horses. I also love them. I think it is OK to be sentimental about them and follow scientific principles at the same time.
I think there is more to horse training than science. Awareness, presence and energy exchange are also important in working with horses (and all creatures). These elements of horse training along with the necessary skills of timing, balance and ability to read the horse’s body language and verbal communications also add an element of art to horse training. An effective horse trainer that uses the minimal amount of pressure possible is an artist. I am striving for that balance between art and science.
I believe that teaching people about horse training, handling and riding is more important to the success of the horse/human team than just training the horse.
I want to provide horses and their humans with the clearest information possible in the kindest way possible when teaching and interacting with them.
I want to listen to the horse and human’s feedback to my teaching and adjust according to what works best for each individual learner.
I want the horses and humans I teach to have a choice in their learning and to provide input into it.
I want to leave myself open to learn from my horse and human students, not only teach them.
I want to encourage horse owners to provide their horses with a very enriched life. For a domesticated herd animal whose feral relatives graze up to 18 hours and travel many miles per day, an enriched life includes as much freedom of movement as possible while still allowing for safety, comfort, and health considerations. An enriched horse life also includes physical access to horse companions whenever possible. And finally, it includes free-choice access to forage at all times, with the exception of horses with specific health problems for whom this is detrimental.
About Me:
I have had horses in my family all my life and on my own property since the age of four. My own first pony came to me at the age of eight. I did 4H with my horses but did not have lessons or instruction beyond the very basics of “kick to go, pull to stop, move your reins to turn, and don’t fall off” until I was an adult. So I learned how to stay on, but not how to ride until much later. I grew up riding the logging roads of Central Kitsap County in Washington State with my sister, Marci, and best friend, Shannon. We mostly rode ba****ck and would be gone for 12 hours at a time. On our own, rambling through the woods, eating huckleberries and blackberries along the way. Lucky me.
My horse training education began when I was 28 and, until recently, consisted mostly of the use of negative reinforcement. I had 16 weeks of study at a “natural horsemanship” school between 2005 and 2006 and did many clinics as well as a lot of home studying on the subject between 2003 and 2014.
In 2014, I switched my focus from natural horsemanship to dressage and rider biomechanics. I learned to teach my horse about dressage mostly through the use of negative reinforcement but my main instructor does use some positive reinforcement, however, not in a systematic way. This is partly what opened my eyes to the use of rewards versus releases in horse training.
By 2018, my interest in the use of positive reinforcement training with horses became stronger thanks to a couple of my students who are experienced in training/handling raptors using positive reinforcement. So, I started studying. So far I have read Karen Pryor’s Don’t Shoot the Dog, Alizé Veillard Muckenstrum’s Humane, Science-Based Horse Training, Rachael Draaisma’s Calming Signals of Horses, Smart Horse: Understanding the Science of Natural Horsemanship by Jennifer M Macleay DVM as well as many articles and blog posts on the subject of positive reinforcement training with horses. I have also watched Jésus Rosales-Ruiz’s presentation on “Poisoned Cues,” gotten partway in to Alexandra Kurland’s online course, finished Mustang Maddy’s “Introduction to Positive Reinforcement” pathway, and organized and attended a 4-day clinic with Alexandra Kurland. Along with a couple of my students, I also started a science-based horse training study club. We assign readings on science-based horse training and meet (mostly) monthly to discuss what we learned.
Who knows where 2020 will take me, but I know I will continue on my quest for all the magical pony knowledge I can fit in my brain and horsey experiences I can make time for. And of course, science :)
