Sometimes a horse shows undesired emotions during training, like biting, mugging, signs of frustration or even aggression. What can you do to change it? My mentor always told me it is foolish to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results. How do you break this circle? Change the setup […]
How to change emotions in your horse during training Read More »
Years ago deworming meant stress for me and my first pony. Sholto was not really hard to deworm, but I had to be cautious. He could move his head down in a split second and sometimes that meant that I pinched the syringe in his palate. Or, I emptied the syringe while he was moving
Teach your horse to accept oral medication (deworming) Read More »
Sometimes previous training benefits you in situations you never could have expected. So can trick training. Many tricks may seem useless when you train them, however they can benefit you in surprising ways. Here are some examples.
5 Benefits of Trick Training in daily life Read More »
The statement that a horse only works for \’the treat\’ and \’not for you\’ is one that I have heard many times. In fact this is one of the most common arguments used by people who use negative reinforcement to train their horses.  What motivates the horse: you or the food I also prefer to think in terms of \’motivation\’
In a previous post a while ago I talked about How to start clicker training: introducing the clicker. Once your horse knows the click means a reward is on it\’s way, you can start clicking for specific behaviours. Targeting The next lesson can be targeting. In targeting you ask the horse to touch an object with
Clicker Training 101: How to start, part II Read More »
Who hasn\’t heard the statement that \’if you train with treats (like in positive reinforcement), your horse doesn\’t respect you, he will do it only for the food and not for you\’. This is an interesting myth to debunk because there is so much to it. \’Training with treats\’ Not everyone who \’trains with treats\’ is
Myth Monday: \’Treats in training and Respect don\’t go well together\’ Read More »
It was 1999 when I heard about clicker training for horses. I knew dolphins were trained with a whistle and fish to reward them, but that was about everything I knew. Â I decided to try it out with my 21 year old pony Sholto. I learned about learning theory during my study Animal Management, but
Change to Positive Reinforcement Read More »
In a study done in Norway researchers taught 23 horses to communicate to their trainers if they wanted blankets (rugs) \’put on\’, \’taken off\’ or \’unchanged\’. The horses were taught 3 different symbols to express their choice. If they chose \’unchanged\’ they kept their blankets on if they wore one and didn\’t get one on if they
Fact Friday: \’Horses can learn to communicate their preferences about blanketing\’ Read More »
Only recently I heard about this persistent myth. It is a myth that is frequently shared amongst dog trainers and in the marine mammal world. The idea behind this myth is that predators are used to \’working hard\’ in order to get food while prey animals (herbivores), like horses, don\’t have to work for their food. \’The most valuable thing
Myth Monday: Clicker Training doesn\’t work for Prey Animals Read More »
Mat training is one of my key lessons in positive reinforcement training. It is a very versatile exercise and a good base for more advanced exercises. Standing on a mat Standing on a simple puzzle mat is a fun exercise to teach your horse. The goal is simple:Â the horse has to stand with his two
How Mat Training Paid Off Read More »
