Lead a Horse to Water

Are science based or evidence based titles a good idea?

How do we feel about science, especially in light of the recent dog study.

Does science absolutely support R+ based/clicker training?

How science has made me cross and how I'm learning to cut more slack!

Heads up my Horse Trainer Foundation Certificate Course (accredited by Rural Skills) will be coming online in 2025, details will be released by Understand Horses very soon!

It will come as no big surprise that intentionally combining positive and negative reinforcement isn't something I'm huge on. I was surprised to hear experts/academics lack of understanding regarding things like shaping and backchaining and reducing reinforcement without frustration.

It's a bit ranty :)

As a young horse trainer I was very aware of creating situations where the horse could 'guess' the behaviour- we called it anticipation. Back in those days I didn't know about using reward based training but anticipation was a great way to create a willing and enthusiastic horse. Sadly some of the old ways haven't been passed on- in some cases that's a good thing, in others I think it means we lose a little of the common horse sense.

Join me in considering how we can motivate horses and be better trainers.

We owe every animal in our care the ability to know how to interact with our world and us. That requires some basic training. I rarely see the basics done well or even at all.

My courses at www.understandhorses.com and www.iaabcfoundation.org

I've had a tiring few weeks and my poor brain and body hurt. How might it feel for our horses when they are tired and we ask them to perform behaviours when training?

Taking note of changes in behaviour might help us spot problems early.

This is part 1 of my summer shorts 2024, if you have questions you'd like answering in another short episode message me!

In this episode I was again joined by the fabulous Heather McManamy of Equus Integratus.

Our focus was on bridleless riding but the skills we discuss go so much deeper than riding.

Heather shares some great resources on her website https://equusintegratus.com/ on Facebook and Instagram

Articles and videos can be found here

https://equusintegratus.com/resources/videosarticles/

In this episode I am thrilled to talk wild and feral horses with the wonderful Samantha (Sam) Couper PhD. We delve into Sam's back story right up to her present day training with her own horses and her work as a behaviour consultant.

Sam is Board Chair of the Onaqui Catalogue Foundation, a group dedicated to compiling citizen observations of the Onaqui wild horses in Utah, USA, in the pursuit of research and public education. With the foundation, Sam teaches a course on wild horses at the University of Utah three times a year.

Where to find Samantha Couper PhD:

https://equineabcs.com

https://onaquicatalogue.org

https://www.youtube.com/@onaquiwildhorsesutahusa3122

https://www.facebook.com/equineabcs

https://www.instagram.com/equineabcs

https://www.tiktok.com/@equineabcs