When to Reward, for What?
What you'll learn
- Operant Conditioning
- Behaviourism
- Reinforcement Schedules
- Horsemanship
Requirements
- A love of horses and an open mind
Description
Have you ever wondered
"How can I use food rewards in a way that does not micromanage their behaviours?"
"Is it healthy or acceptable to use food rewards in a variable or unpredictable way?"
"How can I de-escalate how much food rewards I use in training, so my relationship with my horse is less transactional, and more open to feel and emotional connection?"
This mini course from Emotional Horsemanship; WHEN TO REWARD, FOR WHAT, covers all of this in a short time frame with both theoretical discussions and practical demonstrations.
Emotional Horsemanship is a horse training and handling protocol that prioritises how horses feel, before we prioritise what horses do.
Food rewards are fabulous in training. This course will not present the argument for SHOULD we use food reward. They are a valuable tool in behavioural modification of a horse. But the question is HOW to use them. Is there more than one way we can use them?
Can we even use them... unpredictably?
Common among R+ trainers is criticism for "mixers" or those who use unpredictable food reward.
Yet, using the same science that informs R+, there is a behavioural paradigm that allows us to be unpredictable with food reward and avoid sending horses over threshold, creating frustration behaviours, or frying out horses brain.
For many of us, de-escalating how much food we employ in training is SO important. We want our relationship with our horses to be more than a transaction of behaviour for food. We want to create space for an emotional connection, and communication via feel: or emotional expression.
Behaviourism is a part of this rich tapestry. But it is not the scienctific prison bars to bind us only to peer reviewed practises.
To be liberated past a high rate of food reward, to start the process of emotionally maturing with our horses, we can use a little discussed and understood behavioural tool to get there.
Reinforcement Schedules.
This mini course presents just this topic. With a Theory section, and Practical section. ENJOY!
Who this course is for:
- Horse owners who want answers to HOW to give food rewards in variable ways, without harming their horse
Instructor
- 4.9 Instructor Rating
- 432 Reviews
- 908 Students
- 4 Courses
I am a horse trainer, equestrian performance coach, international clinician and hoof care provider living in Spain.
I am Australian by birth, and spent all my adult life in Europe. My previous career as a professional dancer gave me a powerful empathetic insight into the lives that many horses live as;
-Creatures of movement
-Without a voice
-Forced to perform under stress, duress and pain
-The importance of movement expression
-The connection between movement and emotion
-How important our feet are to our physiological and emotional well being
My professional certification in Horse Training, Rider Instruction, Groundwork and Hoofcare was in Poland at a unique school that always placed the horse first.
Since then my research and professional experiences has continued to expand my repertoire of training practises and theoretical principals.
Emotional Horsemanship online course is a introduction into this approach.
Barefoot Basics is my foundation for Hoofcare for Horse Owners
When to Reward, For What? Is a short course on Reinforcement Schedules and Food Rewards in Training.
Body Instrument Method Is Movement and Body Conditioning for Equestrians according to Modern Movement Science