Why We Use Positive Horse Training

While I've been working at EOTS for years – I also have my own 3 horses. Mine are rescues too, the littlest is a pony who is one of EOTS's rescues, then I have a small black draft mare, Tank, and a large Belgian draft, Revel. Tank was my first horse. While I've learned more than I can say by volunteering at EOTS owning and living with my own horse really ended up being a crash course in horse care, nutrition and especially training!

Before Tank I was a dreamer. I read every book on natural horse training, communicating clearly with your horse, speaking their language. Wow it was different with a real horse! While Tank progressed slow and steady with the basics she had some glaringly obvious issues we needed to work on. The most obvious was her fear. She was afraid of the world – and wouldn't leave whatever spot she decided was her safe spot, her stall and paddock. Another big issue was that when she was overwhelmed, frightened or confused she would run away to her safe place – and there was nothing you could do to stop her.
When this began my heart was broken. I had always dreamed of training and riding my own horse, of having that magical relationship you hear of with everyone else. Why couldn't we make this work?! I was so frustrated – then I realized, so was she.

I needed to find a way to communicate with her that was clear and left no room for confusion or questioning. I needed to find a way to work with her that was based on her wanting to do what I ask, because there is no amount of force I can use to make her do what I want, if she doesn't also want to. I can't out muscle her, I need to outsmart her, I needed to make her think that doing what I asked was the best thing ever.
With nothing left to loose I experimented with a training style I had heard of on the internet. I found a few good videos on how to gets started – and I tried it. And it worked. It worked fast! The training style is based on Positive Reinforcement (reward based training). I started by teaching her just to stand still and face forward – setting the president that if she wants her reward she must always be contained and politely respecting my space. At the same time I taught her a bridge signal. This signal can be the click of the clicker or a smoochy sound I make myself, or any unique sound that won't happen by accident. This bridge signal “bridges” the gap between the action the horse performs and the reward that will follow. The “bridge” signal buys me time to get her reward and enables me to mark behaviors that I can't be rewarding while they're in progress (jumping or lunging for example).

Once I taught her how to be respectful of my space for her reward and what the bridge signal means – I taught her to target. I held out a crop and when she touched it with her nose she got her bridge+reward. I used the target to teach pretty much everything else from here on out! She's learned to lunge at liberty (in a full paddock, forming an even circle around me – not a round pen), to lead at liberty over and around obstacles, to give to pressure and some other simple tricks. I also spent a great deal of time “counter conditioning” her to objects that frighten her. I started with simple things, plastic bags, plastic bottles with noisy things inside – I would make these objects come alive and reward when she showed signs of calmness or curiosity. Soon she began to realize all these silly objects Mom came with wonderful things. She soon loved whatever I could throw at her – she reaches to touch objects she's never seen before.

I like to explain to people that when I got my Tank she was a “shoot first, ask questions later” type of girl – she'd spook and explode at anything that could, maybe, be a threat. But now she's gained so much confidence, she's beginning to “ask questions” first, she's beginning to let curiosity win out over fear. I have continued to learn more and more about the training style, learning more about the science and the art of how to train using Positive Reinforcement.

I handle her almost completely at liberty (without tack) now. The only times she wears tack is in “minimal choice” situations, like for the vet or farrier. She knows in these situations she must comply – but because I've spent so long reinforcing these behaviors at liberty – it takes the stress away from when she has no choice over the situation. Because I work with her mostly without tack, I am forced to listen to her, understand how she's feeling and working around her feelings that day – I'm forced to train her at her speed. It leaves me without a choice but to work as a leader and partner – rather than a boss.
I have never felt such a partnership with a horse before as when my horse has complete choice whether or not to work for me, and knowing that as a fair leader I'm rewarding her and making the experience something she enjoys as much as I do.
I have found my partner in Tank.

Since I've found how wonderful this is, how easy to understand and how happy and eager horses become with this training style I've begun to try it with the horses at the rescue. The young volunteers have practiced it with their horses and have learned how to trust their favorite horses. They've learned they don't need to use tools, force or pain to control their animal – but instead how to work in partnership with their friend. They have each picked their favorites to work with – I love watching their relationships grow and their goals change and expand as they get better and better. If you follow our facebook you'll be sure to see lots of pictures and videos of the girls working with their favorite horses.