Young horse training, in conversation with Chess Watts

In this episode I talk to Chess about her journey with Gambit her young Exmoor pony. I met them when she needed help with his behaviour and the two have been a real joy to work with. My new accredited trainer course is now live at Understand Horses https://courses.understandhorses.com/courses/horse-trainer-foundation-certificate Check out my IAABC Foundation course here https://iaabcfoundation.org/courses/equine-cooperative-care/

In this episode Jessie Sams and I finally got around to talking to her about her life and work with horses and other topics like a biopsychosocial model, the 3 C's of communication, choice and consent (with Emily Kieson) , compassion for human horse carers and lots more. Jessie Sams is an animal behaviour consultant with a degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare Science from the University of Greenwich. She’s currently a Provisional member with the APBC and is working towards her certification as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist. Jessie has a wealth of experience with horses, having worked with showjumpers and racehorses, and now focuses on using consent-based approaches and trauma-informed care to improve animal-human relationships. You can find Jessie on https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088499575807 and her and Emily Kieson's work at https://equineintl.org/ https://medwinpublishers.com/IZAB/a-preliminary-investigation-of-preferred-affiliative-interactions-within-and-between-select-bonded-pairs-of-horses-a-first-look-at-equine-love-languages.pdfhttps://medwinpublishers.com/IZAB/a-preliminary-investigation-of-preferred-affiliative-interactions-within-and-between-select-bonded-pairs-of-horses-a-first-look-at-equine-love-languages.pdf

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.

Videos showing behaviour professionals sitting out bucks and rears gain thousands of likes, why? Above all other areas of equestrianism shouldn't behaviour be seen for what it really is and not used as a social media magnet? Or maybe I'm old and jaundiced!

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!

This time on the podcast I'm joined by friend and colleague Dr Robin Foster. For a very long time I've wanted to dip into Panksepp's work on emotions, which in some small way has been adopted by the clicker training world, and finally I got to chat with Robin. We STILL didn't get to valence...I think another chat is needed soon. I hope you enjoy Robin's this thought provoking chat. Robin Foster has a PhD in Animal Behavior and is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB), Certified Equine Behavior Consultant (CEBC) and Certified Fear Free Professional. After 20 years as full professor of Psychology at the University of Puget Sound, Robin retired but continued teaching and conducting research. Courses Robin teaches include an online graduate course in Applied Equine Behavior at Virgina Tech, an undergraduate course in the Behavior of Zoo Animals at the University of Washington, and a certificate course in Advanced Equine Behavior at the University of Guelph. Robin's research explores equine social behavior and cognition and horse-human interactions. She also serves as a research advisor for MSc and PhD students. Robin's Website Links that Robin references: We (Still!) Need to Talk About Valence: Contemporary Issues and Recommendations for Affective Science | Affective Science (springer.com) Three Pillars for the Neural Control of Appetite | Annual Reviews Affective Neuroscience Theory and Personality: An Update - PubMed (nih.gov)

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/