Alternative Perspective on Positive Reinforcement with Horses

Question: How do I feel about positive reinforcement with horses?

First if you ask a group of people what positive reinforcement means to them, they will give you answers varying from clicker training to offering treats as a reward, etc. so let me share my alternative perspective on this.

I've recently had several clients on the hunt for prospective young horses, which has brought up many conversations about dynamics in horse behavior and herd balance.

Folks nowadays rarely get to see "horses being horses," and unfortunately many horses have limited social experiences as youngsters, which can greatly affect how they mature, their confidence and their curiosity in the world around them.

If you have the opportunity to watch horses together, you'll start to realize how much CONSTANT support they get from other herd members. It isn't just about the lead mare running the herd, but each horse has something to contribute, and there is a continual conversation, or support, that is occurring among herd members.

Now let's think of the human/horse dynamic and conversation between the two of them. People frequently assume the horse will "be okay" in a human's world. And though the horse has the amazing skill to adapt and participate in things completely foreign and unnatural to them, there needs to be a foundation of clear and specific conversations built upon one another, so that the horse can succeed in the human's world.

So how do we have a conversation with the horse? The most natural way is through the concept of pressure and release. Unfortunately in human terms, we think of pressure as a negative thing as in, "work pressures, family pressures, etc." But to horses, pressure makes sense. It is how they communicate with one another, whether through spatial or physical pressure.

So the challenge is first for the human to recognize what pressure even is to the horse. You can create pressure from 100' away or from how you are touching your horse. The challenge is for you to be able to read the horse's feedback as you present pressure, and learn to recognize when he is showing defensiveness, concern, fear, feeling relaxed, or curious about it.

That feedback tells you what things are creating bother in the horse and what you need to address so the horse is not feeling concerned through your pressures and attempt at communicating.

Pressure should and can be used to guide, to support and help the horse, if he is not defensive towards it. It is so crucial that your "tools" for communicating do not make the horse weary.

That is why when you walk in to the stall and go to halter and your horse looks away from you, or you attempt to lead and the horse drags on the rope, or you go to mount and the horse moves away, matters. It is all feedback from the horse telling you that he is uncomfortable with the pressure. If that level of pressure causes concern in the horse, how does he feel about all the pressures that will follow as you to attempt to communicate?

So, for every horse various types of "pressure" can feel different, so the "release" is going to be different. To me, the release of pressure, whether spatial or physical, is a thank you, or positive reinforcement.

Most folks, rarely offer a release, as they don't realize how much pressure they are continually imposing on the horse.

In the beginning of the horse's learning with the human, things like the "halt," typically thought of as a command, though I perceive it as a release, or a positive reinforcement, if it allows the horse to mentally, physically and emotionally relax.

From the halt starting as the initial positive reinforcement, as a horse's education evolves, his experiences will expand in what makes him feel emotionally quiet. Things like walking out- soft and thoughtful, standing in the stream, playing "games" and searching out the soccer ball, etc. can all start to feel like the release, or positive reinforcement.

There is no one "behavior" that should feel like the positive reinforcement from the human towards the horse. The world around us is continually changing and the horse needs to feel confidence in being adaptable and feel positive reinforcement from the rider for his willing and soft thoughtful participation, rather than offering patternized, conditioned responses.

The release can come in any shape or form, and if it offers a positive feeling in the horse, I see it as positive reinforcement. So for me the more thoughtful, present, and participative the horse is to have a conversation, the better the horse feels, the more willing he is to participate, the more his time with me feels like a "positive reinforcement," or support, similar to what he would receive from being in the herd.