Modifying your horse’s behavior to make working with the horse easier and safer

Over the weekend, I had the privilege of attending an excellent Horse Owner’s Seminar at MSU College of Veterinary Medicine about modifying your horse’s behavior to make working with the horse easier and safer. The presenter was Dr. Gemma Pearson, BVMS Cert AVP (EM) MRCVS. She is the Senior Clinical Scholar, The Royal (Dick) Veterinary Equine Hospital at the University of Edinburgh, and she is also the Veterinary Liaison Officer for the International Society of Equitation Science (ISES)
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During her lecture she presented several case studies and tons of valuable information about everything from Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning to Shaping and Retraining Unwanted Behaviors. Presentations from Dr. Pearson similar to the one she presented at MSU can be found online at:
​http://awc.upei.ca/files/awc/awc_pearson_intro_learning_theory.pdf
http://awc.upei.ca/files/awc/awc_pearson_learning_theory_in_practice.pdf

"There are no bad horses, just badly trained and confused horses"

I connected the most with her discussion about the 7 steps to retraining unwanted behavior as she focused a lot on the importance of how establishing a strong "Go" and "Stop/Back" in hand will relate in so many other areas. She utilizes a Dressage whip and clicker training, and watching the results in some of her case studies was truly amazing. She was able to take a horse who was quite dangerous for trailering and have him walking quietly onto a trailer within less than 30 minutes after working on his responses to pressure on the "head collar" (aka halter).

After the clinic, I knew I had to try out this rather basic technique on my three mares, and the results are here in these videos for you. Keep in mind that although I always focus on ground work, this method was slightly new to me so I wouldn't look to me as an expert, but you can find Dr. Pearson's contact information at the bottom of this post.

The three big pieces I did take away were:

• It's all about timing because horses have very bad short term memories. I've known this one, but she just explained it in such a great way so it was nicely reinforced for me.
• Scratching withers (not patting) – can lower heart beat by up to 10 BPM – heart rate doesn’t go down from patting is not inherently rewarding – scratch instead
• Shaping - the horse is very unlikely to offer the final outcome early in training as they learn through trial and error, so reward any basic attempts and then improved responses each time. Baby steps are best.
  • Consider trying to train a dolphin to jump through a hoop then summersault 3 times before landing back in the water…it starts with a head out of the water
  • Aim for 3 sets of 3 correct repetitions rather than just finishing on a good note. There is no need to overwhelm the horse by continuing to practice the positive behavior over and over, but look for 3 improved responses in a row, then give a mental break before trying for 3 more. Do this until you have achieved a third "set" of 3 successful attempts.

Dove - the impatient "dancer"

Freja - Likes to "suck back" instead of go

Moon - pushy with more go than whoa

Equine Behavior and Equitation Science

Is it primarily a pain, behavior or combination problem?

• What is Equitation Science? – ISES International Society for Equitation Science
  • The science of training and horse-riding
  • Includes learning theory, ethology  cognition biomechanics, psychology & sport science
  • Identifies what can be defined and measured
• Why is Behavior important?
  • Wastage – 66.4% of horses in slaughterhouse in France
    • Study from France - 2/3 of horses in slaughter were between 5 and 10 years old and none were TB or SB, none had been bred by accident, none were lame
• Safety – Most dangerous sport to participate in
• Improve Performance – Learning theory used by animal trainers worldwide
• The Mental Capacities of Horses
  • Poorly developed prefrontal cortex
    • No imagination
    • Unable to problem solve
      • Learn through trial and error
    • Excellent long term memory, poor short term memory
      • Once a horse learns something properly they never forget it
      • Timing with horses is crucial since short term memory is terrible
      • Grain study in Australia – grain in different buckets and horse released at other end of arena. Lengthened time before releasing horses and after 10 seconds, horses had a 50/50 chance of getting the right bucket
• Faster Steps vs Longer Steps
  • Teaching difference between going faster vs taking longer steps by using one cue (calf pressure for faster vs heel tap for lengthening)
• How do horses learn?
  • Classical conditioning = predictability
    • Making associations between two previously unrelated cues – Pavlov’s dogs
  • Operant conditioning = Controlability
• Negative Reinforcement

• Response becomes more probable

• Positive Reinforcement
• Positive Punishment
• Negative Punishment
• Negative Reinforcement – aka removal reinforcement
  • Pressure release
  • The removal of an aversive stimulus when the desired behavior occurs, makes the horse more likely to offer that beavhior in the future
  • Consider horses that are too hot – they seek shade, horses that are thirsty – they seek water, horses that are irritated by a fly – they swish their tail
  • Each time the behavior removes the source of discomfort
  • A horse that balks gets away from the mouth, seat and leg pressure which is negative reinforcement because it removes the negative
• Positive reinforcement
  • Addition of something pleasant follows the correct response, that makes the horse more likely to repeat behavior in the future
  • Food
  • Scratching withers (not patting) – can lower heart beat by up to 10 BPM – heart rate doesn’t go down from patting is not inherently rewarding – scratch instead
  • Timing is important – needs to be as close as possible to the behavior occurring to be most effacious
  • Presents challenges in horse training
  • Clicker training is secondary positive reinforcement that utilizes predictability training to give timing
  • Use of operant conditioning
  • Horse that wouldn’t pick up hind leg – picked up opposite leg – used clicker training
• Punishment
  • Punishment reduces the likely hood a behavior will be offered aain in the future
  • Positive punishment – applying an aversive stimulus after an unwanted behavior has occurred to suppress it
  • Negative punishment – removing something pleasant from a horse’s environment
  • The problems with punishment
    • It lowers the motivation of the horse to trial new responses in training
      • It is telling the horse what not to do but not what it should be doing
    • The horse can become desensitized to the punishing stimulus
    • Timing
      • They can’t think backward so punishment is impossible to time
    • The horse may have an extreme reaction to the stimulus
    • It creates powerful fear associations with the person/whip
      • Horses never ever forget something that is taught via fear
• Shaping
  • The horse is very unlikely to offer the final outcome early in training
  • Reward any basic attempts and then improved responses each time
  • Consider trying to train a dolphin to jump through a hoop then summersault 3 times before landing back in the water…it starts with a head out of the water
  • 3 sets of 3 correct repetitions is more effective than finishing on a good note
    • 3 improved responses in a row, then give a mental break, follow until 2 more sets of 3
• Retraining unwanted behaviors
  • 7 methods
    • Gradual habituation
      • Natural habituation method
      • Slow, horses is free to escape
      • Application
        • Stable horse next to another getting shod to habituate to the smoke/noise
        • Turn out next to a busy road for traffic
    • Systematic habituation
      • Flight response is minimized through signals from handler
      • Horse gradually approaches object or object is gradually brought towards horse
      • Negative reinforcement may accelerate learning – whip taken away AFTER he stands quietly
    • Flooding
      • Overwhelming the horse with an aversive stimulus whilst preventing any escape
      • No place in horse training due to potential for extreme reactions and association of people with fear
      • Highly stressful
      • Spontaneous recovery
    • Counter conditioning
      • Replaces the horses fear response to a stimulus with one that predicts a positive outcome
      • Utilizes classical conditioning
      • E.g. turning the clippers on then immediately feeding the horse – clippers must PREDICT that food will come AFTER clippers
      • Habituate to sound of clippers but not sensation
    • Approach conditioning
      • Horses naturally habituate to objects/stimuli they can “chase”
      • As the horse to walk towards the aversive stimulus
      • As the horse approaches the stimulus (umbrella, quad bike, gym ball, tractor, livestock, etc) should then retreat
      • Allow the horse to follow
    • Stimulus blending
      • Blend the aversive stimulus with a stimulus the horse already readily accepts
      • E.g. hose the horse legs (acceptable stimulus) and slowly introduce a spray bottle (previous aversive stimulus)
      • E.g. for horses that are head shy first habituate them to a damp towel, then slowly unfold to shape the sensation of the human fingers
    • Overshadowing
      • Represents competition of two stimulus for the horses attention
      • The more intense signal is prioritized, this means the other signal undergoes habituated (sensitization of learning of the stimulus is reduced)
  • Other common behavior problems
    • All represent deficits in any of
      • Go
      • Stop
      • Turn
      • (Yield)
      • Responses in hand or under saddle
  • Case studies
    • Problems at mounting block
      • Teach to yield hindquarters both away and toward you
      • Shape slowly
      • Start by wall so they can’t swing away
    • Unwanted behavior under saddle
      • Unpredictable, Jekyll an Hyde
      • Sudden bursts of hyperactive/dangerous behavior
        • Leg aids = Go
        • Rein aids = Stop/slow
        • Conflicting aids are confusing
      • Trailer training
        • First: “Go” using dressage whip and light pressure
        • Second: “Back”
        • Third: Practice “Go” at the Ramp

Gemma.pearson@ed.ac.uk
0131 6506253
www.equitationscience.com
 
References for clicker training - search for Georgia Bruce from Australia