Gen & Chloe share their journey, experiences, and knowledge surrounding R+ training with horses.
Gen and Chloe are back! In this episode, they talk about how to create movement or higher energy behaviors using R+. Happy training!
In this episode Gen and Chloe continue their conversation about myths- well, it's supposed to be about myths but naturally got off topic lol. They talk about clicker trainers feeling pressured to be perfect, "partnership" in traditional training feeling more like a battle, behavior sandwiches and more! Just a reminder that moving forward, episodes will be published more casually due to life and schedule changes for both Chloe and Gen. Happy Training!
In this episode we continue talking about myths... It seems like myths within the horse world, and even with a more broad lense; animal behavior, are never-ending. There will be a part 4 next week! Ps. This is raw audio so there will highly likely be unnecessary uhms, buts, and ands, and potentially some dog noise. We've been very bad about staying on top of the podcast due to our lives getting busier! Hope you enjoy, happy training
In this episode, Gen and Chloe continue discussing common myths and misconceptions in the horse world, including that horses need a job and/or that horses don't feel physical pain from common training "aids" and care practices. Happy training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe revisit an earlier topic: common myths and misconceptions in the horse world. Myths discussed in this episode include stereotypes about chestnuts, mares, ponies, and stallions, and the idea that a horse wouldn't do something if they didn't want to/you can't force a horse to do something. Happy training!
This week Gen and Chloe continue their conversation about ruling out pain, switching gears to topics like how to handle harsher professionals and what to do when you haven't prepared your horse for something. Ps. You may hear some Truffle barks and wonky audio on Chloe's end- bored hound dogs and audio recordings don't mix... Happy Training!
Gen and Chloe discuss whether or not we can ever truly rule out pain, making the mistake of assuming an issue is behavioral without thoroughly checking over a horse, and more. Stay tuned next week for the rest of the conversation. Happy training!
Gen and Chloe continue their discussion of food reinforcers. Topics include willingness to participate/take treats as a sign that things are going well, whether some individuals need higher value reinforcers, and more. Happy training!
Does clicker training mean your horse is doing it only for the treats? Can you ever stop using food rewards and/or stop feeding your horse every 10 seconds? Gen and Chloe answer these questions plus discuss conditioned reinforcers/alternate reinforcers besides food, food as a bonding tool for both humans and horses, and more. Happy training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe (messily) continue their discussion of operant conditioning and cover LIMA. Ps, you wanted to hear the intro twice right???
In this episode, Gen and Chloe (messily) begin to cover the basics of operant conditioning. Check back next week for part 2, where the explanation is finished! Happy training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe continue discussing consent with horses. Topics discussed include "willingness to participate" as an indicator of health, the importance of slowing down and reevaluating our priorities with our animals, and more. Happy training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe continue their discussion of consent. They touch on why compliance does not guarantee consent, that saying "no" is just information, and more! Happy training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss the topic of consent in horse training. Can horses consent? If so, what does this look like and how can we operationalize it? The conversation will continue in the coming weeks. We hope you enjoy the discussion, and happy training!
This week Gen and Chloe continue their discussion on dominance theory.
This week Gen and Chloe tackle dominance theory. We've been wanting to talk about this for awhile and it felt so good to finally do so! This will be a two-part series so stay tuned for Part 2 next week.
In this episode, Gen and Chloe continue their discussion of weather management, including both hot weather and cold in this episode. Topics discussed include shelter, making sure your blanket fits comfortably on your horse, the results of some studies, and more! Happy training!
CTR is back from our break! In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss winter management, including whether or not to blanket, importance of access to shelter and forage, and a little bit on hot weather. Happy training, and we hope you're staying warm this winter!
This week, Gen and Chloe continue discussing a common myth believed by many traditional trainers and un-nerdy animal guardians: "R+ is only for tricks." Happy training!
This week Gen and Chloe discuss a common belief among many traditional trainers and un-nerdy animal guardians: "R+ is only for tricks." Ps. There will be brief pauses, uhms, likes, and probably Chloe stumbling on their words- it's not edited as heavily as previous episodes. Happy training and happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss mixing quadrants R- and R+ during training, aka "combined reinforcement." Topics include reinforcer salience, the uncertainty of not knowing whether pressure or a reward is motivating behavior, how to be clear to your horse about whether you're using R+ or R- in a session, being predictable, and more. Happy training!
Gen and Chloe discuss mixing quadrants R- and R+ during training, aka "combined reinforcement." Topics include "purely positive," crossover horses, reinforcer salience, and how addition of R+ to traditional training could potentially lessen the aversive effects of R-.
In this episode, Gen and Chloe continue the discussion of mouthy horses, whether or not clicker training/R+ creates mouthy horses, some ways to prevent or manage mouthing, and some treat talk. Happy training!
In this episode Gen and Chloe discuss mouthy horses, whether or not clicker training/R+ creates mouthy horses, some ways to prevent or manage mouthing and some treat talk. Tune in next week to hear more about treats! Happy training!
This week Gen and Chloe answer a listener question, and give some tips and tricks for teaching a default neutral behavior! This episode is short and sweet but the topic is one worth discussing. Happy Training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss lunging using positive reinforcement with the reverse round pen. We hope that this episode will provide some tips or things to think about when starting or continuing lunging with +R! Happy training!
Chloe is back this week! (And I'm sorry for my voice.) Gen and Chloe discuss a question about how to condition a horse to taking a bit with R+ and teaching rein cues from the ground. Happy training!
In this mini episode episode, Gen discusses some tips for crossing water with your horse and how to set them up for success in that situation!
Last week, Gen attended a Control Unleashed for Horses clinic with Jen Digate! In this mini episode, Gen discusses some of her thoughts and takeaways from the clinic. Topics discussed are more general, rather than focusing on specific Control Unleashed principles. For information on Control Unleashed, check out Leslie McDevitt's website http://www.controlunleashed.net/. Happy training!
This week Gen and Chloe discuss Equine Assisted Therapy. Topics include, why implementing R+ for therapy horses is beneficial, safety, empowerment for both parties (horse & client) and more.
In this episode (generally called "punishment" because it's all over the place), Gen and Chloe discuss topics including positive vs. negative punishment, potential behavioral fallout of punishment, how to (as much as possible) avoid using negative punishment when clicker training, why it is not a good idea to use the clicker as a no reward signal, how punishing can be reinforcing to the punisher, and more! Happy training!
This week Gen and special guest, Rachel Steen of Balance Point Equestrian Learning Center dive back into their conversation on young horses, including why a horse may appear stressed with R+ but not R-, asking for too much (lumping), making sure your horse's reaction to something new is positive, and more! You can learn more about Rachel and her business at balancepointequestrian.com or on Instagram @equestrian_zen
In this episode, Gen and Chloe welcome special guest Rachel Steen of Balance Point Equestrian Learning Center to discuss young horses! Topics covered include how to set "boundaries" with young horses, the importance of making sure your young horse has positive experiences with you, mental development of young horses, and more! You can check out more of Rachel's training work at www.balancepointequestrian.com or on Instagram @equestrian_zen!
Gen and Chloe continue their discussion anthropomorphism in horse care and training. Can you rule out pain or say with 100% certainty what emotion your horse is experiencing? Is behaviourism *too* focused on behavior rather than emotion?
Gen and Chloe discuss anthropomorphism in horse care and training. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, eyebrows? Fei Netherlands vegan activists, why horses don't need blankets because you're cold, and how our emotions don't always mirror our horse's.
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss anxiety and burnout in horse training, describe some of their experiences, and pose potential coping strategies. Topics include utilizing patterns/routines to help reduce anxiety, being anxious to work with horses due to their size/past injuries or bad experiences, and more. Please take all discussion and advice given in this episode with a grain of salt, since neither Gen nor Chloe are mental health professionals (at least not yet, in Gen's case).
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss anxiety and burnout in horse training, describe some of their experiences, and pose potential coping strategies. Topics include being anxious to train around other people, burnout from handling care/management tasks in addition to training, and more. Please take all discussion and advice given in this episode with a grain of salt, since neither Gen nor Chloe are mental health professionals (at least not yet, in Gen's case).
This episode is the second part of Gen and Chloe's meeting with Kara of @musgraveequestrian to discuss lingering questions, comments, and concerns relating to Intrinzen. Though Gen and Chloe have not changed any of their previous opinions relating to Intrinzen, the conversation clarified more aspects of the Intrinzen mindset and illuminated points of agreement between Intrinzen-inspired trainers and "traditional" positive reinforcement trainers. Happy training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe met with Kara of @musgraveequestrian to discuss lingering questions, comments, and concerns relating to Intrinzen. The second (and final) part of the conversation will be posted next week. Though Gen and Chloe have not changed any of their previous opinions relating to Intrinzen, the conversation clarified more aspects of the Intrinzen mindset and illuminated points of agreement between Intrinzen-inspired trainers and "traditional" positive reinforcement trainers. Happy training!
This week Gen sounds like she's underwater (the audio quality didn't sound bad during the call
This week Gen sounds like she's underwater (the audio quality didn't sound bad during the call
In this episode, Gen discusses some common memes/jokes seen around social media including "Moody Mare" memes and "#FailFriday" videos. While these jokes/memes may seem harmless at first glance, they are actually very problematic and lead to real welfare consequences for horses. Even though they're usually made without malice, these jokes need to stop! Happy training!
Gen and Chloe discuss bridles, the bit debate, nosebands, bridleless options and of course how R+ can better your equipment. While we don't recommend the use of bits, bitless options can be misused as well and the use of bitless doesn't inherently mean the guardian is gentle or has good training. Horses are a giant "it depends" and everything is so nuanced. Share your opinions but keep it civil.
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss topics such as leaving being the biggest form of release for your horse in -R methods, importance of understanding the science behind training methods, the necessity of young voices in the training world, and more. The opinions shared in this episode, while centered around a science-based discussion, are merely our opinions. This is part 2 of an ongoing conversation, so please listen to parts 1&2 as well before making any judgments! Happy training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe continue their discussion relating to Intrinzen and focus specifically on topics including using environmental context to capture behaviors, "101 things to do with a cone" game, mixing -R and +R, "robot horses," unpredictable behavior, and more. The opinions shared in this episode, while centered around a science-based discussion, are merely our opinions. This is part 2 of an ongoing conversation, so please listen to parts 1&3 as well before making any judgments!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss motivation in training, pain, and stress as it relates to the training style Intrinzen. The discussion includes intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, the basics of pain science, whether horses can show a "stress" face for merely high intensity physical activity even if there is no bad stress (distress) present, and more! The opinions shared in this episode, while centered around a science-based discussion, are merely our opinions. This is part 1 of an ongoing conversation, so please listen to parts 2&3 as well before making any judgments!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss the horse training world and dog training world, highlighting how they can be similar and different. Since lots of us who are horse lovers are also animal lovers in general, discussing how horse and dog issues overlap can be very helpful! Happy training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss the horse training world and dog training world, highlighting how they can be similar and different. Since lots of us who are horse lovers are also animal lovers in general, discussing how horse and dog issues overlap can be very helpful! Happy training!
In this episode, Gen and Chloe discuss the horse training world and dog training world, highlighting how they can be similar and different. Since lots of us who are horse lovers are also animal lovers in general, discussing how horse and dog issues overlap can be very helpful! Happy training!
In this episode, Gen discusses some indicators you can look to in order to determine whether or not your horse is truly a happy, healthy, willing partner. These signs are not exhaustive or all-inclusive, and vary by the situation, but they are just some things to keep an eye out for! Happy training!
Gen and Chloe continue their conversation about enrichment. Discussing different treats (it became a bit of a treat review, honestly) and discussing paddock paradises.