This episode is filled with Celebrations. We’re celebrating our 300th Episode. That’s quite a milestone. And we’re celebrating the publication of “Kenyon Bear’s Christmas”, Book 4 of the Kenyon Bear children’s books.What better way to celebrate than to talk with Christa Culbert. Christa created the illustrations for Kenyon Bear’s Christmas. She is …

I’ve just published the newest book in the Kenyon Bear series of children’s book, Kenyon Bear’s Christmas. This week we’re talking with the illustrator, Christa Culbert. In case you’re wondering what this has to do with horses, the answer is everything! In this week’s podcast we talk with Christa about art, animals, imagination, clicker training, a…

We’re talking about advanced training. What makes something an advanced behavior, or an advanced topic or concept? When people say they want to attend an advanced seminar, what do they mean? What are they looking for?In part 1 we looked at this question from the perspective of the lessons we are teaching our horses. I made a case for advanced train…

We’re talking about what how we would define an advanced skill or topic. What makes something advanced? In Part 1 the focus was on our horses and the lessons we teach them. We explored what it means when we say advanced training is just the basics done really well. Is that indeed the case, or is there something more to advanced training?In this wee…

In this three part series we’re considering what makes something an advanced behavior, or an advanced topic or concept. When people say they want to attend an advanced seminar, what do they mean? What are they looking for?In Part 1 we explore this question from the perspective of what are we teaching our horses. I make the case that advanced traini…

Breaks are good for learning is something we hear a lot. Certainly we all know that no matter how much you are enjoying an activity there comes a point where you need to stop. You need to refresh mentally and physically. But what constitutes a break? Think about for yourself. When you need a break from work, what does that look like? Sometimes we m…

This week we’re talking about breaks. We’ll be talking about what breaks are and how you teach them. We’re also talking about the many uses breaks serve - including some very important ones for the handler. Breaks aren’t just for our horse’s benefit. We’ll go back to the very first steps in the training where the handler is using protective contact…

This is Part 2 of a Two Part Conversation. Last week we followed up on our previous conversation with Michaela Hempen on horse welfare. Dominique shared some useful resources and I shared a goat story.The goat story leads to a discussion of when and how to step in should you encounter rough handling. It’s never a comfortable situation, or an easy d…

For this conversation Dominique and I both wanted to follow up on our previous conversation with Michaela Hempen. We were talking about horse welfare. Dominique shared some useful resources that you can use to assess your horse’s physical welfare. These included Anja Beran’s Train Your Eye DVD, the horse grimace scale, and the equine discomfort eth…

This conversation was prompted by an event that occurred just before the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympics. One of the top dressage riders had to withdraw because of a video that showed her whipping a horse during a training session.The video came out just as Dominique and I were planning our next podcast recording. Dominique said her social media…

This conversation was prompted by an event that occurred just before the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympics. One of the top dressage riders had to withdraw because of a video that showed her whipping a horse during a training session.The video came out just as Dominique and I were planning our next podcast recording. Dominique said her social media…

Episode 289 Michaela Hempen and Anita Schnee Feldenkrais Work Pt 3: The Role of Visualization in Riding Instruction For the past ten years Michaela has been studying with a Feldenkrais Practitioner, Nathalie Van Cauwenberghe. In the previous episodes Michaela described some of the riding challenges which the Feldenkrais work has helped her to solve…

This week we’re continuing our conversation with Anita Schnee and Michaela Hempen. Michaela has been our guest on this podcast many times. She’s talked to us about the research project she did on cribbing, about single subject design, and more recently about how animal welfare is assessed.When it comes to horses Michaela and I share a love of beaut…

Michaela Hempen has been a frequent guest on this podcast. She has talked about her cribbing research, single subject design, and more recently about how animal welfare is assessed. When it comes to horses Michaela and I share a love of beautiful movement, so she has also joined us when we talked with Anja Beran, the classical rider whose work insp…

This week we’re continuing our conversation with Dr Susan Friedman and Rick Hester. In this episode we begin with a question to Susan: Is the teaching standard known as Lima the same as the hierarchy of behavior change procedures that Susan has written about? Susan provides an historical perspective for the LIMA acronym, and for many of the other l…

This week we’re continuing our conversation with Dr Susan Friedman and Rick Hester. Dr Friedman has been a frequent guest on this podcast. She is a professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. She is pioneer in the use of Applied Behavior Analysis in the handling of captive and companion animals. Her interest in deve…

This is Part 1 of a three part conversation with Dr. Susan Friedman and Rick Hester. Dr. Friedman has been a frequent guest on this podcast. Most of you I’m sure already know Susan. But just as a reminder, Susan is a professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. She is a pioneer in the use of Applied Behavior Analysis…

This is part 3 of our conversation with Dr. Claire St Peter from the University of West Virginia and one of her graduate students, Abbie Cooper.Abbie has been comparing behaviors that were trained with either positive or negative reinforcement when they are placed under conditions of extinction. What happens to behavior when training goes sideways …

This week we’re continuing our conversation with Dr. Claire St Peter and one of her phd candidate students Abbie Cooper.Last week Abbie looked at a study in which she compared positive and negative reinforcement - what happens to behavior when training goes sideways and the individual is no longer getting reinforced for actions that had been produc…

This is part one of a three part conversation with Dr. Claire St Peter, the chair of the Department of Behavior Analysis at West Virginia University, and one of her graduate students, Abbie Cooper. Abbey is reporting on a study she has just completed for her Masters Thesis. In part 1 she is describing the study. Undergrads were presented with a com…

I’m always delighted when I get to talk about balance and why it matters. At this year’s Expo I had both a presentation and a Balance matters lab. We talk about both of these in this week’s episode. We end with a discussion of equipment - what halters and leads do I favor and why.بقلم Equiosity

This week we’re talking about the April Clicker Expo which was held in Portland Oregon. We start by talking about a panel discussion on working with aggressive animals. Then we move on to a presentation given by Ken Ramirez on the training terms which have emerged over time. Which of these terms have staying power and why. This was the perfect lead…

This is Part 3 of a three part conversation Dominique and I had in March, 2024. In part 1 we talked about puzzle solving and this led to a great real life experience using back chaining that Dominique shared with us. e between forward chaining and back chaining. In Part 2 the spotlight was on rope handling. This week we are changing topics yet agai…

Toward the end of March Dominique and I met for an afternoon’s conversation which I’ve divided up into three episodes. Last week we talked about puzzle solving. This week rope handling is in the spotlight. Dominique is going through my on-line rope handling course. She’s just reached a section which describes what it means to turn a lead rope on an…

Toward the end of March Dominique and I met for an afternoon’s conversation. I’ve divided up into three episodes. In part 1 we talk about puzzles. So much of training success revolves around a handler’s ability to set puzzles which engage the learner. You want to make the puzzles easy to start out with to build the learner’s confidence that this is…

This is Part 4 of a 4 part conversation with Svenja Sawinski. Svenja has a horse who has been giving her a master class in teaching stillness and relaxation.In Part 1, Svenja introduced us to Daryan her Arab barb cross. When Svenja began with a very young Daryan, she was still using traditional, pressure-based training methods. That worked fine wit…

This is Part 3 of a 4 part conversation with Svenja Sawinski. Svenja’s horse, Daryan, has been giving her a master class in teaching stillness and relaxation.In Part 1, Svenja introduced us to Daryan her Arab barb cross. She described the early steps she used to teach Daryan to stand still. That was just the beginning. Daryan was a challenging hors…

This is Part 2 of a 4 part conversation with Svenja Sawinski. If you are a regular listener to the podcast, you know Dominique and I talk frequently about topics that come from the coaching sessions that are part of my on-line clinics. That’s very much what led to this series with Svenja. Svenja is one of the regular attendees at these coaching ses…

We all know there are many forms of standing still. There’s standing at full attention like a soldier on parade. There’s standing at ease watching the world drift by. There’s standing still ready to spring into action like a sprinter at the starting line. Often people get to four on the floor with their animals and stop at that point. As long as th…

This is Part 3 of a conversation that was sparked by the on-line coaching session that I host once a month for people in my on-line clinics. In Part 1 we talked about resets - what they are and how they can be used to help horses rebalance so they are more in sync with their handlers.In Part 2 this led to a discussion of shaping on a point of conta…

This is Part 2 of a three part conversation that was sparked by the on-line coaching sessions that I host once a month for people in my on-line clinics. We were talking about balance, which is no surprise. We’re always talking about balance. Embedded in that conversation was a discussion of resets. In part 1 we defined resets, discussed their impor…

This is Part 1 of a three part conversation that was inspired by the coaching sessions that are part of my on-line clinics. We are talking about resets and lateral work. Resets give you do-overs so they are a key element of teaching good balance. If your horse starts to step forward out of balance, instead of letting him continue on so the balance …

This is part 2 of a conversation Dominique and I recorded on December 28 2023. We were in a year end mood which meant we began our conversation by looking back over a year of podcasts. We had just finished up several head spinning topics with conversations with Anita Schnee about Feldenkrais work, with Joe Layng on public and private events, and th…

We’ve just finished a series of head spinning topics, so we’re changing gears to talk about trick training. Our discussion is based on the trick training chapter from my book, “Modern Horse Training”. We begin by talking about the many benefits of trick training. If you’re a “serious” trainer and you don’t think tricks are for you, change the name …

This is Part 3 of a conversation with Dr Michaela Hempen in which we consider the question: What is consciousness? What is the mind? Each person’s answer will very much effect their level of concern over animal welfare. Positive animal welfare assessments seek to provide animals not only with the conditions that they need to survive, but also with …

This is Part 2 of a conversation with Dr Michaela Hempen in which we consider the question: What is consciousness? What is the mind? And how do our answers effect how we assess animal welfare, or even should we bother to consider welfare issues for the animals under human care? In this episode Michaela continues a discussion of different ways in wh…

We’re beginning a three part series with Dr Michaela Hempen. The overall topic explores the question: What is the “Mind?” And how is that relevant to assessing animal welfare? This conversation grew out of our previous discussion with Dr Joe Layng on public and private events. I suggest you listen to those episodes as an introduction to this discus…

This is Part 3 of a Three part series on public and private events with our guest Dr Joe Layng. In part 1 Joe talked about Helen Keller who became blind and deaf after an illness when she was 19 months old. Without language she had no sense of self. It is through language Joe argues that we become aware that we are aware. Without language animals l…

This is Part Two of a Three part series on public and private events with our guest Dr Joe Layng. Joe is a behavior analyst. He's been our guest before. We’ve talked about contingency adduction, non linear analysis, the effect of schedules on social behavior, and degrees of freedom among many other topics. Most recently we did a series with Joe on …

This is Part 1 of a three part conversation about public and private events with Dr Joe Layng. We’ve just finished up a four part series on Feldenkrais work. I think it is perfect that we’re following this series with Joe’s discussion of public and private events. In episode 259 Anita shared an ATM lesson with all of us. What you experienced from t…

This is Part 4 of a 4 part series on the Feldenkrais method. In Part 1 I shared some personal history in which I looked back to two innovators in the horse world, Sally Swift and Linda Tellington-Jones. In Part 2 Anita Schnee, a Feldenkrais Practitioner who is familiar with my work, introduced us to the Feldenkrais Work. In Part 3 she shared an Awa…

This is part three of a four part series on the Feldenkrais Method. In part 1 I took us on a look back at the pioneering work of two very innovative individuals - Sally Swift the developer of Centered Riding and LTJ the creator of TTEAM training. Sally’s work introduced the horse world to the Alexander technique and helped to modernize the way ridi…

This is the second of a four part series on the Feldenkrais™ Work. This week we’re joined by Anita Schnee. Anita Schnee is a Feldenkrais™ Practitioner who is very familiar with my work. The Feldenkrais™ Work can be difficult to define because it is experienced differently by each person who uses it. I relate to the Feldenkrais™ work through my work…

If you have ever taken a riding lesson, you’ve probably experienced how confusing the instructions can be. You’re being told to: “fill your back, push with your seat - no not like that, bear down, lift up, lean forward, lean back!” You can be forgiven if you feel like shouting back: “Make up your mind! I can’t do both at the same time!”Riding instr…

This is part 2 of a conversation in which Dominique and I were talking about various topics that emerged during a recent on-line coaching session. Last week we talked about what it means to disengage the hips and how to think about this from the perspective of a positive reinforcement trainer.From there Dominique changed gears to talk about an ench…

In this episode we discuss what it means to disengage a horse’s hip. That phrase doesn’t sound as though it is something a positive reinforcement trainer would want to do to a horse. And that’s true. We don’t want to do it to a horse. That would put us into force-based training, but it is something you need to teach a horse so you can ask for the “…

This is the fifth and final part of our conversation with Dr Claire St Peter. Claire is a behavior analyst. She teachers At West Virginia University where she has recently taken on a new role. She is now Chair of the department of behavior analysis. We have been down in the weeds considering the definitions of words both trainers and behavior analy…

This is part 4 of a five part conversation with Dr Claire St Peter. Claire is a behavior analyst. She teachers At West Virginia University where she has recently taken on a new role. She is now Chair of the Department of Behavior Analysis. This week we are down in the weeds considering the definitions of words both trainers and behavior analysts us…

Language matters. I know what I mean by the words I use. But do my meanings match your understanding of the same words? And what nuances are there in the definition that I may never have considered? I may be okay when I am speaking to someone in my own community who understand the terms I use in much the same way that I do, but what happens when we…