Lead a Horse to Water
By Trudi Dempsey
Step aboard for evidence based equine training and behaviour content.
Listen to professionals and enthusiasts from the world of horse training and behaviour as well as associated areas of the equine world.
Trudi Dempsey is an English equine trainer and behaviour consultant, specialising in positive reinforcement.
Lead a Horse to WaterApr 07, 2021
Wild Horses with Sam Couper
In this episode I am thrilled to talk wild and feral horses with the wonderful Samantha (Sam) Couper PhD. We delve into Sam's back story right up to her present day training with her own horses and her work as a behaviour consultant.
Sam is Board Chair of the Onaqui Catalogue Foundation, a group dedicated to compiling citizen observations of the Onaqui wild horses in Utah, USA, in the pursuit of research and public education. With the foundation, Sam teaches a course on wild horses at the University of Utah three times a year. Sam ended a career in Materials Science to pursue education about wild horse behaviour and to become a full time behaviour consultant.
Where to find Samantha Couper PhD:
https://www.youtube.com/@onaquiwildhorsesutahusa3122
https://www.facebook.com/equineabcs
https://www.instagram.com/equineabcs
https://www.tiktok.com/@equineabcs
Rope Halters, pressure and clicker training with guest Polly Smeath
Polly has an extensive background in the world of
horses, a passion that has woven throughout her life since childhood. Born into
a family with a history of racehorses, Polly's earliest memories include a
vivid encounter with a tall, dark brown horse at the age of two. Her journey as
a "pony mad youngster" began at the age of nine, marked by a
memorable fall from a skewbald pony named Star Trek, who had been rescued with
severe laminitis.
Undeterred by challenges, Polly persevered through early
riding school experiences, determined to regain her confidence and with time
spent at Anne Cory's yard, where she was exposed to her gentle lunging methods
and innovative ideas about fitness regimes Polly flourished and after she
followed the working pupil route at Oldencraig Equestrian Centre and then
received a bursary from the Leonardo Da
Vinci foundation that took her to Denmark for training, an experience that
influenced her deeply despite witnessing some unsettling practices.
Upon returning, Polly, now a mother, started forming her own
opinions on horse care. Throughout her career, she has gravitated towards
rehabilitating horses in need, focusing on understanding and connecting with
them. Today, she primarily works in hoof care, specialising in helping horses
express themselves and be heard, embodying a philosophy of awareness,
lightness, and softness in her approach.
Find Polly via the UK clicker training group on Facebook or get in touch with me and I can put you in touch.
Self Control
Sooz Foster joins me again and this time we're talking self control. We consider horses and dogs, whether they can have self-control and how we can build build patterns to help.
You can find Sooz these days at https://soozdogtraining.co.uk/ or come and join me training at her new club https://www.dreamsdogclub.co.uk/
Or catch us both presenting at Understand Horses Live in July https://www.understandhorses.com/understand-horses-live
In conversation with Dr Eduardo J Fernandez: Training as enrichment
In conversation with Heather K McManamy
We ask how to be credible.
What are our insecurities
How to collaborate and build connections.
If you are a trainer, a coach, a consultant, a business woman, a horse lover...this one is for you.
Heather helps horses and people learn to be comfortable with healthcare procedures using positive reinforcement
training. She also help horses and riders with getting started
under saddle, as well as ways to help develop confidence
with riding. In her own words she's a failed traditional horsewoman. She understands traditional skills and methodologies, and how and why they work, but after thirty years working with horses she did not have the kind of success she has now with positive reinforcement training. She have had Fibromyalgia for nearly 40 years. This has given her deep insight into how chronic pain and fatigue affects all aspects of life, for people and animals. It's because of this that she's been drawn to study neuroscience, behavior, biomechanics, and so forth.
Her life experiences with neurodivergence (because, she says, she has a weird brain) and chronic illness have given her some really strong opinions on the one-size-fits-all approach in American culture, and in the equestrian industry in general, particularly with respect to learning.
Heather is on Facebook www.facebook.com/equusintegratus
and her website:
equusintegratus.com
All About Cues (part 6)
In this final (for now) episode on cues I look at transferring cues which is great if you want to tidy up your complex cues or change your original cue for something more appropriate.
Please share these short episodes and let me know if you've tried any of my suggestions for improving your cues!
All About Cues (part 5)
Physical, verbal, tactile? What is clear, easy to use, easy to replicate?
Are you quitting on me?
Rebeccah Baylis is one of my fave students, we talk in this episode about a session that felt quite sticky at the start but ended well. Do you know when it might be acceptable to push on a little further? Should we always stop at the first sign of resistance? It's definitely a training conundrum. Find Becky and our shared events in 2024 at https://littlegreenstables.com/
All about Cues (part 4)
Discrimination
Knowing what to do to get reinforced- the best friend of stimulus control (part 3) and discriminative stimulus (part 2).
How can you help your horse know what a cue means?
Please enjoy and share, Trudi
All About Cues (part 3)
Stimulus Control
In this third short on my continuing theme of cues I'm looking at how 'clean' our cues are. Stimulus control is an essential part of developing cues, it helps us create a clear language that reduces the chances of frustration.
I share the 4 criteria of stimulus control and what we need to consider right from the get go in terms of cues.
All About Cues (Part 2)
What to do when? Does your horse know? Do you think you know what your cues are? Does your horse agree?
This short episode builds on the previous and looks at the idea of a discriminative stimulus- do you know what your SD is and does your horse agree?
All About Cues (Part 1)
I've done cues before but have we ever 'done' cues...this is the first part of a deep dive into cues. Send me questions and thoughts to trudi@equine.training and share this episode with your friends.
More soon, Trudi
Targets
What to do when things go wrong with targets and how to train a follow target, great questions sent in by a listener.
Failure (Summer Short 5)
Be brave, embrace the fear!
Playing with Time (Summer Short 4)
Reducing anxiety by playing with the temporal gap (aka what I call temporal tinkering) needs shaping the same as every behaviour. In this summer short I answer a question or two posed by one of my current course students. If you have any questions drop me a message or email trudi@equine.training
Summer Short 3 Labels
Can labels be useful in horse training? Labels are used everywhere in life and often to the detriment of the label wearer. Take a listen to this short episode and drop me a message if you have ideas for future episodes.
Summer Short 2 The Emperor's New Clothes
In this, my second Summer Short episode, I consider how we can know if something is awesome or BS and does it matter as long as you and your horse are happy and healthy?
Might be a bit controversial but I opened my mouth and out came me!
Ideas for other Summer Shorts can be emailed trudi@equine.training
Summer Short 1 The human element
In this, my first Summer Short episode, I look at the human side of the training equation. Training can take it's toll on both sides of the learning partnership and I often address this for our horse/dog but this time it's all about the human.
How can you reduce your own stress and lack of motivation.
Ideas for other Summer Shorts can be emailed trudi@equine.training
In Conversation with Karen Luke
In this episode I chat to Karen Luke about her most recent study linking horse welfare and behaviour with rider safety and satisfaction. Karen is a lifelong horse enthusiast and horse owner who is currently completing a PhD where she is investigating the relationship between horse welfare, rider safety and rider satisfaction. She has expertise in ridden horse behaviour and training and has authored several published papers on these topics. Karen regularly presents at conferences and workshops on the topics of ridden horse welfare, horse training and rider safety. She is also interested in what motivates equestrians and helping riders develop practices that maximise their enjoyment of riding while at the same time making riding fun for their horse. Karen's study- here is the link to "New insights into ridden horse behaviour, horse welfare and horse-related safety": https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159121003269 Karen's website with links to all her studies https://justequestriansolutions.com/ Karen's Twitter https://twitter.com/K_L_Luke
Gaping holes in your Shaping?
Do you reward the slightest try and feel that your behaviours are getting nowhere? Perhaps you get frustrated and cross with yourself.
Enjoy this episode and please share it with your friends.
Find my courses via trudidempsey.carrd.co
and my website www.equine.training
Shaping behaviour (taster episode)
Brave pants, confidence, confusion and disappointment in reinforcers.
Recognising equine pain, in conversation with Gabriel Carreira Lencioni
In this episode I chat to Gabriel Carreira Lencioni about his love of horses and his recent projects looking at pain assessment in horses. Gabriel recently graduated as a Veterinarian from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, where he took part in research groups on animal behaviour and welfare and developed a project on automated pain assessment in horses (you can read about it here https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/authors?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0258672 ) . Gabriel is an IAABC Certified Horse Behaviour Consultant and Certified Fear Free Elite Professional (Dogs/cats and horses). You can find his scientific dissemination project on Instagram about Horse and Dog behaviour @gabriel.lenc ioni.bea
We discussed this review that Gabriel was also part of and released this year https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361417985_Going_Deeper_than_Tracking_a_Survey_of_Computer-Vision_Based_Recognition_of_Animal_Pain_and_Affective_States
My IAABC course https://iaabcfoundation.org/courses/equine-discomfort-ethogram/
Understand Horses courses https://courses.understandhorses.com/
Clicker training cats and MORE with Cheryl Kolus
In this episode I was joined by the wonderful Cheryl Kolus. From Colorado, USA, Cheryl is a veterinarian who specialised in behaviour, working with shelter animals (primarily cats) and with pet owners to help them better understand their dogs and cats and manage or resolve unwanted behaviors in their pets. She and her colleagues even published research on cat clicker training. Although no longer in clinical practice, Cheryl remains passionate about animal behaviour and welfare and is always looking for learning opportunities in those fields. She is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner, served on the board of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, and is a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and the International Society for Equitation Science. Cheryl has been riding horses since she was about 12 years old, mostly doing once-a-week lessons with periods of a few years here and there where she was lucky enough to ride more often and compete on others’ horses. Although most of her clicker training experience has been with cats and dogs, including teaching puppy and cat training classes, she actually first learned of clicker training through reading Alexandra Kurland’s book on clicker training horses about 20 years ago and has presented locally on equine clicker training. Last year, Cheryl finally purchased her first horse, an off-track thoroughbred mare, Cheerio, and she is enjoying clicker training Cheerio and her baby, who is now a yearling.
Here is the clicker training research article that Cheryl was part of https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/7/10/73/htm
Here is a link to Cheryl's YouTube channel, it has some cat training tutorials (and she's hoping to eventually add some cooperative care videos with her mare, Cheerio):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtY2iVhf64P7MeWfC2S8ZvA/videos
And CLICK's YouTube channel - most of these videos show shelter cats clicker training but mainly they are to promote the adoption of the cat, so sometimes they just show the cat's personalities through petting and playing.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4lMSdccsod13dnSaQXVsBg/videos
Cheryl's free webinar at the IAABC
https://iaabcfoundation.org/courses/training-your-house-tiger/
Equine clicker training workshop where were you?
Sooz joins me for a natter about our recent live workshops. We hit some big topics Including the ethics of novice clicker trainers! Of course we return to our favourite topic, reinforcement routines, and much more.
You can find Sooz Foster CHBC AAB for dog training at https://www.tarkadogtraining.co.uk and for horses at https://www.soozequine.co.uk
Join me at ko-fi.com/leadahorsetowater for Trudi's Training, a private group where I share my training and lots more.
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Welcome to Season 3! A new season of interviews, deep dives into training and behaviour and some giggles when Sooz joins me!
In this short episode I consider the greats that went before me and wonder why women often look to men for coaching.
If you would like to support the podcast I have created a Ko-fi account where you can come and join me as I look at my students and personal training strategies. Weekly training information will be added with voice over or annotated description. All for a £10 a month membership. Come and join me https://ko-fi.com/leadahorsetowater
Horse herd leaders
Thanks to Jo and her enquiring mind for the great question.
Equitation Science position statement on misuse of leadership and dominance in training
Saying Goodbye
In this episode I talk about the last day with my lovely Moralejo (Moo). If this subject could be difficult for you PLEASE don't listen. If this episode helps anyone then Moo and I will have given one last service to horses and their carers.
Love to you all, take care of yourselves.
For help with end of life decisions this is a good starting point https://www.equine-endoflife.co.uk/end-of-life-options/planned-euthanasia/
Being Kind
I mention the wonderful Andrea Harrison in the podcast and especially her gratitude project for which I am truly, well, grateful!
Links to my upcoming course at Understand Horses and a live in person weekend workshop in June in Taunton can be found below:
courses.understandhorses.com/courses/Train-with-Trudi-custom-coaching
www.tickettailor.com/events/trudidempseyequineevents/652682
heartequineacademycourses.com/courses/73/about
In Conversation with Kate Blackmore
A relaxed natter with the lovely Kate Blackmore about her new venture- Equischolars!
Kate Blackmore is Head of Welfare at the Conquest Centre, equine behaviour consultant with Equilogical and founder of Equischolars – stewards of the horse.
Kate started volunteering at Conquest in 2012, became a groom, RDA GI, yard manager, deputy manager before going onto study for her behavioural consultancy qualification with the NAC. She then set up my own consultancy business, Equilogical, and joined forces with Becky Baylis from Little Green Stables to bring out the Equilogical podcast and create a Patreon site which follows training journeys (warts and all!). This led her onto develop a new curriculum called EquiScholars, an activity based modular course on equine behaviour, pulling from not only her own experience of working with kids but harnessing all the golden nuggets from the team at Conquest.
Based in Taunton, Somerset, Kate is passionate about opening up the playing field for the future equestrian generations and show that there is more than one way to work and be with horses.
In conversation with Dr Hannah Donovan
In this episode I'm joined by my wonderful colleague Dr Hannah Donovan a veterinary surgeon and a certificated clinical animal behaviourist (CCAB) for equines, dogs and cats. Hannah talks to me about her journey to becoming a vet and behaviourist and how horse owners, vets and behaviourists are coming together to share modern understanding of horse behaviour. Hannah and I share some tips for horse guardians about how they can better prepare for vet visits and procedures and when you need to seek the help of a behaviourist with your horse.
Dr Hannah Donovan graduated with a 2.1 Bachelor of Science Honours degree (BSc (Hons)) in Animal Science from the University of Leeds, UK, in 2006. She then went on to study for her veterinary degree, Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVM&S) at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and qualified as a vet in 2011. During her time at the University of Edinburgh, Hannah also obtained a Masters of Veterinary Science in Canine Behaviour Research (MVetSci). She then worked as a mixed vet in Lincolnshire and during this time, completed a Master of Science in Clinical Animal Behaviour (MSc) at the University of Lincoln, UK, she graduated with distinction in 2013. Since then, Hannah has worked in small animal practices in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, she has also travelled and volunteered around the world in clinics and shelters, and spent some time working in a large RSPCA hospital and shelter in Sydney, Australia.
Hannah has worked as a veterinary surgeon since 2011 and has been seeing behaviour referrals simultaneously since 2013. Hannah has enjoyed providing continued education for vets and vet staff around the world about animal behaviour and how to improve handling and understanding during veterinary visits, rehabilitation of rescued animals or teaching young animals and preventing behaviour issues. Hannah’s aim has always been to improve animals’ quality of life and welfare by continually learning herself and teaching owners, trainers, veterinary and shelter staff.
Hannah now sees veterinary-referred behavioural cases all over the world, thanks to the development in virtual consultations in the last 18 months. Hannah is an RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons) Advanced Practitioner in Companion Animal Behaviour, an ASAB (the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour) accredited Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB) for Dogs, Cats and Equines, an ABTC (Animal Behaviour and Training Council) registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist and registered Veterinary Behaviourist, a Full Member of the APBC (Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors), a Director and Certificated Member of the FAB Clinicians (Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians) and a Committee Member of the BVBA (British Veterinary Behaviour Association).
Check them Hannah here https://donovanvetbehaviour.com
FABClinicians Q & A Sessions available to vet staff for free. https://fabclinicians.org/veterinary-q-and-a-sessions/
A Horse Case for The Horse Trust on January 26th 2022. https://horsetrust.org.uk/training-courses/continued-professional-development/
Life from the animal’s perspective for Animal Therapies on February 2nd 2022. https://whova.com/embedded/event/assnc_202202/?utc_source=ems
Equine Fears and Phobias Webinar for FABC and The Horse Trust. March 30th 2022 https://fabclinicians.org/public-calendar/
Clicker Training Horses, clarity in liberty movements
Wishing every listener the very best for 2022!!
Clicker Training Horses, send to a distant place
Wishing every listener the very best for 2022!!
Clicker Training Horses, Wait While I Move
Wishing every listener the very best for 2022!!
Clicker training horses- errorless learning and stimulus control
Friend and colleague Sooz Foster joins me again as we take these topics down some interesting rabbit holes. High fiving cats and why extinction bursts in your horse are thankfully less dangerous, or are they?
Shout out to Sooz who since our last recording has gained her IAABC certification and ABTC accreditation, check her out at her new website www.soozequine.co.uk
My Improve your R+ and Trudi's R+ Coaching courses will be open again for new year intake at understandhorses.com and Sooz and I will be hosting another Train Clean Workshop in January, follow us both on FB to avoid missing out.
In May 2022 we will be returning to Nine Acres in Norfolk to host our live practical clicker training workshop- limited spaces will be available soon.
Clicker Training- Reinforcement Routines
Sooz Foster and I recorded this episode amidst our live in person training weekend at Nine Acres equestrian in Norfolk.
We dive into the detail on reinforcement routines (loops, procedures, practices...) in a light-hearted episode!
Train Clean Stimulus Control Event https://www.facebook.com/events/168407405378673
Trick Training in discussion with Maisie Wake
In this episode I speak to colleague and friend Maisie Wake. We discuss trick training, the ethics and methods. What are tricks and should we train them?
Maisie is an Equine Massage Therapist and a behaviour consultant for both equines and chickens. She is a supporting member of IAABC, and a member of the Equine Behaviour and Training Association. She is also currently in training to be an animal physio, as it is important to her that she can offer help both behaviourally and physically. Maisie loves working with a variety of species, and started her career with work experience at two wildlife aid centres, exotic birds at Exmoor zoo, falconry training, and then many years at The Donkey Sanctuary.
You can find Maisie on both Facebook and Instagram @mwaketherapy.
Talking Tracks with Larri Davison-Bowes
Dear listener, Season 2 is upon us! Episode 1 of the new season (episode 16 as we go) is ready for you.
Larri is not only a good friend but an amazing horse person. We recorded this episode earlier in the summer when I visited my old boy Moralejo (Moo) who is on retirement livery at Larri's amazing track livery Horse Haven - Holistic Livery and Ethical Training.
You can find Larri on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HorseHavenWales and Instagram and her website is https://www.horse-haven.co.uk/
Not just a livery provider (rehab, retirement and training) but a hoof geek, a behaviour geek and an Emmett practitioner. Larri is your all round horse person and has a wealth of knowledge- go check her out...AFTER you've listened to the podcast!
Click or Miss?
A question that came up on one of my recent R+ training course Q and A sessions was just too good not to answer publicly. Thanks for such a great question Sara...what do you do when your horse appears not to hear the click?
In this final episode of the season I consider this scenario and offer some solutions. What do you do when your learner doesn't react to the bridge in the way you expected?
I'll be back at the end of summer with a new season and some great guests and topics. Get in touch if you would like a question answered or have any suggestions for episodes.
Lauren Fraser talks CAT and compassion
In this episode I talk to friend and colleague Lauren Fraser, in the main, about CAT and having compassion for horse guardians that are transitioning from traditional methods. A couple of LaHtW rabbit holes and the off tangent. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Lauren is an experienced horsewoman, who has worked professionally with horses since 2006. Prior to her current specialization, Lauren taught riding and horsemanship, and trained horses. Lauren holds an Equine Science Certificate (with Distinction) from the University of Guelph, and obtained her Masters of Science degree in Clinical Animal Behaviour (with Merit) through the University of Edinburgh's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. Her dissertation research looked at the behavioural effects on horses of a controversial training practice: ‘laying down’ a horse in an effort to effect behaviour change. Lauren is a Certified Horse Behaviour Consultant (CHBC) with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). She is a member of the IAABC application review committee, and she was hors division chair for the organization for almost a decade. Lauren is also a practitioner member of the International Society of Equitation Science (ISES), and a Fear Free® Certified Professional. In addition to working one-on-one with horse owners to address behaviour problems, Lauren presents educational events and lectures on horse behaviour to a diverse audience - monthly workshops for horse owners, online courses for veterinarians and other equine professionals, guest lectures for university equine science programs. Lauren has also worked as a freelance journalist, writing articles and press releases about horse behaviour and training for various publications and scientific conferences. Lauren owns three horses: True, an Arabian gelding, Calcite, a half Arabian gelding, and Viveza, an Andalusian mare. While she grew up riding English, she currently rides Western. She particularly enjoys starting horses under saddle and teaching life skill behaviours as well as teaching cooperative care behaviours. A vocal proponent of shaping behaviour using positive reinforcement with all species, Lauren especially enjoys working with horse trainers and owners who may be transitioning from traditional or natural horsemanship backgrounds. Lauren lives in beautiful Squamish, BC, Canada and can be found online at www.equinebehaviourist.ca and at www.understandhorses.com where her new course on CAT will be launching very soon.
LIMA and negative reinforcement, my thoughts on these two mind benders!
From the IAABC (iaabc.org) “LIMA” is an acronym for the phrase “least intrusive, minimally aversive.” LIMA describes a trainer or behavior consultant who uses the least intrusive, minimally aversive strategy out of a set of humane and effective tactics likely to succeed in achieving a training or behavior change objective. LIMA adherence also requires consultants to be adequately educated and skilled in order to ensure that the least intrusive and aversive procedure is used.'' Adopting LIMA is about having the equine learner at the heart of your decision making about training protocols/behaviour modification programmes. But is it a rich table of ingredients that we can pick and choose from according to our own personal ethics?
Can we be pure R+ trainers? When does R- creep in even if we didn't plan on it?
My thoughts as I scratch the surface on this and more in this 13th episode, lucky for some!
Pointers and pitfalls when starting out in positive reinforcement training
Starting out with positive reinforcement training? This episode delves into the pointers and pitfalls that are common when starting out. In this episode I'm joined again by Clare Young of Kindly Equine. Clare is studying the NAC behaviour qualification and I'm really pleased to announce she has been accepted on the MSc at Edinburgh university to study clinical animal behaviour.
Find the podcast on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/leadahorsetowaterpodcast find Trudi at www.equine.training and her online courses at understandhorses.com
Positive Reinforcement, Starting Out, with Clare Young
In this episode I natter to Clare Young of Kindly Equine (see below for links to FB and Insta) about getting started with positive reinforcement. It's a great chat and we did go on a little longer than planned but I've left it whole as I think it works well. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording it, there will be further digs into the world of the new trainer in future episodes.
Clare is currently studying Equine behaviour with the Natural Animal Centre and is hoping to be accepted on a Masters course to study Clinical Animal Behaviour. I first met Clare when she began training equines with R+ and I travelled to meet her in Hampshire. Since then, I have come to know her as the QUEEN of learning environments- she is meticulous at setting up her learners for success and strives to create comfortable and fun learning opportunities.
https://www.facebook.com/kindlyequine
https://www.instagram.com/kindlyequine/
Books mentioned in this episode:
The Trainable Cat: A Practical Guide to Making Life Happier for You and Your Cat, Bradshaw and Ellis
Equine Empowerment: A Guide To Positive Reinforcement Training, Jessica Gonzalez
Connection Training: The Heart and Science of Positive Horse Training, Hannah Weston and Rachel Bedingfield
Listen Up! Is Your Horse Talking To You?
Catch up with me at www.equine.training and find my new interactive course at understandhorses.com
The equine pain face information here
Sue Dyson's ridden pain information here
Patterns: Could They Help You Leave Home?
In this episode Sooz Foster (check out previous episodes for her bio) and I dig down into patterns and how they can help us help our horses. Adapted from Leslie McDevitt's pattern games for dogs, these simple devices can ease anxiety for you and your horse especially for horses that struggle to leave home because of separation based anxiety.
Apologies for some sound issues from Sooz at the start and interruptions from my dogs- real life problems!
You can get in touch via my website https://www.equine.training/equine-training-podcast/ on Facebook or Instagram and you can find my online courses at understandhorses.com, sign up for news of my upcoming interactive online course- six weeks of lectures and feedback on your training!
Find people mentioned in this episode:
Sooz Foster at https://www.facebook.com/sfequine
Leslie McDevitt at http://www.controlunleashed.net/
Touchy about targets?
Touchy about targets? No, really I'm not! I just love good, careful and clean teaching of handheld target behaviours (and all other behaviours of course). Targets are often used to lure forward movement- again I have no issue with this WHEN DONE WELL. Listen while I ramble through my thoughts on the subject and gather your own thoughts too. Who is targeting for? When should handheld target training be part of your plans? More to come in future episodes: how to train handheld targets, targets as lures, undoing the damage when targets go wrong, cues to help when targeting, mats (and other objects) as a target... Send me your training tips for targeting, share your target pics and video on the Lead a Horse to Water FB page!! My piece on targets written for the IAABC Journal
Find me at equine.training on Facebook and Instagram
Changing management systems to support welfare and behaviour change- In Conversation with Dr Dorothy Heffernan-
Thank you all for the amazing support and for listening in. Please reinforce me as you see fit by sharing this episode and by getting in touch with any questions, suggestions or just to say you've listened! You can get in touch via my website https://www.equine.training/equine-training-podcast/ on Facebook or Instagram and you can find my online courses at understandhorses.com Email me (contact via my website) or message me - I WILL get back to you. Fire your suggestions at me for future podcast themes, guests and questions you'd like answering or just let me know how your training and behaviour change is going. In this episode (7) I was joined by Dr Dorothy Heffernan to talk about improving behaviour issues and welfare through changed management and enrichment. This is a topic close to both Dorothy and my hearts but it is an immense subject so do check out the links below to Dorothy's Facebook page, Horse's Under Our Skin, and to the resources she recommended. Dorothy can be contacted through her Facebook page. Dorothy is a psychologist based in Scotland who applies her knowledge of learning, cognition and neuroscience to help horse guardians improve their horses’ lives through a changed approach to management, training and environment. She uses a force-free approach to training and enjoys making science fun and relatable. Since 2013, she has written a blog about horse behaviour, Horses Under Our Skin, helping people understand why their horses act the way they do. She is an endorsed trainer of the World Bitless Association and helps horse owners transition to bitless riding using positive reinforcement techniques. In addition, she works with horse, pony and donkey owners using an evidence-based approach to resolving behaviour issues from handling, riding, transporting and husbandry problems. She has been a chartered member of the British Psychological Society for nearly 20 years. In the podcast Dorothy recommended Rachael Draaisma's book Language Signs Calming Signals Horses and The Equicentral System Contact Dorothy via https://www.facebook.com/HorsesUnderOurSkin
Growth mindsets with Andrea Harrison
In this episode I speak to Andrea Harrison about positive training and adopting a growth mindset. It's a good one! I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it. Andrea is an educator who is passionate about all species, including horses, dogs and humans! She has taken her positive message to the media many times, including appearances on TV shows, print radio, podcasts and more. Andrea has worked with a wide variety of people as an educator for decades. The science of brain research fascinates her. Helping students of all ages be successful, reduce anxiety and stress and manage their time by using her training in counselling, personality typing, and experiences matters to her. Her competitive addictions are now dressage and scent work, though agility and eventing will always have a special place in her heart. Andrea and her animals have earned many ribbons and titles together. Her super star dog Sally was the canine lead in the feature film “Saving Dinah". Andrea attained B level Pony Club before aging out and then completed her Level one coaching certification. A passionate life learner one of her favourite parts of teaching (and coaching) is the learning it allows her to do. You can find out more about Andrea and what she is up to at www.andreaharrison.ca and you can find her on Facebook and check out the Heart Equine Academy and look for her Planning and Organization for Dog and Horse Trainers and Animal Sports People on Facebook too. The Brene Brown short animated video is here The power of empathy I'd highly recommend checking it out, at less than 3 minutes it is a great place to start resetting your growth mindset.
You can get in touch via my website https://www.equine.training/equine-training-podcast/ on Facebook or Instagram and you can find my online courses at understandhorses.com
Let's talk cues
Give me a clue! Is that a cue?
In this episode Sooz Foster and I dig deep into the topic of cues. What is a cue? When do we introduce a cue? What does a suitable cue look like? Is the environment a cue? And lots more!
It's rather a long episode as we begin to unravel our thoughts on cues and it might need a couple of listens.
I mention in the podcast Understand Horses which is a new online equine education platform. You can find my current course here Understand Horses
Sooz Foster is a BHS stage 4 senior coach and stable manager she is also a ride with your mind accredited level 1 coach and certified Franklin ball coach and is currently studying behaviour with the Natural Animal Centre. She lives and works in North Devon in the South west of England. Find Sooz on Facebook at SF Equine
Thank you all for the amazing support and for listening in. Please reinforce me as you see fit by sharing this episode and by getting in touch. You can get in touch via my website https://www.equine.training/equine-training-podcast/ on Facebook or Instagram and you can find my online courses at understandhorses.com. Email me or message me on Anchor or via the podcast FB page - I will to get back to you. Fire your suggestions at me for future podcast themes, guests and questions you'd like answering or just let me know how your training and behaviour change is going.
Stuck in a training rut- how to get moving
In this episode (episode 4, I'm on a roll) I answer a listener's question about how to introduce movement behaviour using reward based training. It's a typical scenario where we have trained a good stand calmly behaviour only to find when we want to introduce movement (walk on) our horse is stuck. I talk through some different training protocols to help if you find yourself in the same situation.
Thank you all for the amazing support and for listening in. Please reinforce me as you see fit by sharing this episode and by getting in touch with any questions, suggestions or just to say you've listened!
You can get in touch via my website https://www.equine.training/equine-training-podcast/ on Facebook or Instagram and you can find my online courses at understandhorses.com Email me (contact via my website) or message me - I will get back to you. Fire your suggestions at me for future podcast themes, guests and questions you'd like answering or just let me know how your training and behaviour change is going.