An important element of horse training and equine behavior is communication. As we introduce positive reinforcement(R+) training techniques, we will first focus on teaching the bridge signal (for our purposes we will use a clicker). Through this process we will also practice manners around food and ...

We continue working on manners both on the ground and around food. However, we are going to take it a bit further and add movement. We will be reinforcing relaxation and downward transitions. Therefore we put a greater value on our horses choice to quiet their bodies AND minds. Overtime this skill (...

In this lesson we talk about what a target is as it relates to positive reinforcement training and why it is useful and then introduce it to our horses.

Shawna takes you through stationary targeting, shifting context and some pointers for horses who try to hard or are a little shut down using positive reinforcement.

Many people struggle with good ways to motivate their horse to go forward…to WANT to go forward when asked. In this lesson we discuss ways to help your horse go forward. By utilizing positive reinforcement we put something in it the the horse wants and values and this is a game changer. We will disc...

In this lesson we being teaching our horses to go from point A to Point B. This is useful for exercise, for teaching your horse to go away from you, to trailer load, and for teaching your horse to jump or go over obstacles.

Utilizing our hands as targets is easy to teach and obviously convenient. In addition, pairing it with their name becomes is an easy way to teach a recall.

Sometimes, during training sessions, our horses get off track. I discuss ways to get back on track, to bring clarity to our sessions and to minimize frustration.

Teaching pressure as a cue, with a strong positive reinforcement history instead of using escalating pressure. While this may seem like a matter of semantics, the resulting emotional state is quite different. I describe the difference and ways to create the behavior utilizing positive reinforcement....