by Jo Spiller I have had the most marvellous time writing this article. There are things I thought I knew; I mean, after all, I have a degree from The British Horse Society to teach riding. I have been teaching riders and schooling horses successfully for a long time, so what could I be missing? …
I have just read a book by notable dog trainer, Harrison Forbes called ‘Dog Talk‘, and I liked his perspective on training methods so much I wanted to share it. In quoting Harrison – I’ve put ‘horse’ in brackets to help you visualise better. “Instead of watching their dogs (horses), I find people are watching a …
What is the difference between CAT (Constructional Approach Training) and Advance-Retreat? By Laurel Gordon with photos and captions by Lynn Scott. In any comparison between Advance/Retreat (A/R) and CAT, the first thing is that in CAT the horse sets the threshold, not the human. It allows the animal to control the proximity of the aversive …
by Greg Glendell This article tries to explain some key terms used in leaning theory, as applied to training horses. Learning theory is the scientific explanation of how all animals, including humans, behave. It is not really a ‘method’ for training horses. Instead, it explains how the process of learning takes place, regardless of the …
Jargon Busting: Some Learning Theory Terms for Horse Owners. Read More »
By Laurel Gordon Based on a definition of CAT-H by Dolores Arste and Kellie Snyder. While working on her Master’s thesis, behavioural science student Kellie Snyder noticed that positive reinforcement methods like clicker training, or giving food treats, didn’t work so well on animals when there was a lot of fear involved. With the help …
by Cynthia Cooper Natural Horsemanship has increased our awareness of relationships with horses – the terms partnership, respect, leader, alpha etc. have become common but their meaning can be as varied as the meaning we give to those terms in our human relationships. Good Leadership is recognised as being an essential part of the equation. …
