He is so handsome, he changed so much physically. He is a really good horse, always so calm and cooperative, thanks to your patience, care and dedication to him🐴👍🌻
I agree with you. Horses appreciate when you say thank you, and they for sure respond to it. I'm happy you did a video on this. Everyone has different ways of training....I will leave that statement there.....Sir Wilde is doing fantastic,your doing such a great job with him. Thank you for sharing this journey with us😊🤗😍💖
Having a young horse he's learning how to be loved and safe with his human. Some of the Lovings was a bit scary til you taught how it was safe. It's the same with us. Big ol' horse comes up for fuss and if it's not something you're used to you might be scared but once we understand the intent is loving then horsey attention is the best. All my ponies had the reputation of soppiness. Could ya hold him a minute while I just..? Nobody minded minding my horse because he was such a sweetie. Winning folks over like that made me so proud. Better than rosettes.and we won a few of those too.
It's so nice to see that there are people thinking like that. I just love your way of thinking. It's so important to show our appreciation to our horses, reward them and seek for draw.
Totally agree with you with pressure and release, we want co operation, we are asking them to do things for us. Do not forget ever they would prefer to be in a heard running wild.
Can't wait for the video called "Wildie finally gets to play with the other horseys in the Arena". I wonder what his reaction will be like. Will he stay quiet in his own place or will he be extra happy for being with other horses again?
Back in the 70's my girl friends would hang out with me at the barn (to get a look at cowboys?) and ask me... what the heck are you doing? I might be jumping around making noise or something, or getting my horse, Sinbad, to release his hindquarters, or loudly lugging my saddle back and forth around my horse (actually more like many many many back and forth). My answer? "I'm taking the edge off, working toward calm". They'd roll their eyes, swirl their mood rings, and I'd chuckle. :)) BTW I agree with Deedee. Mr. Oscar looks AMAZING!! Wish I wasn't so far away, I love to have him, he reminds me so much of one of my granny's horses.
Graeme, I would argue that the difference between reward and release is a human difference and not relevant to a horse. We may use the terms release and reward to describe my actions, but in training horses they mean the same thing because horses see the world in terms of comfort and discomfort. Both release and reward change the experience of a horse from discomfort and toward less discomfort (or less comfort to more comfort depending on your point of view). My experience tells me that horses don't see the absence of pressure as a release or the addition of a treat/scratch/"good boy" etc as a reward. I believe they view the world in terms of what is more comfortable or what is less uncomfortable. Anyway, that's my 2c worth. Cheers.
Well... then let's put it this way, I'm giving MORE comfort MOOOOORRREEE and in turn the release and reward is just more better than before. The real goal here is to create more draw and in fact you could even look at it as scratches training is part of everything I am teaching. I just happen to be teaching scratches every single time. This in turn creates that draw of when I'm finished with what I'm actually trying to educate them on, they still look towards me after that to get further education in that scratching area, and likely trying to teach me too on where to scratch. Then I get an opportunity to learn too. Bottom line is that it's a better connection. So, while there may be something to be said about release being some form of reward, and yes I agree about that in the horse world, I want to bring their level of communication up higher with me as a higher communicating entity. So far, they all seem to pick it up well :)
Newer subscriber here, 1st comment.. I just wanted to say that I love that you put such compassion into your training & working w/these guys. Really wonderful. Great videos!
I really really like your philosophy and it shows in your horses. It builds a bond of trust and removes stress and tension. Nicely stated and I agree with you totally that a reward beyond release, be it a treat or a physical rub and your voice , whatever it is beyond just a release helps to encourage the horse they are doing it right and they did what you said to do correctly when they receive that reward. It is a two way communication. They know they did what you asked and did it right and the reward was received to let them know and confirm they did what you asked.
What you are saying makes perfect sense. I like your analogy with how it would be if someone was on and on at you to do something and when you did it they just went quiet. And you're supposed to feel rewarded by their silence. A little appreciation and gratefulness goes a long way, both with humans and animals. Well said!
I really love your philosophy and I am grateful I got to practice a little bit in person (Lena was also a patient teacher), I wish I could take a sabbatical and come learn more every day!
I always use a saying, you get more bees with honey than you do with vinager. Which is to say you get more done with kindness than being mean, or in this case silence. Amazing work with that handsome fella. He's really quite a good boy! It's really lovely to watch. Thanks for all the wonderful things I've learned! ☺️❤️
so basically you are saying, give negative reinforcement followed by positive reinforcement then you would get the desired outcome.... i totally agree with you... although some pple would argue that horses are different so we cannot compare them to a human example... but i think they do look for reassurance from the "higher horse", so they can feel safe...they come and touch their muzzle to another horse or the trainer so that they get reassured...so it is only fair that the trainer [any] will reassure them back with a positive reinforcement.
It's funny it's called "negative reinforcement" when simply asking a horse to do something. I think it becomes negative if we leave it as simple pressure and release. The whole of it is labeled. As such, asking for something and then getting and then appreciating would fall under positive reinforcement training, or "mutual understanding training" or something. You've got the concept correct for sure though and while it doesn't apply much horse to horse, as a relationship with a human it can really flourish.
There's a handful of trainers I tuned into after I found your channel last year, and it was kind of surprising to see how compassionate training isn't nearly as common as I'd assumed. And some trainers were compassionate in a way, but the person behind the camera was so unpalatable, it didn't matter if he Thought Like A Horse, he was still a hard pill to swallow. On the 5th try I recently found a trainer named Tara who is just lovely and uses compassionate training too, lots of correction but lots of praise and play and touch for her horses. And her Friesian Apollo is just the most stunning thing I've ever seen, and incredibly well trained.
Unpalatable.. that's a really good word. I would add in many more but I won't outside of that it's a pill that should never be swallowed by anyone. I've heard a lot of good about Tara but haven't had the time to watch too much. Her horses are quite good looking indeed!
@@StableHorseTraining I watch Tera and she is quite good. The horses love their humans and do have a lot of draw. Think Like a Horse made fun of her in a couple of videos and she put out a video showing him out. She did a good job of it. It distributed me watching the video. Tar
As soon as I saw horseshoes nailed in that friesian horse I already knew; swallowing that pill will be the best for the horse at the end of the day. No excuse to ride with a bit neither. I get it, his personality is a little too much, but thats not the point of his videos. It's not about him. It's about horses.
My gosh, he's handsome. He's like Luke's mirror, one white right foot instead of white left foot. I realize he already has a name, but since you have Luke, Matthew or Mark would be cute. Like many others, I have really enjoyed your series with him.
I agree with you, the most important part of training way the reward. I think that positive reward, like scratches, petting, rubbing them gives them incentive to bring a positive relationship between the trainer. I use the same method with my dog as I do with my horses. My dog is hard headed and is harder to train than any horse I have ever trained. I haven't made any progress with training my goats though!
I like it that Oscar likes to be scratched and petted. I wish my horse was cuddly. I’ve been working hard for years to get my horse to accept being touched, to not try biting me when I do. I can’t use touch rewards, because it annoys him. That’s really hard for me because I want to hug, kiss and love on him. I’m still desensitizing, and rewarding him for letting me touch him. He has come a long way, but has a ways to go.
Is it perhaps that he's telling you touch in another spot? Some horses don't want their ears/eyes/face touched. Stifle is a bad place for many. A lighter touch perhaps? He might be very very sensitive to rough touches. I remember one time I went to "teach" a lady about horsemanship and she started the whole session off with a very rough brushing of her horse. The horse couldn't look more uncomfortable for this time and I told her so... she couldn't even imagine she was doing anything wrong and just continued on while her horse looked miserable.
Amazing job you’re doing with Sir Wilde (AKA Luke’s twin). The other day you posted a video of Oscar sleeping and I honestly though he was Luke. I think I need to move to BC because I haven’t met a trainer yet around here with your philosophy or method 😍
Thank you! Yes, they look a lot alike. I took him down to the end to compare him and Luke from across the fence and it was uncanny. I don't know of many that follow what I think and do either. I feel like I should feel like the odd man out, but I think of it more that everybody else hasn't caught up yet. Maybe...
@@StableHorseTraining for me, the proof is in the pudding, the pudding being your horses and the genuine trust and respect they have for you...that’s what it’s all about
Aversive stimuli (pressure)/rewarding stimuli (scratches) are what is given or taken from the animal. What is rewarding or aversive is also defined by the animal, not us. The action of giving/taking is what the +/- is referring to when talking about positive or negative punishment and reinforcement. P+ : giving and aversive P- : removing a reward R+ : giving a reward R - : removing an aversive Reinforcement and punishment refer to if the behavior is increasing or decreasing in frequency. Removing an aversive (pressure) is NEVER considered a reward. What a good point that it's merely relief from the aversive!
Graeme, I like your way of training because it is soft. And I think you know I mean in a good way. I think we think soft is not going to get results but it does, just not as fast or as harshly. Which is why you now have a pocket Meatball
like all things, Pressure and Release, works in moderation but, I agree, I think it does reinforce negative behaviors. I also feel it does not help develop a bond with the horse. That bond will take you farther than any pressure will.
pretty much what I'm doing in this video. Hard to explain through words, but the feeling you have should telepathically make it to the horse. How you physically exhibit that, may be up to you and who you are as a person.
The pressure and release is a fine method, but the video is about knowing that the release isn't a "reward". If your horse is walking away from you, then somehow you are going to need to change it's mind about hanging out with you. I have found that "being a friend" is better than force or not being friendly. How you get that done will be up to you but I demonstrate it a lot in my videos.
@@StableHorseTraining thanks very much. Do you have a video on catching your horse in an open field? My horse just keeps walking away and showing me her back. If a get a carrot, she will gobble it up and then start walking again.
