Reward Based Training is Not Treat Training

When nay-sayers of Positive Reinforcement (R+) Training, Reward Based Training or Clicker training refer to it as “treat training” its a dead give-a-way that they no clue about the very topic.

R+ training is not about stuffing your horse with “treats”! It about connecting a bridge signal to a specific ask, movement, que, etc. But there is more science about this that I think some people deliberately leave out.

There is a way in horse training that speaks to creating new neural pathways with your horse. We have all seen the light go off in their heads when they master a task and then retain that task for infinity. Licking and chewing is often the reference point for when the horse “gets it” as they are releasing tension. They begin to salivate and work their jaw, tongue and facial muscles sometimes with excessive yawning. In order to get tension you must deliberately over stimulate or push your horse beyond their threshold. This is generally done during the onset of pressure, the relief and licking and chewing is generally when the trainer offers the release.

Effective? YES! Often referred to as Natural Horsemanship, where you work to create a common relationship with your horse, as seen among herds, where you establish an alpha role or dominance, control and pressure. Most horses want to get away from pressure so the “seek” part of their brain begins to offer the trainer solutions to find their own release. When the horse gets the action right, the release is immediate letting the horse know that they got the right answer.

For non horse people, think of training your dog to sit. You will repeatedly say “sit”, maybe offer a hand gesture or apply pressure to the dogs back until he sits. Once he sits, you use a bridge signal like a click, cluck or word like “Good sit” and generally we offer a food reward. Rewards for dogs are common and rarely ever questioned by why not a food stimuli for the horse?

When we offer our animals a food reward we are actually activating the brain in a much deeper level. The immediate release of Dopamine encourages salivaviation, movement of the jaw and muscles and release of tension and is much stronger when a food reward is offered.

But what if we offer a reward before the onset of pressure or by avoiding putting the horse over their threshold and can avoid negative pressure or aversive training all together?

Horses that are pushed beyond their threshold are generally forced into a fight, flight or freeze response. Their heart rate is increased, focus diminished, and fear begins to set in. It is proven that training efforts are limited when the horse is in a state of fear. This presents a new approach to asking the horse to perform a task or movement where negative pressure is absent or very limited and a bride signal (often times a click or cluck) is offered followed by a food reward to offer an immediate release of dopamine. Is it possible that this can achieve a higher state of learning?

Science says yes and has proven time and time again with dolphins, alligators, horses, chimps and on.

Chimpanzees in the wild have zero need or desire to learn sign language with humans. They are focused on their basic needs of survival: food, shelter and safety. What has been demonstrated and should never be overlooked is how, once provided their basic needs for survival, they were able to tap into a totally unfounded way of communicating and training a totally wild chimpanzee and gorilla. Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall have changed the way we perceive our animal counterparts and opened the door to this ideology.

Our horses are no different. Just imagine a horses higher brain function and ability to communicate in the absence of fear and negative pressure. The results are unbelievable and have proven time and time again effective. Liberty Training, a growing trend in horse training methods, removes the halter and lead rope and works to further dive into the open nature of willful communication with your horse. If you have not tried this with your horse, you should. You will be amazed at just how willing they are to move with you, communicate with you and train with you.

I, personally, give respect for negative reinforcement and relief techniques. They actually go hand-in-hand with R+, contrary to what some think.

I have zero tolerance for the “yank and spank”, abuse and barbarism that some call “training”. With better knowledge and methods you can help your horse with what I call “their emotional fitness” by shaping their behavior with positive reinforcement training. This is not bribing them with treats. This is training and communicating effectively to achieve a result in a safe, neutral manner.

What happens when you run out of food rewards?

Let this be a reminder that you are not reinforcing “treats”. You are reinforcing the behavior. Once the behavior is learned you are able to start stacking more without the interruption of click or food rewards. I don’t click and reward a single step back with my horse like I did when I was teaching him day 1 of backing up and he doesn’t expect that. It was mighty effective to achieve that step or picking up his feet but these things become so ingrained in their every day lives and behavior that the reinforcers are not necessary.

His social media post concludes:

“I think that treat training is part of the current popular trend that wrongly encourages humans to redefine equine behavior in human terms, not in authentic equine terms. Denying the authenticity of the horse leads to several different kinds of problems down the road.”

I would like to know more about his thoughts on “authentic equine terms”. If you asked my equines about their authentic terms it would be to eat, poop, sleep and play. No where is my curriculum of tricks and training part of their terms or needs. If I want them on my terms, it should mutually exclusive where it is rewarding for us both otherwise you might end up with a bitter companion at the end of your lead rope.