Rewards are frequently used in horse training because we want to achieve a certain goal. Each reward should act as a positive reinforcer, and thus, positively influence the probability of a specific behavior to occur in the future. As a consequence, ...
Free work always means working on the relationship too, and a joint motion dialogue is only beneficial for both sides if either side is able to mentally and physically cope with the situation. Therefore, it is always up to our horse to determine the ...
Free work with horses is always based upon a complex and intuitive interaction of both partners. In my opinion, the resulting motion dialogue does not depend on the guidance of one side alone, but happens through the interaction...
The more we are able to open our intuitive perceptual channel for the movements of horse and human, the less difficulty we will have to develop a truly synchronous dialogue of movement with our two-legged training partner...
We continue to rediscover the joy of movement in our seminar with Lea and her thoroughbred Arabian horse Salima. After having and raising a foal, the mare shows little energy, and is not as enthusiastically absorbed in free work as before. So, we would...
In my opinion, using the technique of unfocused gaze is an important tool to establish more harmony and connection with the horse when doing free groundwork. We are able to direct our gaze in different ways at the horse and our environment: It can either...
The main reasons to do free work with horses are being free with the horse, discovering new patterns of movement, and finding joy in movement for me. I would like to enter into a dialogue of movement that allows human and horse to express themselves;...
Motion is not just an aspect of movement. Horses, just like humans, do not move from A to B as quickly as possible but express their feelings through body language and the way they move. In fact, the word emotion derives from the Latin term...
In general, horses that have been accustomed in a casual and relaxed manner to as many external stimuli as possible during their foalhood tend to develop laid-back personalities when they grow up. In doing so, it is important to proceed with caution,...
The sequence of lessons, and the size of rewards are very important parameters that influence the animal’ learning success, and thus can determine whether our training will be successful or not. Leo Paul Crespi already proved that his trained rats...