Episode 236: Modern Horse Training Pt 3: Accessibility

This is part 3 of a conversation about my new book: Modern Horse Training. In our previous conversation, Dominique started at the end of the book to talk about riding. Now we’re back at the beginning of the book. Dominique picked out three elements that stood out for her that contribute to what is meant by modern horse training. In Part 1 we talked about constructional training - what that means and the clarity it brings to training. A second element is of course loopy training. In Part 2 we talked about what it means to flip the funnel.

Another element that stood out for Dominique was the inclusion of extinction in discussions of the four quadrants of operant conditioning. That brought us to it is okay for our horses to say NO. In this episode we consider more of the elements that contribute to our use today of positive reinforcement training. What it brings us to is one of the great benefits of this work - it is so accessible. That’s true for both the horse and the handler. It doesn’t matter what skill level you bring to the work, there’s a starting point that will work for you. It doesn’t matter what training puzzles your horse presents, there is a starting point for that horse, as well. Accessibility is a hugely important element of this work. We share stories that illustrate what this means.