Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning, formulated by behaviorist B.F. Skinner, is one of those subjects fraught with misunderstanding, and even those of us who understand it sometimes misspeak, due largely to the uncommon use of common words.

The primary principle of operant conditioning is that when behavior is reinforced, it is more likely to be repeated and when behavior is punished, it is less likely to be repeated. The way we reinforce or punish is by adding or taking away stimuli.

1. Positive Reinforcement means that something pleasant is added to encourage the desired behavior. Example: The horse is given a food treat when he responds correctly.

2. Negative Reinforcement means that something unpleasant is subtracted to encourage the desired behavior. Example: Pressure is released when the horse complies with a request.

3. Positive Punishment means that something unpleasant is added to discourage the undesired behavior. Example: A horse is spanked instantly when he kicks out under saddle.

4. Negative Punishment means that something pleasant is subtracted to discourage unwanted behavior. Example: The trainer withholds a food treat that a horse wants.

These are called the four quadrants of operant conditioning. (Extinction is sometimes called the fifth “quadrant.” I’ll address that another time.)

Unfortunately, keeping all of this straight is next to impossible for most people, including me. The reason is simple. All four of the key words have narrower meanings than we usually give them. Positive means added (rather than good). Negative means subtracted (rather than bad). Reinforcing means rewarding (rather than strengthening) and punishing means deterring (rather than paying back).

These may seem like small distinctions but they can result in big misunderstandings. For example, I often hear trainers use the term "negative reinforcement" to mean creating an unpleasant consequence to a behavior. This, of course, is not what it means in the world of operant conditioning.

My advice is pretty straightforward. Use the principles of operant conditioning but be careful of the terms. They confuse more than they clarify. And when you hear someone else using them, remember, chances are very good that they are using them incorrectly. Better to clamp your hands over your ears and hum the theme to "Gilligan's Island," or at least think about something else until the moment passes. Like maybe lunch. More next time.

Being an ambassador

Thanks again to all who joined me for my first ever Facebook Q & A session Wednesday. Great turnout. Great questions. Please vote in our FB poll regarding the format of the next one. Personally, I’m voting for video. (You can answer the poll here.)

I’d like to elaborate on the question of how we should go about converting more people to natural horsemanship. My short answer in the Q & A was to be a good example. I’ve been exposed to evangelists of all stripes and my reaction is always the same: I bristle at someone telling me how I should think or behave. I get a mental brace against the very thing an evangelist is pushing on me. On the other hand, if words or actions pique my curiosity, I open right up to the possibilities. Good ambassadors for natural horsemanship set such good examples with their behavior and the behavior of their horses that people want to know more. They open right up to the possibilities.

In NH, we talk about letting your idea become the horse’s idea. We talk about making the right thing easy for the horse to do. We also talk about giving the horse time to process what you have presented to him and finding a good place to end before he sours on the lesson. I think it’s pretty easy to correlate those ideas to our relationships with people.

A Buddhist proverb tells us, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” The teacher must also be ready, so as you go about your business of being a good ambassador, think about how you can explain and demonstrate what natural horsemanship means to you. You never know when a student will be ready.

Live Facebook Q & A Wednesday 8:30 pm ET/5:30 pm PT

This is me, poised and ready to answer your questions Wednesday. Okay, you’re right. It’s not me. But I am poised and ready for my first live Facebook Q & A session. I’ll answer as many questions as I can in the hour we have. Keep your questions short and as general as possible so I can come off as smart as possible. If you want to send me questions in advance, email me at lambemail@aol.com. If this goes well, we’ll do more. Maybe even video. Ooooh! Talk to you Wednesday.

The Rearing Horse

As I was wondering what I should explore this week, I got an email from Roberta asking about how to deal with a rearing horse. Great timing, Roberta!

Actually, timing has a lot to do with successful horse handling in all its forms. When you apply pressure – and just as important, when you take the pressure away – determines how clearly your message gets across to the horse.

Let’s start with the horse that rears when being led. I learned this from Clinton Anderson during the four years I hosted his tour and I had the occasion to use it when I started my filly, Sarah. By the way, when the horse rears the first time, it will probably catch you off guard. Get through that experience the safest way you can. Then, get yourself prepared and plan what you’re going to do next time.

To prepare, put on some leather gloves and put the horse in a longer-than-normal lead rope – at least 12’. Instead of avoiding the situation in which the horse reared, revisit it. When the horse rears, let the rope play out until you are safely out of reach of the horse’s hooves. Hold the rope as high as you can to make it more difficult to snag with his forelegs. Then just wait. No need to scold the horse or try to pull him back to the ground. Just keep moderate pressure on the lead rope. When the horse comes back to the ground, release the rope pressure instantly and reward the horse with kind words and a good rub. Then go right back to what you were doing when he reared. If he rears again, calmly repeat the process.

Understand why this works? The “bad” behavior doesn’t get the horse anything at all. It doesn’t get you to leave him alone and it doesn’t get the rope to go away. On top of that, it’s a lot of work! On the other hand, coming back to terra firma ends the exertion and gets a reward from you. You maintained a calm, businesslike attitude during the episode so you didn’t frighten the horse. If you are consistent with how you react to rearing, the behavior should all but disappear. I say, “all but disappear” because there are never any guarantees with training horses. We simply deal with the behavior that is presented to us at any given time.

Rearing while riding is a different issue and I’ll admit I have virtually no personal experience dealing with this. However, I do know from interviewing many experts that the worst thing you can do is what comes most naturally. We humans feel safest in a fetal position with arms and legs pulled in close to us. When a horse rears while you are riding, you may feel inclined to pull back on the reins and squeeze with your legs, closing up your body in an approximation of the fetal position. That can make matters quite a bit worse, even causing the horse to fall over backward or go into an all out flight mode.

When a horse rears while you’re riding him, move your hands forward and your legs back. Open up your body rather than closing it. If you need to grab the saddle horn or pommel, that’s just fine. The idea is for you to remain balanced on the horse instead of tumbling off and also to give the horse freedom to lower his head and come back to earth. Once the horse’s feet are back on the ground you have a choice to make. You can either reward him for ending his “bad” behavior or, if you feel he is about to rear again, you can disengage his hindquarters by pulling on one rein and asking him to cross one hind leg in front of the other. This is often called the one-rein stop. It’s not a punishment, but it does get the horse thinking about his feet and your ability to control them, thus reinforcing your role as leader and making it less likely that he will want to challenge you by rearing. Which course of action you take depends on the feel of the moment and your level of confidence … or lack thereof. If at all possible, you need to resume the activity where the rearing occurred and proceed as if nothing happened.

Rearing is most often an act of defiance that becomes a habit because the horse gets something he perceives as positive from the experience. Ironically, the act of rearing is its own punishment because of the effort it takes to perform. When given a choice, a horse will generally take the path of least effort. Many times, a good training solution is simply making that path clear.

Riding the Bloodhound

Get lost in one of our national forests and you have a 1 in 3 chance of being found alive. After 24 hours, the survival rate drops to 6%. But in north Georgia, horses are helping improve the odds, and not just because of their all-terrain talents. Equines are now proving themselves at scent tracking, too, giving bloodhounds a run for their money. On this week’s radio show, retired Marine colonel, Bob Eikenberry, walks me through Mounted Search and Rescue, a way that horse owners can volunteer their time and riding skills to save lives. Training is intense and includes tracking, first aid, and even self-defense. Don’t miss this fascinating interview. Listen here.

Warm Weather Horsekeeping

Horses are energy neutral, meaning they feel neither hot nor cold, when the ambient temperature is between 15 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Surprised? Summer heat can make horses far more uncomfortable than freezing winter temps. Fortunately, warm weather horsekeeping is pretty simple. Water, shade, air movement. Provide those three ingredients and most horses do just fine, especially if they have plenty of room to move around, a forage-based diet, and the company of other horses.

Some breeds are at a disadvantage in the heat, however. Our Icelandic mare, Fidla, can’t shed out her thick winter coat fast enough when Spring comes here in Phoenix, so Diana gives her a little help. This is a rare example of body clipping being in the horse’s best interest.

Traveling tip: To avoid dehydration of your finicky horse, start adding a little flavoring to the water at home. Add the same flavoring to the strange water and most likely your horse will drink it. Powdered lemonade, Jello, Kool Aid, even carbonated soft drinks are reported to work well for this.

Finally, here is a great article on how horses handle the cold.

Chris Cox Wins #3

Chris Cox made history Sunday as the first horseman to win Road to the Horse three times. All things considered, this colt-starting contest between Cox, Clinton Anderson, and Pat Parelli was the hardest-fought of the eight held so far. Each of the three young horses, sired by different stallions and pasture raised on the famous 6666 ranch, tried hard to unseat his rider. Only Parelli’s horse was successful, and the buckoff in round one, although graceful, may have cost Parelli the win.

Once again, I had the pleasure of hosting the event. This time, two past RTTH winners, Stacy Westfall and Richard Winters, assisted with commentary from a perch high above the arena. Our running analysis aimed to make the action easier to understand for viewers in the stands and on the web. Judging from the comments I received, we were successful.

Road to the Horse just might be the most highly anticipated event of the year for American horse lovers. Although it is a celebration of the methods and philosophies of natural horsemanship, the competition does seem to fly in the face of one very important NH principle: Allowing the horse to set the pace for training. Fine trainers such as Cox, Anderson, and Parelli have the skill to negotiate those treacherous waters. Most of the rest of us don’t. Bottom line: Don’t try this at home, kids.

Congrats once again to Chris Cox.