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Have you ever wondered
“How can I use food rewards in a way that does not micromanage their behaviours?”
“Is it healthy or acceptable to use food rewards in a variable or unpredictable way?”
“How can I de-escalate how much food rewards I use in training, so my relationship with my horse is less transactional, and more open to feel and emotional connection?”
This mini course from Emotional Horsemanship; WHEN TO REWARD, FOR WHAT, covers all of this in a short time frame with both theoretical discussions and practical demonstrations.
Emotional Horsemanship is a horse training and handling protocol that prioritises how horses feel, before we prioritise what horses do.
Food rewards are fabulous in training. This course will not present the argument for SHOULD we use food reward. They are a valuable tool in behavioural modification of a horse. But the question is HOW to use them. Is there more than one way we can use them?
Can we even use them… unpredictably?
Common among R+ trainers is criticism for “mixers” or those who use unpredictable food reward.
Yet, using the same science that informs R+, there is a behavioural paradigm that allows us to be unpredictable with food reward and avoid sending horses over threshold, creating frustration behaviours, or frying out horses brain.
For many of us, de-escalating how much food we employ in training is SO important. We want our relationship with our horses to be more than a transaction of behaviour for food. We want to create space for an emotional connection, and communication via feel: or emotional expression.
Behaviourism is a part of this rich tapestry. But it is not the scienctific prison bars to bind us only to peer reviewed practises.
To be liberated past a high rate of food reward, to start the process of emotionally maturing with our horses, we can use a little discussed and understood behavioural tool to get there.
Reinforcement Schedules.
This mini course presents just this topic. With a Theory section, and Practical section. ENJOY!
Theory & Science
Practical Demonstrations
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4B.F Skinner
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5B.F Skinner Quiz
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6Behaviourism
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7Behaviourism Quiz
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8Operant Conditioning
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9Operant Conditioning Quiz
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10Graph Key: Understanding the Symbols
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11Fixed Ratio (FR)
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12Variable Ratio (VR)
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13Fixed Interval (FI)
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14Variable Interval (VI)
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15Summary and What's Next?
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16Reinforcement Schedules Quiz
My Recommendations
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17Fixed Ratio: Sani
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18Variable Ratio: Caleb
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19Variable Ratio: Sani
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20Fixed Ratio: Caleb
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21Fixed Interval: Sani
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22Variable Interval: Sani
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23Variable Interval: Caleb & Sani... Walking out!
My apologies for the severely shaky footage. My mum was learning the ropes of helping me out! Not easy.
But you can still get the (shaky) picture regardless.