This week we’re talking about the April Clicker Expo which was held in Portland Oregon. We start by talking about a panel discussion on working with aggressive animals. Then we move on to a presentation given by Ken Ramirez on the training terms which have emerged over time. Which of these terms have staying power and why. This was the perfect lead…

This is Part 3 of a three part conversation Dominique and I had in March, 2024. In part 1 we talked about puzzle solving and this led to a great real life experience using back chaining that Dominique shared with us. e between forward chaining and back chaining. In Part 2 the spotlight was on rope handling. This week we are changing topics yet agai…

Toward the end of March Dominique and I met for an afternoon’s conversation which I’ve divided up into three episodes. Last week we talked about puzzle solving. This week rope handling is in the spotlight. Dominique is going through my on-line rope handling course. She’s just reached a section which describes what it means to turn a lead rope on an…

Toward the end of March Dominique and I met for an afternoon’s conversation. I’ve divided up into three episodes. In part 1 we talk about puzzles. So much of training success revolves around a handler’s ability to set puzzles which engage the learner. You want to make the puzzles easy to start out with to build the learner’s confidence that this is…

This is Part 4 of a 4 part conversation with Svenja Sawinski. Svenja has a horse who has been giving her a master class in teaching stillness and relaxation.In Part 1, Svenja introduced us to Daryan her Arab barb cross. When Svenja began with a very young Daryan, she was still using traditional, pressure-based training methods. That worked fine wit…

This is Part 3 of a 4 part conversation with Svenja Sawinski. Svenja’s horse, Daryan, has been giving her a master class in teaching stillness and relaxation.In Part 1, Svenja introduced us to Daryan her Arab barb cross. She described the early steps she used to teach Daryan to stand still. That was just the beginning. Daryan was a challenging hors…

This is Part 2 of a 4 part conversation with Svenja Sawinski. If you are a regular listener to the podcast, you know Dominique and I talk frequently about topics that come from the coaching sessions that are part of my on-line clinics. That’s very much what led to this series with Svenja. Svenja is one of the regular attendees at these coaching ses…

We all know there are many forms of standing still. There’s standing at full attention like a soldier on parade. There’s standing at ease watching the world drift by. There’s standing still ready to spring into action like a sprinter at the starting line. Often people get to four on the floor with their animals and stop at that point. As long as th…

This is Part 3 of a conversation that was sparked by the on-line coaching session that I host once a month for people in my on-line clinics. In Part 1 we talked about resets - what they are and how they can be used to help horses rebalance so they are more in sync with their handlers.In Part 2 this led to a discussion of shaping on a point of conta…

This is Part 2 of a three part conversation that was sparked by the on-line coaching sessions that I host once a month for people in my on-line clinics. We were talking about balance, which is no surprise. We’re always talking about balance. Embedded in that conversation was a discussion of resets. In part 1 we defined resets, discussed their impor…

This is Part 1 of a three part conversation that was inspired by the coaching sessions that are part of my on-line clinics. We are talking about resets and lateral work. Resets give you do-overs so they are a key element of teaching good balance. If your horse starts to step forward out of balance, instead of letting him continue on so the balance …

This is part 2 of a conversation Dominique and I recorded on December 28 2023. We were in a year end mood which meant we began our conversation by looking back over a year of podcasts. We had just finished up several head spinning topics with conversations with Anita Schnee about Feldenkrais work, with Joe Layng on public and private events, and th…

We’ve just finished a series of head spinning topics, so we’re changing gears to talk about trick training. Our discussion is based on the trick training chapter from my book, “Modern Horse Training”. We begin by talking about the many benefits of trick training. If you’re a “serious” trainer and you don’t think tricks are for you, change the name …

This is Part 3 of a conversation with Dr Michaela Hempen in which we consider the question: What is consciousness? What is the mind? Each person’s answer will very much effect their level of concern over animal welfare. Positive animal welfare assessments seek to provide animals not only with the conditions that they need to survive, but also with …

This is Part 2 of a conversation with Dr Michaela Hempen in which we consider the question: What is consciousness? What is the mind? And how do our answers effect how we assess animal welfare, or even should we bother to consider welfare issues for the animals under human care? In this episode Michaela continues a discussion of different ways in wh…

We’re beginning a three part series with Dr Michaela Hempen. The overall topic explores the question: What is the “Mind?” And how is that relevant to assessing animal welfare? This conversation grew out of our previous discussion with Dr Joe Layng on public and private events. I suggest you listen to those episodes as an introduction to this discus…

This is Part 3 of a Three part series on public and private events with our guest Dr Joe Layng. In part 1 Joe talked about Helen Keller who became blind and deaf after an illness when she was 19 months old. Without language she had no sense of self. It is through language Joe argues that we become aware that we are aware. Without language animals l…

This is Part Two of a Three part series on public and private events with our guest Dr Joe Layng. Joe is a behavior analyst. He's been our guest before. We’ve talked about contingency adduction, non linear analysis, the effect of schedules on social behavior, and degrees of freedom among many other topics. Most recently we did a series with Joe on …

This is Part 1 of a three part conversation about public and private events with Dr Joe Layng. We’ve just finished up a four part series on Feldenkrais work. I think it is perfect that we’re following this series with Joe’s discussion of public and private events. In episode 259 Anita shared an ATM lesson with all of us. What you experienced from t…

This is Part 4 of a 4 part series on the Feldenkrais method. In Part 1 I shared some personal history in which I looked back to two innovators in the horse world, Sally Swift and Linda Tellington-Jones. In Part 2 Anita Schnee, a Feldenkrais Practitioner who is familiar with my work, introduced us to the Feldenkrais Work. In Part 3 she shared an Awa…

This is part three of a four part series on the Feldenkrais Method. In part 1 I took us on a look back at the pioneering work of two very innovative individuals - Sally Swift the developer of Centered Riding and LTJ the creator of TTEAM training. Sally’s work introduced the horse world to the Alexander technique and helped to modernize the way ridi…

This is the second of a four part series on the Feldenkrais™ Work. This week we’re joined by Anita Schnee. Anita Schnee is a Feldenkrais™ Practitioner who is very familiar with my work. The Feldenkrais™ Work can be difficult to define because it is experienced differently by each person who uses it. I relate to the Feldenkrais™ work through my work…

If you have ever taken a riding lesson, you’ve probably experienced how confusing the instructions can be. You’re being told to: “fill your back, push with your seat - no not like that, bear down, lift up, lean forward, lean back!” You can be forgiven if you feel like shouting back: “Make up your mind! I can’t do both at the same time!”Riding instr…

This is part 2 of a conversation in which Dominique and I were talking about various topics that emerged during a recent on-line coaching session. Last week we talked about what it means to disengage the hips and how to think about this from the perspective of a positive reinforcement trainer.From there Dominique changed gears to talk about an ench…

In this episode we discuss what it means to disengage a horse’s hip. That phrase doesn’t sound as though it is something a positive reinforcement trainer would want to do to a horse. And that’s true. We don’t want to do it to a horse. That would put us into force-based training, but it is something you need to teach a horse so you can ask for the “…

This is the fifth and final part of our conversation with Dr Claire St Peter. Claire is a behavior analyst. She teachers At West Virginia University where she has recently taken on a new role. She is now Chair of the department of behavior analysis. We have been down in the weeds considering the definitions of words both trainers and behavior analy…

This is part 4 of a five part conversation with Dr Claire St Peter. Claire is a behavior analyst. She teachers At West Virginia University where she has recently taken on a new role. She is now Chair of the Department of Behavior Analysis. This week we are down in the weeds considering the definitions of words both trainers and behavior analysts us…

Language matters. I know what I mean by the words I use. But do my meanings match your understanding of the same words? And what nuances are there in the definition that I may never have considered? I may be okay when I am speaking to someone in my own community who understand the terms I use in much the same way that I do, but what happens when we…

Last week we reached the milestone of our 250th episode. To celebrate that event we invited three of the regular attendees from the coaching sessions for my on-line clinics to join us for an afternoon’s conversation. We’re talking with Svenja Sawinksi and Sonya Bode, both from Germany and Lucy Butler. You may remember the podcasts we did with Lucy …

We’ve reached an astounding milestone, our 250th episode. We celebrated this event by inviting three of the regular attendees of the coaching sessions for my on-line clinics to join us in a panel discussion. You’ve met them before when we did our first panel discussion with the coaching session attendees. We’re talking with Svenja Sawinksi and Sony…

Episode 149 Dr Claire St Peter Pt 2 Requirements and Schedules of ReinforcementThis is part 2 of a five part series with Dr. Claire St Peter. Claire is the chair of the department of Behavior Analysis at West Virginia University. And she is also a horse owner so I always enjoy our conversations. We’re able to go deep into the weeds of both behavior…

This is episode number 248. You would think after so many episodes we would know what shaping is. In this episode we’re going to see if that is indeed the case. Language matters and it can definitely trip us up. Does shaping mean the same thing to me as it does to you? In this conversation we are joined by Dr Claire St Peter. Claire has been a freq…

I have a fun announcement to make. I'll let you listen to the podcast to find out what it is.By Equiosity

Dominique and I took turns this week with the topics we wanted to discuss. Dominique began with a fun surprise. She wanted to talk about the body awareness explorations that are part of my teaching. Dominique has never liked these awareness explorations. They just didn’t resonate with her. So she started out as a “no, this isn’t for me.” In clinics…

Dominique and I spent an afternoon catching up and going through topics she’s been collecting from my new book, Modern Horse Training, and the on-line clinics. In Part 1 the focus was on working both sides of your horse.In part two we shifted topics to talk about piaffe, managing energy, cues, and base behaviors. What we're looking for in this work…

Dominique and I spent an afternoon catching up and going through topics she’s been collecting from my new book, Modern Horse Training, and the on-line clinics. In Part 1 the focus was on working both sides of your horse. We’re often told that we have to work both sides equally during a training session. As always, it is go to people for opinions an…

Periodically Dominique get together for a catch up conversation. Dominique has been going through my new book, Modern Horse Training, and my on-line clinics. From those resources she’s been collecting topics that are interesting to explore. But first we begin with a short follow up to the episodes we did with Joe Layng on reinforcement schedules. W…

This is the fourth installment of our conversation with Dr. Joe Layng about schedules of reinforcement. In this episode we begin with the distinction Joe is making between contingencies and dependencies, and a program versus a schedule. This takes us to this question: Given this distinction between shaping and maintaining, at what point does an exp…

This is the third installment of our conversation with Dr. Joe Layng about schedules of reinforcement. In this episode we’ll be talking more directly about shaping. Joe introduces some more terms into the discussion, including ratio strain. He makes distinctions between a program and a schedule, and between contingencies and dependencies. And he hi…

This is part 2 of our conversation with Dr Joe Layng about schedules of reinforcement. Last week Joe got us started by describing the four basic types of schedules you are likely to encounter. Fixed Interval schedules and variable Interval schedules are both time based. Fix ratio and variable ratio schedules refer to the number of responses.In this…

We’re beginning a four part series on schedules of reinforcement with Dr Joe Layng. Dr. Layng is a behavior analyst with over fifty years of experience in the experimental and applied analysis of behavior. His most recent book is “Nonlinear Contingency Analysis: Going Beyond Cognition and Behavior in Clinical Practice. I could go on with a long lis…

This is the second half of an afternoon conversation. Dominique has been collecting some topics to discuss from the coaching sessions that are part of my on-line clinics, from the new book, Modern Horse Training, and from conversations she’s seen on the internet. We cover four or five big topics so I have divided the conversation into two parts. In…

We’re starting a new conversation. Dominique has been collecting some topics to discuss from the coaching sessions that are part of my on-line clinics, from the new book, Modern Horse Training, and from conversations she’s seen on the internet. We cover four or five big topics so I have divided the conversation into two parts. We’ll begin with a di…

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…

In this conversation about “Modern Horse Training” we’re back at the beginning of the book. Dominique has been thinking about what has been added to our understanding of clicker training since she first began to look at it 15 years ago. The answer is a lot.For Dominique three elements stood out in the beginning of the book. The first was the additi…

Surprise, surprise, of course, we are talking about the new book. In Episodes 232-233 Dominique took our discussion to the end of the book to the section on riding. In this conversation we’re back at the beginning of the book. Dominique has been thinking about what has been added to our understanding of clicker training since she first began to loo…

Episode 233 Modern Horse Training - Riding Pt 2This is the second half of our conversation about riding. It is inspired by my new book, Modern Horse Training. In this conversation Dominique jumped straight to the last part of the book to the section on riding. Last week Dominique got us started with the chapter on Riding Safety. We talked about tea…

The new book has been out for just a week so of course we want to talk about it! In this conversation Dominique jumped straight to the last part of the book to the chapters on riding. We begin with the first of the riding chapters which is focused on safety. Dominique was excited to see how the lessons that were taught first one the ground can be u…

It’s here! Finally! I am delighted to announce that my new book, “Modern Horse Training: A Constructional Guide to Becoming Your Horse’s Best Friend”, is now available. You can order it through Amazon and through my web site: theclickercenter.com as well as from other booksellers.It is available in hardcover, paperback and as an ebook.Earlier in th…

This is Part 3 of our conversation with Dr. Claire St Peter. In addition to being a horse person, Claire is a behavior analyst. She teaches at West Virginia University. Her research focuses on improving outcomes for children who struggle in school. One of her areas of interest is extinction and in particular the generative effects of extinction.Ext…