LIMA and negative reinforcement, my thoughts on these two mind benders!

Lead a Horse to Water

Lately there has been a growth in the UK of trainers and groups labelling themselves as LIMA. What is LIMA and what is its impact on my work as a trainer and behaviour consultant? From the IAABC (iaabc.org) “LIMA” is an acronym for the phrase “least intrusive, minimally aversive.” LIMA describes a trainer or behavior consultant who uses the least intrusive, minimally aversive strategy out of a set of humane and effective tactics likely to succeed in achieving a training or behavior change objective. LIMA adherence also requires consultants to be adequately educated and skilled in order to ensure that the least intrusive and aversive procedure is used.'' Adopting LIMA is about having the equine learner at the heart of your decision making about training protocols/behaviour modification programmes. But is it a rich table of ingredients that we can pick and choose from according to our own personal ethics? Can we be pure R+ trainers? When does R- creep in even if we didn't plan on it? My thoughts as I scratch the surface on this and more in this 13th episode, lucky for some!