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Getting Started: An Introduction to Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement or +R is one of four quadrants of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is using consequence manipulation (good or bad) to increase or decrease the frequency of a particular behavior. There are two kinds of consequences: reinforcement and punishment. Punishment reduces a behavior and reinforcement increases the behavior. In this context positive and negative refer to adding and subtracting not good or bad. So positive reinforcement means we are adding reinforcement to make a behavior more likely to happen again. The other quadrants are:

Positive punishment is adding an aversive (bad) stimulus which will reduce the frequency of a behavior ie. Smacking a horse for doing something we don’t like to make it less likely to happen.

Negative punishment is removing a desirable stimulus to reduce the frequency of a behavior ie. Removing a horses hay when they start to paw in the stall

Negative reinforcement is removing an aversive stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior. Most of us ride using negative reinforcement we apply increasing leg pressure until the horse moves off our leg and then we remove the pressure/ stimulus.

Positive reinforcement is adding a desirable stimulus to increase the frequency of a behavior ie. The horse takes a step towards the horse trailer while asking them to load and we give them a reward.

All four quadrants work on increasing or decreasing behaviors if used consistently, however some have been shown to work better than others. While negative reinforcement works quite well for most riders, positive reinforcement typically has longer lasting results with less stress and can be incredibly valuable particularly in specific trouble areas. It can be a great supplement to your current training especially if there is an area you feel stuck or where you or your horse becomes stressed or stubborn. Positive reinforcement is key when dealing with a movement issue. Many horses have movement issues not because they aren’t strong enough but because they aren’t sure how to coordinate their muscles, which tends to be a mental block issue rather than a strength issue. Creating movement puzzles using hills and poles and other training techniques combined with positive reinforcement allows the horse to explore their movement freely and solve movement problems. This creates new neural pathways and can restore movement function in ways that traditional riding and training methods cannot. When a horse is working for a reward with no fear of punishment it taps into a much different part of the brain than when they are working to seek comfort/move away from pressure which is why this method is so effective. Forced movement typically doesn’t allow for new movement pathways to be created. The best way to do this is through play and expanding your horses “movement toolbox”. The good news is this can be easily done on the ground playing with your horse a few short sessions a week. Check out some tips below on how to incorporate positive reinforcement into your life.

1. it works best when it is used in a specific context. Plan ahead which activities and behaviors you plan to incorporate positive reinforcement into (this is something that can be discussed during the sessions). For some people it may be one specific thing like standing in cross ties or loading in a trailer. For others it might become part of every day and every activity. Many people use positive reinforcement for groundwork only and then ride using pressure release. However you choose to incorporate it in to your life make sure you are consistent and clear about when you are and when you’re not using it. This will avoid confusion and unwanted side effects down the road like frustration from your horse. Many people will have a specific area where they train with positive reinforcement which helps signal to the horse that it’s “work for food time”. It’s important to also note that mixing positive and negative reinforcement does not typically yield the same results as just using one or the other. For example: if you ask your horse to walk forward by squeezing them with your leg or tapping them with the whip and then you release the pressure once they move forward and then you also give them a treat for moving forward you are using both negative and positive reinforcement at the same time. Though this may sound like a great way to do things most studies show that mixing the operant conditioning quadrants tends to be more confusing than helpful to the animal because it accesses different parts of the brain. It doesn’t mean you can’t use both in your daily life, it just means you need to have a clear context for when you are using each one. I use positive reinforcement for the majority of my groundwork and some of my manners/husbandry training. Unless I am teaching something new from the saddle or working on a movement function specific problem I’m typically riding using traditional negative reinforcement (with the caveat that I use only non- escalating pressure). Horses are very good at understanding context. It’s up to you to decide how you want to incorporate positive reinforcement in a way that works for you and your horse. As long as you’re clear and consistent you will see a positive change.

2. Using a Bride Signal is part of what makes +R so effective. It allows us to “mark” the moment the horse does something we like or asked them to do while giving us time to deliver the reinforcement (food reward). It would be challenging, not to mention dangerous, if you tried to give a treat the moment your horse jumped over an obstacle. We give meaning to The bridge signal by creating an association to it and a food reward. The bridge signal is typically a click made with a clicker or your mouth, or some other distinctive noise that can be made consistently to mark the moment the horse does something you like/what you have asked them to do. For beginners I recommend using a clicker it is much easier to execute with good timing and is a very clear signal to the horse. Once we have loaded the clicker or created the association that the noise equals “Yes that’s what I wanted here is a reward” You want to think about it like a contract that every time you use the bridge signal you will reward your horse. Down the road once you are very clear and consistent using a clicker it is pretty easy to create other bridge signals and or transition to a different one so you don’t have to always carry a clicker if you want. It is important to offer a reward every time you click even if you click on accident. I have mistakenly clicked many times and one click at the wrong time isn’t going to re-train your horse- you can override it pretty easily by clicking more at the correct time. Don’t panic if you accidentally click.

3. Food rewards: I recommend wearing a fanny pack or having large pockets or a treat pouch. You want the food reward to be something the horse will eat, something that is not so enticing that the horse cannot focus on what we’ve asked them to do, economical enough that you can hand out many during each training session without running out, appropriate for the horses diet to consume many during a training session -The rate of reinforcement will be very high especially in the beginning and we don’t want anyone to founder or gain too much weight.

My favorite options are timothy hay pellets, alfalfa hay pellets, black oil sunflower seeds, you can also get pelleted sweet feed from most retailers that come in a nice treat size. They are economical but may not be appropriate for a horse with a metabolic issue. Ideally you want to find the lowest value (to the horse) food That they will still except. If You feed your horse daily it may be a good option to set part of their food aside to use as rewards.

4. Food aggression and grabby horses. Here are 4 ways to teach your horse to be polite around food which will be covered in the first session.

1. When first loading the clicker and from there on out do not give the treat until your horses head and neck are an arms length away from you and they are being polite. Typically I will instruct people to put their closed fist palm down under the horse’s mouth and wait until they’re quiet then you can flip your hand over an offer the treat.

2. Don’t train with food when your horse is hungry. Make sure they have had their meal if it’s around feeding time or have had access to hay or grass until you start working with them. If the horse feels like it needs the food to survive it’s not going to be able to focus on the training. It’s going to be in survival mode to get the food from you -which can create dangerous situations.

3. Use the lowest value food that your horse will still except. This will keep your horse from being so focused on the food that they can’t do their activity. We want the food to become more like a consolation prize then a valuable resource which will give them better self-control.

4. If they’re having a hard time respecting your space work behind protected contact which means a stall door or a fence until they are better at keeping a boundary. The fence acts as a neutral party giving each of you an appropriate amount of safe space between you. Once you have worked from the other side of the fence or stall door to establish appropriate distance and treat feeding you can typically go back to working in the same area. With my young horse I will go back and forth because sometimes he is very fresh and and wants to stand on me and other times he is very respectful of my space. Protected contact is a great tool to use as needed and sometimes helps a nervous horse feel more safe to do what you are asking as well.