Shows
EquiosityEpisode 355 Dr Stephanie Jones, Sofia Abuin, and Lucy Butler Pt 1 Coercion, Control and EmpathyThis is Part One of a conversation with Lucy Butler of River Haven Animal Sanctuary, Dr Stephanie Jones and her grad student, Sofia Abuin
Dr. Jones is new to Equiosity. She graduated with her PhD in Behavior Analysis from West Virginia University in 2021. Her primary research focuses on effects of implementer errors that occur during well-established behavioral treatments. To meet this aim, she conducts laboratory and applied research with the aim of supporting development of robust behavioral interventions. She started teaching and conducting research at Salve Regina University in 2021 and is the principal investigator for the Translational Research and Applied...
2025-12-2354 minEquiosityEpisode 354 Dominique is Back! Part 3 - Should Bits Be Used?Dominique is back! Dominique took some time off over the summer. Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent Equiosity conversations she’s been listening to.
In Part 1 we talked about the recent podcast with Rick Hester, Amy Shilz, from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Lucy Butler from the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island. We talked about the enrichment programs at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the four operant freedoms.
In Part 2 we shared the story of Oliver, a pony who is now living at Lucy’s River Haven Animal Sanctuary. Prior to his rescue, he s...
2025-12-111h 00EquiosityEpisode 353 Dominique is Back! Pt 2 Training Resilient AnimalsDominique is back! Dominique took some time off over the summer. Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent equiosity conversations she’s been listening to.
In Part 1 we talked about the recent podcast with Rick Hester, Amy Shilz, from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Lucy Butler from the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island. We talked about the enrichment programs at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the four operant freedoms.
In Part 2 we shared the story of Oliver, a pony who is now living at Lucy’s River Haven Animal Sanctuary. Prior to his rescue, he s...
2025-12-0351 minEquiosityEpisode 352 Dominique Is Back! Part 1 Treat Horses Like Zoo AnimalsDominique is back! Dominique took some time off over the summer. Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent Equiosity conversations she’s been listening to.
In this episode we revisit the conversation we had with Rick Hester, Amy Schilz and Lucy Butler. Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. Amy is in charge of the giraffe at the zoo. Lucy Butler and her husband own the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island.
With Dominique we revisit the four operant freedoms, and we consider the parallels between the way zo...
2025-11-2043 minEquiosityEpisode 349 Dr Claire St Peter & Dr Carol Pilgrim Pt 1 - Stimulus ControlWe’ve covered a lot of topics with behavior analysts. This week we’re talking with Dr. Carol Pilgrim and Dr. Claire St Peter about stimulus control. Dr Claire St Peter is from the University of West Virginia, where she is currently the Chair of the Department of Psychology.
Claire has been on this podcast many times. Claire is not only a behavior analyst she is also a horse person. When I say that everything is connected to everything else, Claire has been helping us to see the connection between behavior analysis and horse training. We wrote an article together on l...
2025-10-3042 minEquiosityEpisode 342 Jane Myers and the Equicentral System Part 2Equiosity Episode 342: Horses for Future Jane Myers and The Equicentral System Pt 2
This is part 2 of a conversation Jane Myers on the equicentral system and pasture management. This episode comes from the archives of my Horses For Future podcast that I produced from 2019 to 2021. The podcast explored what horse people can do to help in the climate change crisis.
Think of the green plants in your horse's pasture as tiny solar panels. The
plants create sugars which they send down into their roots. But they
aren't just nourishing themselves. The sugars are transferred to fungi
and bacteria in exchange for minerals...
2025-09-1159 minEquiosityEpisode 341 Jane Myers Equicentral System Pt 1We’ve just finished a three part conversation with Dr Susan Schneider that was centered around the climate change crisis. In that conversation I referenced my Horses For Future podcast. This is a podcast that I produced from 2019 to 2021. It explored what horse people can do to help in the climate change crisis.
The premise is a simple one. Horse people can make a difference in the climate change crisis. We can sequester carbon!
Think of the green plants in your horse's pasture as tiny solar panels. The
plants create sugars which they send down into their roots. But they
aren't jus...
2025-09-0542 minEquiosityEquiosity Episode 334 Dr Claire St Peter & Dr Brennan Armshaw Pt 1 Going Truly MicroThis week we are joined by two behavior analysts. Dr. Claire St Peter is the chair of behavior analysis at the University of West Virginia. She has been a frequent guest on this podcast. We are also joined by Dr. Brennan Armshaw. Claire is a horse person so she’s able to bridge the world between behavior analysis and horse training. Dr. Armshaw has not yet been drawn into the world of horses, but his work is of great interest to me. We have talked a lot about micro shaping in these podcasts and the importance of starting small. Dr. Ar...
2025-07-1753 minEquiosityEquiosity 332 It's Hot Pt 2 Light Versus Absent & Working on a Release versus Steady ContactDominique and I spent a very hot June afternoon recording this three part conversation. In the previous episode we talked about the weather because when it’s over a hundred degrees, it’s hard to think about anything else. We shared what we do to keep our horses comfortable in this extreme heat.
We also talked about neck ropes. I described what you can use them for and how you introduce neck ropes to your horse. We ended with the neck rope evolving into a trailer loading lesson and then into ground driving.
At the start of this lesson Dominique is a...
2025-07-0357 minEquiosityEpisode 265 Dr Michaela Hempen -What Is "The Mind" Pt 2 The Great DivideThis 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 which to categorize or define consciousness. “Phenomenal consciousness” along with sentience is defined. This form of consciousness is most relevant to a discussion of the ethics of animal care.
Self consciousness, while interesting, is less so. We discuss various tests whic...
2024-01-0244 minEquiosityEpisode 264 Dr Michaela Hempen -What Is "The Mind" Pt 1 A Historical PerspectiveWe’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 discussion.
Why are these philosophical discussions relevant to horse training? Michaela begins with a historical perspective. What are the cultural influences that have shaped our attitude towards animals? Why do we have this cultural bias that has created a hierarchy of animal...
2023-12-2645 minEquiosityEpisode 212 Joe Layng Pt 1 Degrees Of FreedomThis is part 1 of a three part conversation with Dr Joe Layng. To begin I should say that Dr Layng is not a horse person. This conversation is going to cover a lot of important concepts, but for the most part we won’t be talking specifically about horses.
I asked Joe to talk to us about degrees of freedom. This is a topic that I have heard Joe talk about several times and every time I have the same reaction. This is something we need to understand more clearly. It is relevant not just to our horses but to so...
2022-11-2852 minEquiosityEpisode 191: Michaela Hempen Part 2: Animal Welfare - Behavior Analysts Wanted!Episode 191 Michaela Hempen Part 2: Animal Welfare: Behavior Analysts Wanted!
In part 1 Dr Michaela Hempen introduced us to her day job. Michaela works for the European Food Safety Agency. This is a scientific agency provides risk assessments to give the European Commission or European member states the scientific basis for legislation. The EFSA looks at anything related to food safety, that includes animal health. The European Parliament has requested a scientific assessment of what the risks are for farm animals. These assessments will be the basis for legislation. The European Commission will be revising all farm animal welfare legislation, and part...
2022-06-2454 minEquiosityEpisode 190: Dr Michaela Hempen Pt 1: Assessing Animal WelfareWe are joined again by Dr. Michaela Hempen, but this time, Michaela is not talking about Blondie and the cribbing project, but about her day job. Michaela works for the European Food Safety Agency. The EFSA looks at anything related to food safety, including animal health. It provides risk assessments which give the European Commission or European member states the scientific basis for legislation. The European Commission will be revising all farm animal welfare legislation, and part of this will be based on scientific assessments of their welfare. Michaela has become involved in this project which means she has been...
2022-06-1757 minEquiosityEpisode 143: Great News!Should I make you wait until you listen to the podcast to find out what the great news is? I think not. I’m delighted to finally be able to announce that the first lesson in my DVD series is now available on line. “Lesson One: Getting Started with the Clicker” is available as an on-line mini course.
I’ve been working on this project for several years. I’ve had it mostly done for a while, but there were other things that kept pushing it onto the back burner, including getting the Equiosity podcasts out every week. One of the advant...
2021-05-2029 minEquiosityEpisode 116 The 85% Rule, Errorless Learning And Horse HugsDominique loves to learn. She is forever finding interesting articles and scientific studies for us to discuss. This week we consider one that looks at machine learning and the 85% rule. This doesn’t sound as though it could possibly be related to equine hugs, but it is.
2020-08-291h 01EquiosityEpisode 115: Dr Susan Friedman: Procedural Hierarchies Pt 3 - Learning How To LearnYou can learn anything from the internet. Google any subject and you will get a long list of links. But having access doesn’t always help you to know where to start or how to proceed. In this week’s podcast Dr. Susan Friedman lays out a road map to help you in your exploration of any question you want to explore in depth.
2020-08-201h 20EquiosityEpisode 114: Susan Friedman - Procedural Hierarchy Part 2: The Twin Sisters of Science And EthicsDr Susan Friedman is our guest for this conversation about her recent article: “Why Animals Need Trainers Who Adhere to the Least Intrusive Principle: Improving Animal Welfare and Honing Trainers’ Skills”
This is an update of her 2004 article: “What’s Wrong With This Picture? Effectiveness Is Not Enough”.
When Susan began consulting at zoos and other animal care facilities, effectiveness was often the first and only consideration. Does the procedure get the job done? Does it get the animal moved from one enclosure to another? The answer might be yes, but at what cost? If you use a water hose, what is the...
2020-08-1452 minEquiosityEpisode 113: Susan Friedman: Procedural Hierarchy Pt 1Dr. Susan Friedman joins us for a discussion of the hierarchy of least intrusive, most affective (LIMA) intervention strategies. She has just written an update of her 2004 article: “What’s wrong with this picture? Effectiveness is not enough.”
In Part 1 of this conversation we begin where just about every conversation begins these days - with the corona virus. The wearing of masks - whether it should be voluntary or mandated led us into a discussion of control which gave us the perfect segue into a discussion of Susan’s two articles and why she felt it was important to revisit this sub...
2020-08-0535 minEquiosityEpisode 112 Suzanne Kernek Part 2 Going To The DogsLast week we began a two part conversation with Suzanne Kernek. Suzanne is a horse owner and a professional dog trainer. She’s also a regular attendee of my Half Moon Bay CA clinics.
At the clinics I always love our evening conversations where we talk about the connections that Suzanne has found between the work that I teach and the dog training that is her everyday life.
At the end of last week’s episode Suzanne had just commented on the connection between physical and emotional balance. We’ll pick up there as Suzanne explores the question: is this link a...
2020-07-2957 minEquiosityEpisode 111 Suzanne Kernek Pt 1 Going To The Dogs - 7:23:20, 1.09 PMWe introduce these Equiosity podcasts by saying that they are about all things equine with a special emphasis on the horse human bond. So why this week are we talking to a dog trainer? It’s not just that many horse people have dogs which makes these crossover conversations of interest to many listeners. More than that, with Suzanne Kernek we’re going to be revisiting the rope handling that I teach, but we’re going to be looking at it from a different perspective.
Suzanne is a horse owner and a professional dog trainer. She’s a regular participant at my Ha...
2020-07-2348 minEquiosityEpisode 110 What Defines A Training Session?Many trainers think in terms of formal training sessions. Others think more in terms of a flow that simply shifts location and emphasis. In this episode we explore both approaches.
2020-07-101h 05EquiosityEpisode 109: Michele Pouliot Pt 3 Building A Freestyle RoutineIn Part 3 Michele Pouliot describes how she assembles a freestyle routine using back chaining. In Parts 1 and 2 of our conversation with Michele we learned how she uses platforms to teach the foundation behavior that she uses in her freestyle routines. Now in this episode she describes how she links these behaviors together to create a consistent performance.
We make the connection to dressage tests and other patterns that we ride. So even if you can't see yourself ever teaching a liberty freestyle routine, there's a lot here for horse people.
2020-07-021h 10EquiosityEpisode 108 Michele Pouliot Pt 2 FreestyleWe have a long wish list of things we wanted to talk to Michele Pouliot about. Michele is a canine trainer. Many of you will know her through the Clicker Expo where she is a member of the faculty. Michele wears several “hats”. She was the driving force behind converting the training program at Guide Dogs for the Blind completely over to clicker training. One of her other “hats” is canine freestyle. In this week’s podcast Michele talks about how platforms can be used to teach the behaviors that have made her dogs standout performers in the freestyle world. The work s...
2020-06-2527 minEquiosityEpisode 107 Michele Pouliot Part 1 Platform TrainingCanine trainer, Michele Pouliot joins us for a discussion of platform training: what, why and how.
2020-06-1858 minEquiosityEpisode 106: Easter Eggs To Trailer Loading - Pt 2In May Dominique needed to move her three horses to a new barn. Over the years two of her horses had become non-loaders so Dominique was dreading the move. She knew she couldn’t wait until the last minute and hope for the best. Instead she began in March teaching her horses to load willingly, happily, voluntarily onto a trailer. Her takeaway - she loved every minute of it. Her horses all load voluntarily onto the trailer. On moving day it took less that five minutes to load all three horses. In this episode she describes what she did.
2020-06-0344 minEquiosityEpisode 105 Easter Eggs Take Us To Trailer LoadingWe begin by sharing some of our takeaways from Dr. Susan Friedman's fabulous interview. If you've listened to her podcast (episode 104), you can see how yours compare with ours. This discussion led us to more "Easter eggs" and to trailer loading.
2020-05-2834 minEquiosityEpisode 104: Susan Friedman - Escape Avoidance, The Corona Virus And "Easter Eggs"Dr Susan Friedman is our guest for this very special 2 hour podcast. Normally we would divide up such a long conversation into many parts and spread them out over several weeks so they fit better into the rush of your life. But this conversation is perfect for binge listening. We didn’t want to make you wait, especially given the topic.
For this podcast we’ve shifted away from horse training, and we’re looking at how the corona virus is impacting our lives. The question I wanted Susan to help me with is how do we find our power? How do...
2020-05-202h 04EquiosityEpisode 103: Mary Hunter And Cindy Martin Pt 2: PORTLIn part 2 of our conversation with Cindy Martin and Mary Hunter we talk about PORTL. (Portable Operant Research and Teaching Lab)
Cindy Martin hosts a clinic for me at her farm in Arkansas.
Mary Hunter is our co-presenter in our new Listen and Learn audio course on applied behavior analysis. During a morning’s conversation after the 2019 clinic, the discussion turned to PORTL.
Mary truly is our PORTL master. When she was working on her master’s degree at the University of North Texas, every week the graduate students in the behavior analysis department would get together to play PORTL. Actu...
2020-05-1329 minEquiosityEpisode 102: Emotions And Emotional Behavior - Cindy Martin And Mary HunterEquiosity Episode 102: Emotions and Emotional Behavior - Cindy Martin and Mary Hunter
In a conversation with Cindy Martin and Mary Hunter we discuss the “split in the church”. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to learn what that metaphor means in relation to training. It opened up a conversation about using different markers for different behaviors, jackpots, reinforcement is a process not a thing, reliable loops, treatless clicks, and changing behavior cycles one element at a time. All of this led us to a discussion of emotions and emotional behavior.
2020-05-061h 05EquiosityEpisode 101: Cindy Martin And Mary Hunter - Movement Cycles And Loopy TrainingThe corona virus has forced the cancellation of all my spring 2020 clinics. I can’t get to my clinics, but at least I can share this conversation that was recorded last year at the spring Arkansas clinic.
At the end of the clinic, several regular attendees stayed on for a relaxed evening visit. After dinner, I set up my computer, got out my microphone and we recorded a clinic wrap up. Joining me were our clinic host, Cindy Martin, and Anita Schnee, Karen Quirk, and Mary Hunter.
Mary is our presenter in our new “Listen and Learn Audio Course: An Intr...
2020-04-2831 minEquiosityEpisode 100: Celebration!We have reached a major milestone - our 100th Episode. to celebrate we are announcing the publication of a project we have been working on for this past year. We are delighted to introduce our Listen and Learn Audio Course - An Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis.
Mary Hunter (Stalecheerios, The Art and Science of Animal Training Conference, PORTL, Behavior Explorer) is our guide through this course. To learn more visit: equiosity.com
This isn't all we talk about in this episode. Dominique will be moving her horses soon to a new boarding barn. She's been preparing her horses for...
2020-04-2239 minEquiosityEpisode 99a Concept Training Pt 4We conclude this four part series with a discussion of choice as it relates to concept training.
2020-03-3051 min
Come Along for the RideDominique Day from EquiosityI know it’s been a while and I’ve been irregular on posting podcasts, so thank you so much for hanging in there with me. I’m back now and will be posting this new episode today, then I will do weekly playback of our most listened to episodes, then another new episode in a month then some more favourite episodes and then the following month I will get back into new weekly episodes. It’s time to dive back in and keep making the world a better place for horses!If you’d like to support the podcast an...
2020-03-241h 30EquiosityEpisode 99: Concept Training Pt 3Last week we described some fun games that make use of concept training. In this episode we begin with the question - how do you teach concept training?
2020-03-2040 minEquiosityEpisode 98: Concept Training Pt 2Last week we began a conversation with Vidyha Karthekiyan. If you want to learn more about her training, you can visit her web site and facebook page - the unlikelytricksters.com. There you will meet Beanie, her site hound and her two cats. From that you can correctly infer that the animals in Vidyha’s life are not horses.
If you listened to last week’s podcast, you will know we are very much on the same wavelength when it comes to our animals. She works with dogs and cats, we work with horses. The difference in species doesn’t matter...
2020-03-1122 minEquiosityEpisode 97: Concept Training Pt 1 - But First A Detour Into HusbandryConcept training really lets our animals show us how smart they are. It is tremendous fun and it widens out the repertoire of behaviors you can ask for. Many of us have been introduced to concept training via Ken Ramirez and his many presentation at the Clicker Expo. He has inspired us to explore match to sample and other forms of concept training. One of the many people who has been inspired by Ken's work is Vidhya Karthikeyan. I met Vidhya at the January 2020 Clicker Expo. Her use of concept training is so creative I wanted to share what she's...
2020-03-0538 minEquiosityEpisode 96: Celebration!This is a very different kind of podcast. Dominique and I were at the Art and Science of Animal Training Conference. We had just come from the Saturday night dinner where I was given a very special award. After the presentation I was joined by Mary Hunter, Caeli Collins, Suzanne Kernek, Katie Bartlett, Natalie Zielinski, Michaela Hempen and Cindy Martin to celebrate. This is the recording of that celebration.
2020-02-2748 minEquiosityEpisode 95: Counter Conditioning - Lindsay Wood Part 3This concludes our three part conversation with Lindsay Wood on counter conditioning. In Part 1 we began with the basics of counter conditioning which means we began with classical conditioning. In her work at shelters, that’s where Lindsay had begun, but she has been expanding her understanding of those protocols by looking at them more through an operant lens.
In Part 3 we continue this exploration of counter conditioning by exploring a series of related subjects. Following these threads takes us to a deeper, more robust understanding of counter conditioning.
2020-02-1941 minEquiosityEpisode 94: Lindsay Wood Brown Counter Conditioning Pt 2Last week we began a conversation with Lindsay Wood Brown. Lindsay is a member of the Clicker Expo faculty. She is a board-certified applied animal behaviorist (ACAAB) with a master's degree in animal behavior. She is a Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) course developer and has served as a KPA faculty member since 2012.
Lindsay consults for animal shelters across the country. She previously served as the Director of Operations for Lynchburg Humane Society in Virginia and as the Director of Animal Training and Behavior for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Boulder, Colorado.
The shelter work means for certain protocols...
2020-02-1342 minEquiosityEpisode 93 Lindsay Wood Brown Counter ConditioningLindsay Wood Brown joins us for a conversation on counter conditioning. Dominique starts us off by describing the situation she has with her easily distracted dog. The behavior she’s dealing with is something many of us have to contend with - whether it is a dog or a horse who is exhibiting the behavior.
In this conversation we begin with the basics - what is counter conditioning? Lindsay describes how she would have talked about it earlier in her career. She then brings us forward to her current understanding of these procedures. The shift takes her from classical conditioning to...
2020-02-0640 minEquiosityEpisode 92: Taking Video Analysis To A New LevelIn this podcast Dominique describes how she uses video analysis in her training. She adds details and some wonderful surprises in how video can be used to improve your training.
This can sound like a dry topic, but it is anything but.
2020-01-301h 01EquiosityEpisode 91: Training Pop OutsThe January Clicker Expo was the starting point to our conversation. We talk about what is new in Loopy Training and other concepts. One thing leads to another and we ended up talking about training pop outs, note taking, habit formation and the advantage of video records.
2020-01-2248 minEquiosityEpisode 90: Cindy Martin Part 3: Food And Multiple HorsesClicker trained horses want to play with us. That's a good thing, but there are places where a little less "Pick me! Pick me!" enthusiasm would make life easier.
When you have more than one horse and you are trying to get just one out of the pasture gate, how do you deal with all this eagerness to be with you? That's the question we focus on in this continuation of our conversation with Cindy Martin. What are some strategies for managing multiple horses so the situation remains safe and pleasant for both horses and handlers.
2020-01-071h 13EquiosityEpisode 89: Cindy Martin Pt 2: Cushings DiseaseCushings disease is something more and more horses owners are dealing with in part because we are keeping our horses into their old age. Cindy Martin provides a comprehensive starting point for understanding this disease - what are the early symptoms, how do you test for it, manage it, what is the difference between cushings disease and insulin resistance, what on-line resources can help you?
2020-01-021h 13EquiosityEpisode 88 Cindy Martin Pt 1 Foot CareCindy Martin joins us for Part 1 of a three hour conversation. Cindy is a treasure. Anyone who has been on line in the clicker training community will have met Cindy. She is always there, generously stepping in to help people with their training and health care questions.
In this episode Cindy shares the many resources she's found to help people manage their horses' feet.
2019-12-2638 minEquiosityEpisode 87 What Has Changed Part 2The publication of the new, revised edition of "The Click That Teaches: A Step By Step Guide in Pictures" created an opportunity to look back over the past twenty years of clicker training. What changes have we seen in the training community? The conversation took us to errorless learning and the spring Clicker Science Camp. Check out the show notes at equioisty.com for a great PORTL example of errorless learning.
2019-12-1818 minEquiosityEpisode 86: What Has Changed Part 1We use the occasion of the publication of the new revised edition of "The Click That Teaches: A Step By Step Guide in Pictures" as the launching point for a discussion of some of the changes we've seen in over the years in positive reinforcement training.
2019-12-1143 minEquiosityEpisode 85 Miriam Braun Choosing Boots For The Transition To BarefootDominique wants to transition two of her horses over to being barefoot. She's gathered a good team around her, and she's been learning about boots and other options that can help her horses make a successful transition. This week we're interviewing a member of that team, Miriam Braun. Miriam is a barefoot trimmer who is skilled in selecting and fitting hoof boots.
2019-12-0546 minEquiosityEpisode 84: Paige Poss - Going BarefootEvery week I introduce the podcast by saying it is about all things equine. For the most part the conversation has focused on training. This week we’re going to broaden our focus to include a discussion of foot care.
Two weeks ago we did a podcast on the training of good foot care manners. This week we are joined by foot care specialist and anatomy specialist, Paige Poss. The conversation centers around a project that Dominique is exploring with two of her horses. She wants to transition her horses to barefoot. She has lots of questions. She’s been doin...
2019-11-271h 14EquiosityEpisode 83: Michaela Hempen: Cribbing Research UpdateWe need your help!
In our first season we did two podcasts with Dr. Michaela Hempen. In the first she explained how single-subject design studies work. In the second she described a research project she is conducting that is exploring a behavioral approach to reducing cribbing. This is much more than an update on that project. This is a request for help.
Please listen to this podcast to find out what is needed.
2019-11-131h 162019-11-051h 07EquiosityEpisode 81: Susan Kayne: Unbridled Thoroughbreds Pt 2Susan Kayne, founder of the thoroughbred rescue Unbridled Thoroughbreds, begins by talking about what can be done to help ex-race horses and other unwanted horses. She goes on to describe the initial training involved in re-homing off-the-track-thoroughbreds.
2019-10-2451 minEquiosityEpisode 80: Susan Kayne: Unbridled Thoroughbreds - Part 1Susan Kayne, the founder of Unbridled Thoroughbreds, an organization that rescues off-the-track thoroughbreds talks about her work. This interview is a bit of a change from usual focus on training theory, but as you’ll hear in part 2 of this interview, an understanding of horses, behavior, and training is a must when you are working with many of the horses that end up in horse rescues. In Part 1 Susan outlines the problem, and in Part 2 we will pivot away from the grim statistics to consider the solutions.
2019-10-1831 minEquiosityEpisode 79 Manda Scott Pt 3 Soil Farming, Horse Welfare And The Link To TrainingAs we continue our discussion with Manda Scott, the podcast begins with the question - what do you do with your manure pile? It isn't just how do you get rid of unsightly piles around your barn. How do you use it to regenerate your fields? It's a win-win situation. Healthier pastures are good for your horses and for the planet.
2019-10-1147 minEquiosityEpisode 78: Manda Scott Pt 2: Understanding Pasture ManagementManda Scott takes us through the basics of maintaining healthy, sustainable pastures. We can not only grow healthier pastures for our horses, we can sequester carbon to help the planet. It's a win-win.
2019-10-0444 minEquiosityEpisode 77: Manda Scott Part 1: Sustainable Horse CareHorses are grazing animals. But for far too many horses the grass they are eating is making them sick. Why? What can we do about it? And how is this related to the climate change crisis? Find out in this interview with Manda Scott, veterinarian, author, and climate crisis activist.
Then join us on facebook at Horses for Future and learn more about how you can make a difference for the health of your horse and the planet. Horse people can make a difference!
2019-09-2729 minEquiosityEpisode 76: Anja Beran Part 3: An Advocate For ChangeWe conclude our conversation with Anja Beran with a discussion of the current system in Germany for performance testing young warmbloods and the problems that creates.
2019-09-1953 minEquiosityEpisode 75: Anja Beran Pt 2: Good Riding And Sound HorsesSound horses - that's what we all want. The question is does your riding contribute to keeping your horses sound? That means so much more than fit. It means are you riding in such a way that your horse will be stay sound well into his twenties? Anja talks about classical dressage and the role that it plays in developing a horse's balance for the good of the horse. This is followed by a discussion of her work between Alexandra and Dominique.
2019-09-0648 minEquiosityEpisode 74 Anja Beran Pt 1 What Is Classical Dressage And Why Use Bits?This episode begins a very special series. In July I attended Anja Beran’s Annual International Workshop. I was accompanied by eight other clicker trainers. At the end of the week Anja sat down with us for an evening of questions. I began by asking Anja for her definition of classical dressage. From there the conversation ranged over a variety of questions, including one from Heather Binns on the use of bits, spurs, and whips.
I know many in the clicker training community are unequivocally opposed to the use of these tools. But when you hear Anja’s explanation of how...
2019-08-301h 06EquiosityEpisode 73: Becky Chapman Pt 5: Key ComponentsWe've been visiting with Becky Chapman, a classical dressage riding instructor, biomechanics coach, and clicker trainer. Last week Becky shared with you the story of Mack. We should have warned you in advance that tissues would be needed. From triumphs to tragedy our horses take us on quite the journey. But as Becky said so beautifully, better to feel the sorrow than never to have known our beloved horses.
We also met Philly, her daughter’s pony, the horse Becky rode through classical dressage master, Philippe Karl’s teacher instructor program.
And now in this final installment of our conversation with...
2019-08-2328 minEquiosityEpisode 72 Becky Chapman Pt 4 The Best Of ThemBecky Chapman is a biomechanics coach and classical dressage trainer. She runs a training facility in Suffolk, in the UK. All the horses in her yard are clicker trained. Last week you heard about Becky’s simulator.
It’s a wonderful machine. I remember during one of my visits Becky and I spent a morning exploring the single-rein riding techniques that I teach. It was fascinating to see what the computer was telling us as we made small changes in the way the rider used the reins. It was so much fun to see the details of the single-rein riding conf...
2019-08-1549 minEquiosityEpisode 71: Becky Chapman Pt 3 - Teaching ToolsThis is Part Three of our conversation with Becky Chapman. Becky is a classical dressage riding instructor and biomechanics coach. She is also a clicker trainer. Becky has been sharing the journey which brought her to clicker training. Last week you heard the story of Gazelle, a mare who introduced herself to Becky by rearing up and falling over sideways. Becky still bought her and tried to turn her into a riding horse.
She had two major falls from her that resulted in serious injuries that required long recovery times. In an odd way these injuries turned out to be...
2019-08-0543 minEquiosityEpisode 70: Becky Chapman Pt 2 - MisdaventuresIn June Alexandra Kurland was visiting with Becky Chapman. Becky runs a training facility in Suffolk, in the UK. One evening they sat down together for what turned into a long and fascinating conversation. In Episode 1 Becky shared her early steps into the horse world. We stopped just as she was about to introduce us to Gazelle, and the drama that came with her. This episode jumps back in where we left off.
2019-07-2530 minEquiosityEpisode 69 Becky Chapman Pt 1 - Finding HorsesBecky Chapman is a classical riding instructor and biomechanics coach. And she is also a clicker trainer. In June she joined us for a three hour conversation that ranged over many topics. We've divided it into five episodes. In Episode 1 Becky shares with us how she got started with horses. Becky is a great story teller. Her background is one that is shared by many of us who have always loved horses and who know about the drama that horses often bring with them.
2019-07-1830 minEquiosityEpisode 68: Panda: A Guide Horse For The Blind Part 4We’re continuing on with our conversation with Ann Edie. Ann is blind. She uses a miniature horse named Panda as her guide. Last week we stopped at a point where we were asking Ann about the transition from command based to cue based training. This isn’t something that is unique to using a guide horse. If you have come to clicker training from traditional training where you have been told you have to get tougher with your horse so he’ll respect you, this question will resonate with you.
2019-07-1229 minEquiosityEpisode 67: Panda - A Guide Horse for the Blind Part 3We’re continuing on with our conversation with Ann Edie. Ann is blind. She uses a miniature horse named Panda as her guide. Last week Ann and I talked about why we were interested in training a guide horse. Panda’s training has turned her into a super "tour guide". She's so good at her job Ann is learning much more about the neighborhood she lives in. That’s where we stopped, so that’s where we’ll pick up in this week’s conversation.
2019-07-0542 minEquiosityEpisode 66: Panda - A Guide Horse for the Blind: Part 2Last week we began a conversation with Ann Edie. Ann is blind. Instead of a dog, she uses a miniature horse named.
We’ve been talking a lot about cues in the recent podcasts. There is no better way to illustrate the concepts we’ve been exploring than to talk about Panda’s training and the job she does for Ann.
As we normally do, we’ve divided our conversation up into smaller segments. This is part two of that larger conversation. We began last week with the contrast between command and cue based training. We’ll begin here with a question...
2019-07-0141 minEquiosityEpisode 65: Panda - A Guide Horse For The Blind: Pt. 1Panda is a miniature horse with an unusual job. She's a guide for her blind owner. We’ve been talking a lot about cues in the recent podcasts. I can think of no better way to illustrate the concepts we’ve been exploring than to talk about Panda’s training and the job she does for her owner, Ann Edie. This is part one of our conversation with Ann. We begin with some history and the contrast between commands and cues.
2019-06-1234 minEquiosityEpisode 64: What Comes Before: Part 2 - Desperation Clicks!What is a desperation click? Find out in this week’s conversation.
2019-06-0632 minEquiosityEpisode 63: What Comes Before: Part 1This week’s episode focuses on antecedents. What are some of the factors that influence the behavior you are seeing? How can you set your learners up for success? Whether you are trying to solve a behavior problem, or you’re teaching a new skill, what comes before offers a lot of fertile ground for behavior change.
2019-05-3130 minEquiosityEpisode 62: Get Ready! Get Set! Go! Part 2In the second half of this conversation we continue with the theme of cues evolve. Cues should evolve because the behaviors they are associated with are also evolving. What does that mean? Is anticipation a problem or is it a good thing? How do we stabilize cues? What is the "What Happens If . . . " game? Find out in this week's episode.
2019-05-2337 minEquiosityEpisode 61: Get Ready. Get Set. Go!After our recent podcasts with Sarah Owings, Dominique and I had another long conversation about cues. Dominique was particularly interested in some comments I made at the end of the last podcast with Sarah about anticipation and the get ready, get set, go way in which cues evolve. We began by talking about how you can either push against some natural tendencies or learn to use them. An example was transforming grass from what is to us a distraction into a reinforcer that we can use effectively. This led us on to a discussion of rope handling.
2019-05-1648 minEquiosityEpisode 60 Sarah Owings Pt 4 The Dance Of CuesWe’ve come to the last installment of our conversation with Sarah Owings. In the previous episodes we looked at two different ways of thinking about building cues. In one the handler works hard to remove any body language hints. In the other the handler acknowledges that animals are super observant so she lets the cues evolve out of the shaping process.
We ended the previous episode with this statement: "Our conversation has brought us to a milestone. We have reached this recognition that our animals are communicating to us and we can allow their behavior to modify ours."
So no...
2019-05-0943 minEquiosityEpisode 59: Sarah Owings Pt 3: Cues Evolve And So Do Our IdeasPart Three of our conversation with Sarah Owings continues our discussion of cues - how our ideas have changed over time in how we teach them.
2019-05-0334 minEquiosityEpisode 58: Sarah Owings Pt 2: Introducing CuesThis is Part Two of our conversation with Sarah Owings. Sarah is a dog trainer. It may seem odd that in a podcast about all things equine, we are talking about dogs, but there is a lot of value in looking at what people are doing with other species. I learned a long time ago that the way to expand a field is not from within, but by bringing in fresh ideas from outside. So I love going to the Clicker Expo and sitting in on the presentations of other members of the faculty.
Sarah is on the Clicker Expo...
2019-04-2531 minEquiosityEpisode 57: Sarah Owings Pt. 1: Progressive Education for our AnimalsSarah Owings joins us for a conversation about cues, but first we begin with a discussion about progressive education and puzzle solving. Before she became a professional dog trainer Sarah taught kindergarten in a progressive school that valued "brave learners". We talk about what that means for both children and our animal learners.
2019-04-1941 minEquiosityEpisode 56: The 300 Peck Pigeon Lesson RevisitedAfter four weeks listening to our panel discussion on duration, you may think it’s time to move on to another topic. But you would be wrong! The panel discussion prompted a revisiting of one of the strategies we talked about - the 300 Peck Pigeon lesson. We could easily have called this episode “Teaching Better”. Twenty years on from the original development of this lesson, what have we learned? What has changed? The answer is we are loopy!
2019-04-1134 minEquiosityEpisode 55 A Celebration! Panel On Duration Pt. 4Equiosity Podcast - Episode 55: A Celebration! Panel on Duration: Part 4
This is Part Four of our panel discussion on duration. We invited our guests from our first year of podcasts to join us. So we have Hannah Brannigan, Nancy Kelly, Michaela Hempen, Cindy Martin, Mary Concannon, and Jane Jackson. With such a great group of panelists we had a lot to talk about!
2019-04-0441 minEquiosityEpisdoe 54: A Celebration! Panel On Duration Pt 3Our celebration of a year of podcasting continues on with our panel discussion on duration. We invited Hannah Brannigan, Nancy Kelly, Michaela Hempen, Cindy Martin, Mary Concannon and Jane Jackson to join us. This week Nancy talks about the CIA cats, and by CIA she is not referring to the Culinary Institute of America.
As we talk about strategies for building duration, we focus on the importance of establishing clear criteria, building the base unit well, alternating between different types of behavior, and taking breaks to prevent fatigue.
Enjoy!
2019-03-2732 minEquiosityEpisode 53: A Celebration! Panel On Duration Pt 2This is episode 53 which means we’re starting our second year of podcasting! We’re continuing to celebrate this milestone with a panel discussion. As you’ll recall from last week, we invited all the guests from our 2018 podcasts to gather with us around a virtual kitchen table, or if you prefer the image of us all sitting together near a blazing fire, that works too. We invited Hannah Brannigan, Nancy Kelly, Michaela Hempen, Cindy Martin, Mary Concannon and Jane Jackson to join us in a discussion centered around one of Dominique's favorite topics - and that’s how do you buil...
2019-03-1933 minEquiosityEpisode 52: A Celebration! - Panel On Duration Pt. 1We’re celebrating! Episode 52 marks the end of one very full year of podcasting. We’re celebrating this milestone with a special event. We’ve invited all of the guests who joined us in this first year of podcasting to come back and join us for a special panel discussion on duration.
So we’re joined in this podcast by Hannah Brannigan, Nancy Kelly, Michaela Hempen, Cindy Martin, Mary Concannon, and Jane Jackson. Through the marvels of technology we gathered around a virtual kitchen table and had a great discussion about training. It is always a treat to have that many ski...
2019-03-1437 minEquiosityEpisode 51: A Postcard From Dr. Jesus Rosales Ruiz: Pt 2Last week, as you’ll recall, we had a special guest - a surprise visit from Dr. Jesus Rosales Ruiz. Dominique and I were discussing some reading she’s been doing in Paul Chance’s book, Learning and Behavior. We were stumbling over the differences between schedules of reinforcement, rates of reinforcement, and variable reinforcement. Each one is describing different aspect of reinforcement, but it’s easy to get them tangled up so you forget which definition goes where.
They remind me of all the power cords that wrap around the top of my desk. As much as I try to keep...
2019-03-0637 minEquiosityEpisode #50: Schedules Of Reinforcement: A Postcard From Dr. Jesús Rosales RuizSchedules of reinforcement, rates of reinforcement, variable reinforcement - these terms can become very confusing. They remind me of all the power cords that wrap around the top of my desk. As much as I try to keep them tidy and separate, they seem to twist themselves together into a confusing knot. We were certainly getting twisted into a confusing knot as we began a discussion of these terms. So I enlisted the help of Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz to help sort out them out. He is sending us all a postcard from the annual Art and Science of Animal T...
2019-03-0136 minEquiosityEpisode 49: "300 Peck Pigeon" HorsesWhat have you been reading recently? Dominique has just started Paul Chance’s “Learning and Behavior”. She jumped straight to a chapter on reinforcement schedules. It sparked an interesting conversation centered around the question of how to build duration into the behaviors you’re teaching without creating frustration. In this week’s episode I describe a teaching strategy years that I developed years ago that I refer to as “the 300 peck pigeon” lesson.
2019-02-2125 minEquiosityEpisode 48: Jane Jackson Part 4:Something New!Episode 48 Jane Jackson: Part 4: Something New!
This week concludes our conversation with Jane Jackson - and what an ending it is! Jane shares with us another great procedure she used with her horses in which she introduced something new into their environment every day.
2019-02-1531 minEquiosityEpisode 47: Jane Jackson Pt 3: Learning To Be BraveIn this week’s episode Jane Jackson describes a procedure she used to help her very sensitive, very vigilant horse become comfortable walking with her out away from the barn.
Jane followed a five day pattern. Day One was exploration day. Day two was foundation lessons day. On day three she built short chains using the foundation behaviors. On day four she introduced a relatively new behavior. And on day five she combined that new behavior with the foundation lessons to produce even longer chains. On day six she moved to a new location and began the process all over ag...
2019-02-071h 16EquiosityEpisode 46: Jane Jackson: Sensitive HorsesOur conversation with Jane Jackson continues as she introduces us to her horse, Percy. Percy is a sensitive, athletic, smart thoroughbred cross who sits on the fringes of any bell shaped curve you might want to fit him into. He's presented Jane with many training puzzles. In this week's podcast she shares how she started him under saddle - and the monkey wrench he threw into that process, along with many other stories. We're heading towards a description of a procedure Jane developed to help Percy feel more comfortable leaving the barnyard and his familiar paddocks. But first we wanted...
2019-02-011h 10EquiosityEpisode 45 Jane Jackson -An Appreciation Of PoniesThis week’s podcasting launches a long conversation with Jane Jackson, one of my Click That Teaches coaches. In Part 1 we talk about ponies, eventing and what drew Jane to clicker training. We’re heading towards a tremendous teaching strategy Jane has developed for helping a super vigilant, very reactive horse to be able to cope with new environments and distracting conditions. We’re beginning by first letting you meet Jane as she shares her early background with horses.
2019-01-2431 minEquiosityEpisode 44 What Patience TeachesWhat goes into a great relationship? We explore one of the key ingredients. The conversation is led by Patience, one of my young goats who is learning how to “get dressed”, how to put on her collar and harness.
2019-01-1845 minEquiosityEpisode 43: Stop!The click ends a unit of behavior. When you click, your horse breaks off what he was just doing to get his treat. From the outside looking in this can seem like a huge nuisance. How are you ever going to get anything done with all this stopping? But when you start clicker training, all that stopping begins to make sense. You discover that it’s the keys to the kingdom for creating outstanding performance. In this podcast we’ll explore how this works.
2019-01-1140 minEquiosityEpisode 42: OutStandersOutstanders is the first a of two part conversation that we recorded on Dec. 31, 2018. A look back over our year of podcast began as we began the very first Equiosity podcast with a goat story. Three of last spring’s babies, Patience, Felicity and Verity, are growing up at The Clicker Center. Patience is excelling noticeably beyond the performance of the other two. Why? What would your guess be?
To find out if you’re right, listen to the podcast.
2019-01-0425 minEquiosityEpisode 41: A Conversation With Mary Concannon Pt 4: Multiple LearnersWe’ve finished out this conversation with Mary Concannon with a longer than usual podcast. We cover two main topics.
We start out with a request to Mary Concannon to wear her “other hat”. Mary is a microbiologist. I ask her how she helps her students learn how to read and evaluate scientific literature.
For many years Mary had the care of her own horses plus her daughter’s competition horses. I asked Mary how she navigated the tricky waters of managing multiple horses when not everyone was on the same training page. How do you keep peace both at home and...
2018-12-2856 minEquiosityEpisode 40: Conversation With Mary Concannon Pt 3: Grumpy HorsesWhat do you do with a grumpy horse? You scritch him! Find out what that means in this week's Equiosity podcast in which we continue our conversation with Mary Concannon.
2018-12-2224 minEquiosityEpisode 39: A Conversation With Mary Concannon Pt 2: Our Creative HorsesThe question we ended with in last week’s podcast was “how did you shape that?” This week we find out. The answer takes us to a sharing of stories about our creative horses. Clicker training means you can take a supporting role. You don’t have to direct and control everything. You can let your horse “lead the dance”. When you do, you often find that the behaviors that pop out from their good ideas are much better than anything you had in mind at the start of the session.
2018-12-1429 minEquiosityEpisode 38: A Conversation With Mary Concannon Pt 1: What Are You Saying?This episode begins a conversation with Click That Teaches coach, Mary Concannon. Mary is from Ireland, but she is currently based in the UK. In Part 1 of our conversation Mary introduces her thoroughbred, Newby. She tells the story of how Newby came into her life and the hour long bucking fit he surprised her with the first time he was saddled.
Newby is a hard luck horse. He's one of those horses who always seemed to have one health issue after another. It was through these various ailments that Mary learned to listen to her horse.
2018-12-0727 minEquiosityPodcast 37 A Conversation With Cindy Martin Part 3 - Emotional BehaviorPart 3 of our conversation with Cindy Martin shifts to a focus on emotional behavior. Our conversation centers around a thoroughbred mare participating in the fall 2018 clinic at Cindy’s place. Targeting quickly shifted her out of a state of extreme anxiety. This raises the question: what are we reinforcing when we click? Why don’t we get more anxiety instead of less?
2018-11-3029 minEquiosityPodcast 24: Do It DifferentlyWe all know clicker training works great for horses, but what about cows? In Episode 21, A Postcard from Germany, we shared the story of Snickers, the cow. Dominique saw a video of Snickers and wanted to share how amazed she was. She had never seen such a joyful cow. Snickers' enthusiasm was a delight to watch, but her size can certainly be intimidating, especially if you aren’t familiar with cows. This led to a discussion of the importance of building a calm solid foundation into your training. That took us straight to husbandry behaviors.
Everyone hopes their horse lives a...
2018-08-3131 minEquiosityEpisode 19- A Conversation With Hannah Brannnigan Pt 2 - A Great StartLast week in our Equiosity podcast we greeted our first guest, Hannah Brannigan. Our conversation with Hannah continues. In the previous episode we stopped just as Hannah made the very intriguing statement that in the past many of the things that we would have thought were fixed, such as an animal's structure, can be changed through good training. We pick up with a discussion of what that means and why should we bother? What are the benefits that we have observed in our own animals?
As always, it is good to begin at the beginning, which in Hannah’s case me...
2018-07-2135 minEquiosityEpisode 18 - A Conversation With Hannah Brannigan Pt 1- Why Does Good Balance Matter?This week we welcome our first guest to our equiosity podcast. We’re joined by Hannah Brannigan. Many of you will already be familiar with Hannah’s work. She’s a member of the Clicker Expo faculty, and she also has her own, very popular podcast - Drinking from the toilet.
Hannah is both a professional dog trainer and a horse owner so it’s easy to make the connections back and forth between training dogs and training horses. We both enjoy her podcast, so it was easy to get carried away in our conversation. We ended up talking for about tw...
2018-07-1828 min