Janet L Jones, PhD

True is doing really well, so I’m going to open this blog up to a wider variety of topics. Don’t worry, I’ll still keep you updated on Mr. T as needed!

A common misconception about training by non-edible reward is that it’s just the same as being nice to a horse. Often, when people ask me how to train using rewards that are not edible, I offer some examples of such rewards: long strokes on the horse’s neck, kind words in a calm voice, scratches on the withers or crest of the neck, soft hands, and so on.

And often, when people hear those examples, they say “Oh, I already do all that.” But they usually don’t take into account that there is a big difference between being nice to a horse and teaching her something. Teaching demands that we hold back on non-edible rewards except when we want to encourage a horse to perform a given behavior in a given setting.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you can never pet your horse for fun! I pet my horses a lot for all sorts of different reasons. But not while they are learning a specific new maneuver. It also doesn’t mean that the horse only learns the lesson in that particular location or under those particular conditions. Horses transfer knowledge to new places and situations all the time. But we have to start somewhere. So you will teach the lesson first in a specific environment and a specific way. Why? Because equine neurons are specific. They don’t associate just any old somethin’ with any other whatever.

Let’s suppose you want to teach a horse to stand still using non-edible reward. You lead the horse to a quiet location where no activity is occurring, perhaps where he is usually groomed or tacked up. You stand still and quiet, and say “whoa” to clarify your wish to the horse. (You’ll have to teach that verbal command first, if your horse doesn’t know it yet.) You place slack in the lead line.

Now the hardest part—you stand still and wait. One of two things will happen. Maybe your horse will obey the “whoa” and stand for a second or two. You need to reward right at that moment, before the horse moves. So immediately, stroke the horse, say some kind phrase he knows like “good job.” But remember, do not offer food. Now you can try a couple more times and expect a longer standstill—maybe 3 or 4 seconds, then immediately stroke or scratch or praise the horse again. After 5 or 10 minutes of successful work, you put the horse away (another big non-edible reward). Maybe you've only worked up to a successful standstill for 5 seconds, but hey that's five times better than when you began. You'll work more on this task tomorrow and the next day. 

So, that might happen. But, just as likely, you could stand still and quiet, say “whoa,” place slack in the lead line, and have a horse dancing all over the place. We don’t use pressure in training by non-edible reward, which means we must wait for good behavior to occur. But we don’t have to wait mindlessly. We can set the horse up for success.

At this point, you might take your equine wiggle worm out for a brisk walk around the barn, or a gallop in the pasture, or some work in a round pen or on a longe line. Give him a chance to MOVE—that’s what horses are made to do. Then, after 10 or 20 minutes, try the standstill again. At the beginning, all he has to do is stand still for a second or two. That’s success for today!

Gradually, over many days, you can increase standstill time and variety of locations. Eventually, using nothing but non-edible reward, you will have taught the horse to stand quietly for many minutes even in a busy setting. He will be a safer, better horse for knowing how to do that. You will be safer for having taught him to stand quietly instead of two-stepping all over your feet. And you will have done it all with no pressure, just kindness and good timing.

But it’s not the same as just being nice.