Show Me the Motivation

© 2007 Allen Pogue and Suzanne De Laurentis

The successful training of horses for any discipline requires that the handler be adept at motivating the horse to not only try, but ultimately to succeed and then excel. Horses are not so different from humans in their need for motivation or light at the end of the tunnel. In training an exhibition or trick horse, motivation of the horse is absolutely necessary for success.

Motivation of the horse is not an aspect of training that can easily be taught to a student. Thoroughly understanding the nature of the species and also the personality of each individual horse must first be acquired. While the equine species has general motivational needs, an astute trainer must learn to read and reward each individual horse in a manner that will bring out his best performance.

There is an entire practical and scientific realm of knowledge available to us regarding training methods applicable to domestic animals. Somehow training of the horse is often less than scientific. Many well intentioned students of horse training don’t understand that training techniques must have a practical as well as scientific basis.

A good place to begin to understand training methods is Dr. Robert M. Miller’s book, The Ancient Secrets of the Horse’s Mind and also any of Henry Blake’s books especially Talking With Horses. Other great sources of reference on horse training can be found in training books based on other species. Cesar Milan’s (Dog Whisperer) book, Cesar’s Way contains some really great information that applies to horses.

A current popular myth that permeates many horse training programs revolves around the “Natural” methods of communicating requests of the handler to the student horse. Natural Horsemanship in general is a huge step forward in the humane treatment of horses but unfortunately many students misinterpret the general concept and go for the “gentler than thou” approach. This means the gentler the method, the better for the horse and therefore the desired training results are achieved. Often students begin to believe that if they just ask a horse enough times and in a nice enough manner that the horse will somehow magically perform the request. We believe that motivation is the key to increased performance from a horse, and desire to please his handler.

Concept

The concept that you can ultimately control the horse’s mind by causing or inhibiting movement as required by the exigencies of the moment is only half the story. The concept of motivation and the development of self-consciousness in the horse is the rest of the story. Motivation is provided by the trainer, self-consciousness of performance in the horse, is the result.

Imagine A Horse methods help handlers to develop the horse’s mental, emotional and physical attributes by both general (equine) motivation and individual motivation. We find that while the use of rewards or release of pressure (mental and physical) are generally discussed in most training programs, motivation is not.

What we seek as trainers is an economically feasible way, with regard to time spent, to maximize the results without causing disruptions or setbacks that would delay the process. It is imperative that the first lessons taught establish a set of rules of acceptable behavior that at first foster willing compliance, and ultimately a desire from within the horse to continue to strive for the handler’s approval. Over time, a horse will develop a sense of self-satisfaction for a job completed and well done. This true work ethic and it is not necessarily an easy thing to instill. It takes a horse that is well suited for his job, is given enough time to adapt physically to the gymnastic requirements of the discipline and guidance to mentally accept the work.

The equine is a distinct species with its own unique set of motivating factors but are like all other domestic animals in that “if it eats, it can be trained”. The use of food treats as a motivating factor often gets a very bad rap among professional trainers because many handlers use treats indiscriminately and not within an overall strategy. The result is that many traditionalists are dead set against the use of food as a training aid.

On the other end of the spectrum are horse handlers who have become human vending machines with low expectations placed on the horse’s performance. As humans we tend to believe “if we love it, we should feed it” rather than “if it eats, it can be trained”. Ancient as well as modern training methods which include behavior modification and food treats are used by trainers of every species of domestic animal including marine mammals, dogs, big cats, rats, circus animals and even the horses of the Spanish Riding School. Treats can be an integral part of a well planned training program for horses.

All of our horses learn early on to appreciate food treats but don’t usually become obsessed with the easy availability of the food, or get pushy. The reason for this is that our overall training strategy includes a variety of cues and also a variety or rewards. Treats are given with a verbal cue or bridge signal of “cookie time”. When the horse hears “cookie time” he knows the treat is coming. When praise is used rather than a food treat the bridge signal is “good boy”. This verbal bridge signal is the equivelant of the “click” in clicker training.

Trick Training and Equine Agility offer a horse challenges and exercises that are easily understandable. He can easily understand and anticipate the end point of the moves. This is unlike making numerous laps in a round pen or arena which many times causes the horse to become half hearted in his performance. Often there isn’t an end point to the work or an objective that he can understand and so he loses his brilliance of performance.

It is hard to motivate a horse that does not truly understand the purpose of his work. Treats as a means of motivation don’t usually work well with under saddle work. They do however work very well in Exhibition and Trick Training. In these disciplines we use a variable reward system that includes treats and mostly praise. Treats are used as a reward in the initial learning process and as a “jackpot” for extra effort and then become a variable reward. Variable reward means that as the horse becomes conditioned to give the response we are asking for, we may replace the food treat (over time) with stroking and verbal praise or a chance to move forward freely. If the horse does not give an honest try or offer improvement of a response, we may withhold the reward and ask for him to do it “again”. All of our horses understand that “again” means just that, repeat the move. Our horses also understand what “no” means in performance. We have found that when our horses offer a half-hearted try and we admonish them verbally, they will usually try again on their own in an effort to solicit our approval and perhaps a food reward. Horses become very adept at reading and training humans!

A good example of a horse that has really learned to understand and to keep trying until she improves a requested move is Lady “C”. You may remember that she is one of Sheryl Crow’s exhibition horses that was trained here at Red Horse Ranch. Jake Mc Clain, the young man who is now her everyday trainer, told us that she definitely understands and responds to the words and phrases we taught her. As he worked to complete her under saddle training, he used phrases she had come to understand in Trick Training such as “no”, “try again”, “you can do better”, “good girl” and of course, “cookie time”. Her developed level of intelligence and willingness to respond to bridge signals and verbal cues made his job much easier and enjoyable. The time we spent learning how to exactly motivate Lady “C” was a great investment in her future.