The Benefits of R+ Training

Positive reinforcement training helps change your horse’s behavior. This approach can be used with all horses, including young, fearful, green, or older horses. It means you reward your horse for doing something you want them to do, and it also helps your horse to feel more relaxed around things that might scare them. You do this by slowly helping them get used to those things (systematic desensitization) and by turning negative feelings into positive ones (counter conditioning). These methods can help your horse stay calm and respond more effectively, especially if fear or panic is making life hard for them.

Before you can help your horse live their best life, you need to understand normal horse behavior and their basic needs. This means making sure they have what they need for their environment, nutrition, health, behavior, and emotional well-being before starting any training program. 

Five Domains of Animal Welfare

Once your horse’s basic needs are met, you can start a training program. How well the training works depends on how well you take care of your horse’s overall well-being and on keeping an eye on their health and comfort throughout the process. Following the Humane Hierarchy, as described by Dr. Susan Friedman, can help you choose the least stressful and most effective ways to train your horse.

Safety First 

Protected contact started in zoos and wildlife parks to keep people safe, and it is also a great way to stay safe when you begin positive reinforcement training with your horse. It means working with a barrier between you and your horse, and it works well for both beginners and experienced trainers, no matter how your horse behaves. The barrier creates a safe space and helps prevent unwanted behaviors like nudging or pushing for food (also called mugging) which could result in aggressive and dangerous behaviors such as biting, kicking, or striking, if your horse becomes scared, anxious, or frustrated.

For horses sensitive to their environment, protective contact can feel like a fresh start. It gives your horse the option to move away from the training if they feel uncomfortable, making the experience safer and less stressful for both you and your horse.

Food Options For Training 

Your horse should have another food source during training, such as grass in a paddock, a hay net, hay on the ground, or in a tub. This gives your horse the choice to walk away from training and not feel conflicted about staying just because you are the only source of food.

A treat pouch, bucket, or scoop with special higher-value treats should also be available. This may seem backwards, but one benefit of positive reinforcement is building a better relationship between you and your horse, so the goal is for your horse to want to learn and choose to stay with you.

If your horse walks away from the training area, that gives you useful information. You need to think about whether the task was too hard, whether your horse was physically or mentally able to do it, whether the environment was too distracting, or whether your directions were clear enough, so your horse knew what to do.

High-value treats are different for every horse. Many horses enjoy soft dinner mints that melt in their mouth, peppermints, black licorice, sugar cubes, apples, pears, carrots, Cheerios®, or a small amount of grain. If your horse has any medical issues, talk to your veterinarian about which treats are safe.

Getting Started

When working with large, powerful animals such as horses, safety should always come first. Keep a bucket inside the barrier to give your horse treats. The bucket should be easy for you to drop treats into without risking a bite, and easy for your horse to reach. At first, it is better to drop the treats into a bucket or feed pan so your horse can get the food without feeling torn between wanting the food and not wanting to get close to your hand or body.

A marker is often used during positive reinforcement training. A marker tells your horse they did the right behavior and that a treat is coming. The marker can be a clicker, the word “yes”, a whistle, or another clear sound. The marker is always followed by a treat.

Targeting: A Foundational Behavior

Start by teaching a simple, safe behavior, such as targeting an object with their nose. This object could be a plastic mixing spoon, a buoy on a stick, or anything with a handle that is large enough for your horse to see, so you can keep using protective contact. For example, to maintain protective contact, pick an item with a handle that is large enough for your horse to see easily.

To teach your horse to target, hold the target object at or just over the barrier in a way that you can move it away quickly without catching it on the barrier, bumping, or scaring your horse. Place it right in front of their nose. Most horses are curious and will touch the object with their nose. When your horse does this, say “Yes,” move the target away, and then place a treat in the bucket. Repeat this several times.

Next, start to move the target slightly to one side, a bit higher or lower, or off-center. See if your horse will still walk up to the target, even when they are at the back of the stall, run, or paddock where you are practicing. If your horse can do this, you are ready to add distractions, such as other horses, dogs, or people walking nearby.

Targeting Uses

Teaching nose targeting as a basic skill creates many new training options. When your horse learns to follow a target with their nose, you can use it to help them learn to lead. If you teach your horse to keep their nose on the target for a longer time, it can help them learn to “station,” or stay in one place. Once your horse understands nose targeting, you can also teach them to touch the target with other parts of their body, such as their ears, feet, chin, or shoulder. There are many different behaviors you can build from this one skill.

Teaching a Head Turn

Teaching your horse to turn their nose away from people can help reduce the behavior of rooting or grabbing for treats. The head turn does not need to be big; just a small movement, a few degrees off center. As soon as your horse turns their nose away, drop a treat in the bucket. This behavior can also become your horse’s way of saying they are ready to start training: standing in front of you with their head slightly turned. You can even train your horse to turn their head away from the food bucket on purpose, which rewards polite behavior and engagement during training.

As your horse improves, you can slowly increase how long they do the behavior (duration), what is going around them (distraction), and how far you move from them (distance). Over time, your horse should be able to offer the same behavior in many different places, no matter what is nearby. This is called generalizing the behavior, and you can use the same process for any behavior you want to teach your horse.

Conclusion 

Positive reinforcement training helps your horse solve problems and feel more confident, while also deepening the connection between you and your horse. By using protective contact and teaching skills such as nose targeting and small head turns away from food, your horse can stay relaxed and polite around treats, helping prevent mugging and keeping everyone safer, rather than relying on pressure, fear, or punishment-based methods.