A health educator by trade, I find teaching animals to be as rewarding as teaching humans, if not more so.
My main focus has always been on working with, and rehabilitating, rescued dogs. Horses have been part of my journey on and off, initially using traditional methods, and eventually seeing the light, and embracing R+ and connection training instead.
Although I had been using positive reinforcement in all of my work with dogs since day one, I somehow had blinders on when it came to horses. Their size, the people around me, riding instructors, and fellow horse people kept me from considering a better way, well into my mid twenties.
While working on my degree in psychology, I took an interest in behavioural genetics, animal behaviour and personality theory. I had, and still have, very little interest in the counselling aspect of the field, and am, instead, drawn to the study of intelligence across species, and a better understanding of the roles genes and environment play in the development of personality, adaptation and behaviour.
I was surprised to find mentions of dog and horse training, throughout some of the courses I took, as examples of how poorly understood these animals are, by their own, loving, human families, and particularly by seemingly experienced trainers and self proclaimed experts alike. The trouble, it seems, stems from the fact that the vast majority of trainers, for both dogs and equines, are not academically trained. Instead, they learn from each other and pass on a world of misinformation and misinterpretations of behaviour to their students, in books, online, and in the media. The “alpha” dog / horse mentality persists in many circles, even today. It is high time for a reality check.
After grad school, I was thrilled to find out that, at least for a few years after graduation, alumni continued to have access to our university’s extensive library databases and science journals. I took advantage of this wonderful perk, while it lasted, to further hone my understanding of animal behaviour, specifically the behaviour of wild, feral, and domesticated equines.
I decided to create a collection of my thoughts on the current state of horse training and behaviour studies, more so for myself, but also to share the information with like minded horse lovers.
I am interested only in science and evidence based information and am drawn to trainers who either studied animal behaviour academically, and/or have an interest in, and practice, positive reinforcement methods.
I am lucky and grateful to have a loving and very supportive husband, horses, and a dog, among other lovely creatures sharing my life.