12/19/2024
It's super exciting to see that positive reinforcement and understanding about behavioral science training techniques are becoming more widespread! But with more people starting to learn about the science, the more myths and misunderstandings are becoming prevalent. So let's clear some of these up!
Some people believe that operant conditioning (the learning quadrants) are tools we use to train horses, that we can choose whether or not, or how to use to train. The truth is, the quadrants are a description of how learning happened. So if learning happened, if a behavior increased or decreased in frequency, we know a quadrant happened. The quadrants describe how a behavior was learned/unlearned. So if we've worked with our horse and a behavior increased or decreased in frequency, we've used a quadrant to teach that (though it may not have been what we intended).
Classical Conditioning is always happening in the background of all of life. This means the horse is always making associations. So what you use in your training is being associated, paired, conditioned with YOU, which forms your relationship. If your relationship is built on aversives or appetitives WILL influence how your horse feels around you, because of classical conditioning.
Some people believe that operant conditioning is the only way learning can occur, but again it's just a description of how learning (in life) happened. There is also instincts they're born with - these can change with operant learning, but is more resistant to change than learned behaviors. Imprinting at birth, things that are conditioned fast within the first few days while the horse is sponging up new information, though this is mostly associations/classical conditioning. Which brings us to classical conditioning, which is the simple pairing/associations within life, not behavior focused. Finally there's social learning/imitation. Some species are highly attuned at mimicry and learn fast with this, horses are social creatures, but aren't the best at social learning. They seem to pick up the basics, like if something is safe or not, but aren't as attuned to copying complex behaviors as species like birds or primates.
Some people also believe trainers who use behavioral science tend to be cold, clinical, and unemotional. But most of us who have learned behavioral science, also take the time to study Ethology of our species and the neuroscience of emotions. So while we tend to love science giving us a guidebook, we mix that with our own instincts, relationships, and intuition. Ethology is the study of our species in nature, how they behave and function outside of our influence - which is vital if we hope to provide them healthy and appropriate management. Neuroscience of emotions gives us a great foundational understanding of how our horses feel and how to influence and support those emotions in a beneficial way for their wellbeing and for our relationship. Science based training is far from cold, it's a passionate love of our species and the desire to provide the best for them we can, through knowledge and understanding.
