Reinforcement and Behavior

Just like humans, horses need encouragement. This encouragement, or more appropriately, reinforcement is used as a tool to better train horses. During reinforcement phases, trainers either reward or punish horses based on their response to cues. The end result of training using reinforcement is a horse that responds to cues accurately, even after long intervals between the reinforcement. 

There are two main stages of reinforcement: acquisition, and finished (fully trained horse). In the acquisition stage, horses must be reinforced on short schedules. Schedules refer to how often a horse is reinforced. Finished or fully trained horses can be determined by their ability to go without reinforcement on much longer schedules.

As with any type of equine behavior, varying from horse to horse, the amount of reinforcement needed varies depending on the individual. There are many factors that affect the horses ability to learn and retain new responses. One factor is the environment the animal was raised up in. Horses that are trained and handled at an earlier age are more predictable and docile. Genetics also play a large role in the cognition of horses. Some horses learn and memorize information more easily than others do. There can also be a combination of early experiences and genetics that affect a horses ability to learn and respond to reinforcement.

Reinforcement plays a large role in equine memory. Once a behavior is learned, reinforcement aids the horse in memorizing what they have acquired. According to the Horse Industry Handbook, no reinforcement could result in the “extinction” of a learned behavior. While this response may indicate that the horse has forgotten, sometimes the horse ignores behavior that is not reinforced regularly enough. Reinforcement can also be used in reverse and applied to unwanted behaviors. Behaviors that are unwanted can go “extinct” if they are not reinforced. 

Sources: Horse Industry Handbook

 

Written by Sean Nunnery, Bladen County Summer Intern