Cues and Conditioning

Have you ever wondered how your horse knows what we are you are asking them to do? Whether it’s turning on seat aid or cueing them to walk on. Training underpins nearly everything we do with horses, but do you really know how it works (or why it sometimes don’t work)?

Maybe you have a horse who seems to ignore your cues or offers behaviours when you don’t ask them too. Having a horse who breaks into trot before they’re asked, throws their latest trick at you, refuses to walk on or can’t stand still when they’re asked can be really frustrating! Maybe you have a horse who knows lots of behaviours but they aren’t fully consolidated and reliable. No matter the type of training you use with your horse it is important to ‘get behaviours on stimulus control’ (the science term for teaching a cue). Learning the science behind how your horse learns in training will not only help you understand how you could solve those problems, but it will also help you train a horse to be soft and responsive to the cues given to them.

This course will take you into the science side of training and putting behaviours on cue so you can confidently train your horse new behaviours, and help create a harmonious partnership between you both, without any communication errors. If you’re an aspiring positive reinforcement trainer, or a horse owner who is looking to take their understanding of training to a deeper level then look no further! Click “Enrol Today” to learn about the science of horse training and join The NAC Science: Simplified course and community today.