I know many of us head to our horses to get away from the news, but sometimes the news intrudes and our horses can help us make sense of what we see in the headlines.  Dominique turned both to her horses and to Murray Sidman’s book, “Coercion and It’s Fallout” to bring some clarity to events that were occurring in Montreal.  

The metaphors work in both directions.  Our horses can help us understand these larger events.  And the “real world” can provide insights that bring clarity to the puzzles our horses present.  In this case we are looking at control and counter-control.

Episode 142 Control And Counter - Control

We made it!  Or really I should say we made them.  This is our 150th episode.  

That’s a milestone that is worth celebrating so we invited Dr. Susan Friedman to join us.  She suggested that she turn the tables on us meaning she would interview us.  Susan began with a look back.  What were our initial goals for the podcast?  That question launched many others and we talked away the afternoon.  

Three hours is too long for any podcast, especially one that contains so many gems, so I have divided our conversation up. This episode is Part 1 of a four part series.  A whole month with Susan!  Fun! 

Enjoy!

Episode 150: A Celebratory Conversation With Dr. Susan Friedman Pt. 1

We recorded this podcast on March 20, 2025.  Dominique and I were just back from the Clicker Expo so of course that’s what we wanted to talk about.  We begin with highlights from the Expo including the Saturday evening keynote presentation given by Jade Fountain.  Jade has been involved with Apopo the organization that trains the giant poached rats that are used for land mine detection in Africa and Southeast Asia.  Both Dominique and I were enchanted, impressed, fascinated by the rats, their training, and the work they are doing. 

In addition to the many other Expo highlights, I talk about my presentation on the Participating Horse.  I describe the difference between passive and active participation, both in terms of the procedures used and the outcomes that emerge.

Episode 319 The Clicker Expo and The Participating Horse Pt 1

Equiosity Episode 342: Horses for Future Jane Myers and The Equicentral System Pt 2

This is part 2 of a conversation Jane Myers on the equicentral system and pasture management.  This episode comes from the archives of my Horses For Future podcast that I produced from 2019 to 2021.  The podcast explored what horse people can do to help in the climate change crisis.

 Think of the green plants in your horse's pasture as tiny solar panels. The  plants create sugars which they send down into their roots. But they  aren't just nourishing themselves. The sugars are transferred to fungi and bacteria in exchange for minerals the plants need.  When a pasture is overgrazed, plants can't develop deep root structures.  They don't have enough "solar panels" left to do the work. The fungi and bacteria die off, and the soil deteriorates.  We can turn this around with better pasture management. It's a win-win  situation. Our horses become healthier as we sequester more carbon in  our pastures.

The Horses for Future podcast began with an exploration of pasture management practices and then looked at other ways in which horse people can make a difference for the health of the planet.

So for this weeks equiosity podcast I’m sharing a podcast from the Horses for Future archives.  It is  an interview with Jane Myers about the Equicentral System.  Pastures which are overgrazed or have turned to mud lots can be restored.  Jane describes how the equicentral system works to restore overgrazed, damaged pastures. Healthy pastures contribute to healthy horses and a healthier planet.

Enjoy!

Episode 342 Jane Myers and the Equicentral System Part 2

This is part 1 of a conversation with Michaela Hempen and Lucy Butler about their visit in August to attend Anja Beran’s 12th International Workshop held at her stable in Bavaria.

Both Michaela and Lucy have been guests on the podcast many times before.  Michaela is well known for the research project she did on the operant control of cribbing.   With her own horses she has been using my work to help make Anja’s beautiful riding more accessible.  This year Michaela helped interpret Anja’s work for a group of clicker trainers who attended the workshop.  Lucy was one of the people in that group.

I asked Lucy about her first impressions of Anja’s work.  She described the facility and some of the horses she watched.  Many of these horses are with Anja because she was their last chance.  They were on their way to slaughter.  These were young horses who had been crippled by inappropriate training.  Anja’s work not only shows that good riding doesn’t have to harm horses.  It can heal them. 

Episode 343 Michaela Hempen & Lucy Butler - Anja Beran's Annual Workshop Pt 1

This is part 2 of a conversation with Michaela Hempen and Lucy Butler about their visit in August to attend Anja Beran’s 12th International Workshop held at her stable in Bavaria.

Both Michaela and Lucy have been guests on the podcast many times before.  Michaela is well known for the research project she did on the operant control of cribbing.   With her own horses she has been using my work to help make Anja’s beautiful riding more accessible.  This year Michaela helped interpret Anja’s work for a group of clicker trainers who attended the workshop.  Lucy was one of the people in that group.

In part 1 Lucy shared her first impressions of Anja’s work.  She described the facility and some of the horses she watched.  Many of these horses are at the foundation because Anja was their last chance.  They were on their way to slaughter.  These were young horses who had been crippled by inappropriate training.  Anja’s work not only shows that good riding doesn’t have to harm horses.  It can heal them.  

In this episode Michaela and Lucy help make the connections between what I teach and Anja’s training.  One of the major links is the ever present focus on balance. 

Episode 344 Michaela Hempen & Lucy Butler - Anja Beran's Workshop Part 2

This is part 3 of a conversation with Michaela Hempen and Lucy Butler about their visit in August to attend Anja Beran’s 12th International Workshop held at her stable in Bavaria.

Both Michaela and Lucy have been guests on the podcast many times before.  Michaela is well known for the research project she did on the operant control of cribbing.   With her own horses she has been using my work to help make Anja’s beautiful riding more accessible.  This year Michaela helped interpret Anja’s work for a group of clicker trainers who attended the workshop.  Lucy was one of the people in that group.

In part 1 Lucy shared her first impressions of Anja’s work.  She described the facility and some of the horses she watched.  Many of these horses are at the foundation because Anja was their last chance.  They were on their way to slaughter.  These were young horses who had been crippled by inappropriate training.  Anja’s work not only shows that good riding doesn’t have to harm horses.  It can heal them.  

In Part 2 Michaela and Lucy help make the connections between what I teach and Anja’s training.  One of the major links is the ever present focus on balance.  

Now in Part 3 we look in more detail at lateral movements and ways of exploring them that can help you understand how to use them in training  to help your horse maintain healthy movement.

Episode 345 Michaela Hempen and Lucy Butler - Anja Beran's Workshop Pt 3

For the episode we’re heading to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for a conversation with Rick Hester, Amy Schilz and Lucy Butler.

Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. He oversees all the zoo's behavioral programming. His work includes the zoo's animal training for husbandry, medical, and public show behaviors, enrichment, developing programs to improve problem behavior situations, the zoo's formal animal welfare assessments, and exhibit design for behavior goals. 

We’re also joined by Amy Schilz who has the dream job of working with the Cheyanne Mountain zoo’s giraffe.  

Amy is the Senior Animal Behaviorist for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe, where she runs giraffe workshops and conferences, both stateside and internationally.

Both Rick and Amy also partner with Dr. Susan Friedman and her Behavior Works consulting team so you’ll hear a lot of references to Susan throughout this conversation.

In addition to Rick and Amy, I invited Lucy Butler to join us.  Lucy and her husband run the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island.  I knew she would have a lot of questions for Rick and Amy.  When you take in animals who are the victims of abuse, there’s a lot to be learned from the work that goes on in zoos to reduce the stress of handling and also to improve the overall quality of life for the animals under their care.  

In this episode Rick and Amy talk about fine-tuning what a “no response” looks like and what handlers should do when they see the first signs of an animal saying “no”.  As they fine tuned their understanding of “no” responses, they were actually describing an operationalized behavior that is “yes”.  What does it look like for an animal to say “yes”   

Assent is a behavior the learner performs and continues to perform that lets us know we can continue.  When they stop performing that behavior, assent is withdrawn, so we have to withdraw.  This is the process that the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo trainers follow.  Relief is readily available to the animal learners.  Across species in a system where relief is abundantly available and there are strong reinforcers at a high rate for opting in, most animals opt in more and opt out less.  

After Rick and Amy describe the training that they are doing at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, we switch the focus to horse training.  Letting horses opt out runs counter to traditional horse training methods.  But certainly we know that horses also opt in more when they have the option of saying “no”.

This episode also includes an announcement for my new book: “Never Get A Wizard Mad At You”: Book One in the Upstairs Armadillo Series.

Episode 346 Rick Hester, Amy Schilz, and Lucy Butler -  A Day At The Zoo Pt 1

For the episode we’re continuing our conversation with Rick Hester, Amy Shilze and Lucy Butler.

Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. He oversees all the zoo's behavioral programming. His work includes the zoo's animal training for husbandry, medical, and public show behaviors, enrichment, developing programs to improve problem behavior situations, the zoo's formal animal welfare assessments, and exhibit design for behavior goals. 

We’re also joined by Amy Schlis, who has the dream job of working with the Cheyanne Mountain zoo’s giraffe.  

Amy is the Senior Animal Behaviorist for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe, where she runs giraffe workshops and conferences, both stateside and internationally.

Both Rick and Amy also partner with Dr. Susan Friedman and her Behavior Works consulting team so you’ll hear a lot of references to Susan throughout this conversation.

In addition to Rick and Amy, I invited Lucy Butler to join us.  Lucy and her husband run the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island.  I knew she would have a lot of questions for Rick and Amy.  When you take in animals who are the victims of abuse, there’s a lot to be learned from the work that goes on in zoos to reduce the stress of handling and also to improve the overall quality of life for the animals under their care.  

In this episode Rick and Amy introduce the concept of freeing up the operant: what that means  and how that impacts the implementation of enrichment opportunities for the animals under their care.  This episode is rich with ideas for providing more enrichment for our horses.

Episode 347 Rick Hester, Amy Schilz, & Lucy Butler Pt 2 - Enrichment & Freeing Up The Operant

For the episode we’re continuing our conversation with Rick Hester, Amy Shilze and Lucy Butler.

Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. He oversees all the zoo's behavioral programming. His work includes the zoo's animal training for husbandry, medical, and public show behaviors, enrichment, developing programs to improve problem behavior situations, the zoo's formal animal welfare assessments, and exhibit design for behavior goals. 

We’re also joined by Amy Schilze, who has the dream job of working with the Cheyenne Mountain zoo’s giraffe.  

Amy is the Senior Animal Behaviorist for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe, where she runs giraffe workshops and conferences, both stateside and internationally.

Both Rick and Amy also partner with Dr. Susan Friedman and her Behavior Works consulting team so you’ll hear a lot of references to Susan throughout this conversation.

In addition to Rick and Amy, I invited Lucy Butler to join us.  Lucy and her husband run the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island.  I knew she would have a lot of questions for Rick and Amy.  When you take in animals who are the victims of abuse, there’s a lot to be learned from the work that goes on in zoos to reduce the stress of handling and also to improve the overall quality of life for the animals under their care.  

In this episode Rick and Amy talk about the educational programs which are woven into the experience Guests have as they tour the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. There are twenty-three shows for the public every day.  In these shows the animals are the star.  It is about showing what they can do, what their natural behaviors are - all while protecting the dignity of the animals.  The shows at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo show animals controlling their reinforcers and using their bodies in ways that are natural to them.   Trainers interpret both what their life in the zoo looks like, what their life in the wild environment looks like, and how capable they are of learning.  They are trying to create connections between the public and the animals at the zoo in a way that elevates the animal.  

For Lucy this part of the conversation was especially relevant because the public is invited in to tour the River Haven Animal Sanctuary that she and her husband run.  She was getting many great ideas for how they can make this experience better both for their guests and their resident animals.  But even if you don’t give tours, there’s much here that can be used to enrich your horse’s life.

We begin the episode with a discussion of techniques used to introduce new animals into an existing social group.

Episode 348 Rick Hester, Amy Schilz & Lucy Butler Pt 3 - Enrichment and Public Education at the Zoo

We’ve covered a lot of topics with behavior analysts.  This week we’re talking with Dr. Carol Pilgrim and Dr. Claire St Peter about stimulus control.  Dr Claire St Peter is from the University of West Virginia, where she is currently the  Chair of the Department of Psychology.  

Claire has been on this podcast many times.  Claire is not only a behavior analyst she is also a horse person.  When I say that everything is connected to everything else, Claire has been helping us to see the connection between behavior analysis and horse training.  We wrote an article together on loopy training which was published in 2022 in the Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

The title was: Connecting animal trainers and behavior analysts through loopy training.

Claire has gone on connecting animal trainers and behaviors analysts via this podcast.  This past spring I received a SABA award for all the equiosity episodes Dominique and I have done on topics directly related to behavior analysis.  When Claire and I met up after the award ceremony, we were chatting about topics that would be interesting to cover.  Claire suggested we reach out to Dr Carol Pilgrim for a deep dive into stimulus control.  Dr Carol Pilgrim is a Professor Emerit in the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Dr Pilgrim has received many honors throughout her career including the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award, the Faculty Scholarship Award, the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, the ABAI Student Committee Outstanding Mentor Award in 2006, and the ABAI Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis award in 2017. 

Her research contributions include both basic and applied behavior analysis, with an emphasis in human operant behavior and relational stimulus control.

In Part 1 of this podcast we begin the conversation with basic definitions and concepts related to stimulus control.

Episode 349 Dr Claire St Peter & Dr Carol Pilgrim Pt 1 - Stimulus Control

This is part two of our conversation with Dr Claire St Peter from the University of West Virginia where she is currently the  Chair of the Department of Psychology, and Dr Carol Pilgrim, a Professor Emerit in the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Dr Pilgrim has received many honors throughout her career including the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award, the Faculty Scholarship Award, the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, the ABAI Student Committee Outstanding Mentor Award in 2006, and the ABAI Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis award in 2017. 

Her research contributions include both basic and applied behavior analysis, with an emphasis in human operant behavior and relational stimulus control.

Our subject is for this podcast is stimulus control.  In Part 1 Dr. Pilgrim started us out with definitions and an introduction to the subject.  She shared the story of Clever Hans, a horse who was said to be able to do complicated math problems.  What he really could do was read the very subtle cues his handler and others were giving that told him when he had reached the right answer.

In part two we take a deeper into the subject of stimulus control, including a discussion of relational stimulus control.

Episode 350 Dr. Claire St Peter & Dr. Carol Pilgrim Part 2 Stimulius Control

This is part three of our conversation with Dr Claire St Peter from the University of West Virginia where she is currently the  Chair of the Department of Psychology, and Dr Carol Pilgrim, a Professor Emerit in the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Dr Pilgrim has received many honors throughout her career including the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award, the Faculty Scholarship Award, the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, the ABAI Student Committee Outstanding Mentor Award in 2006, and the ABAI Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis award in 2017. 

Her research contributions include both basic and applied behavior analysis, with an emphasis in human operant behavior and relational stimulus control.

Our subject is for this podcast is stimulus control.  In Part 1 Dr. Pilgrim started us out with definitions and an introduction to the subject.  She shared the story of Clever Hans, a horse who was said to be able to do complicated math problems.  What he really could do was read the very subtle cues his handler and others were giving that told him when he had reached the right answer.

In part two we took a deeper into the subject of stimulus control, including a discussion of relational stimulus control.   That brought us to the use of models.  Dr Pilgrim described the use of models to teach women to do their own breast cancer exams to detect any abnormalities in the very earliest stages.  

In Part Three we continue with the discussion of simulators as it relates to training riders.  I share a story about a riding simulator I got to experience during a visit to the UK.  We also talk about why science matters as we describe the use of A/B reversals to develop riding and handling skills.

Episode 351 Dr Claire St Peter & Dr Carol Pilgrim Pt 3 - Equine Simulators and Good Science Matters

Dominique is back!  Dominique took some time off over the summer.  Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent Equiosity conversations she’s been listening to.  

In this episode we revisit the conversation we had with Rick Hester, Amy Schilz and Lucy Butler.  Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado.  Amy is in charge of the giraffe at the zoo.  Lucy Butler and her husband own the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island.  

With Dominique we revisit the four operant freedoms, and we consider the parallels between the way zoo animals are managed past and present and the way we keep horses.  There is so much we can learn from modern zoo keepers.  As Dominique says at the start of the conversation, she’s been looking through some of the traditional horse training books she owns and they just seem so out of date especially when she compares them to the work that Rick and Amy talk about.  Her takeaways from their interview make for a lively conversation.

Episode 352  Dominique Is Back! Part 1 Treat Horses Like Zoo Animals

Dominique is back!  Dominique took some time off over the summer.  Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent equiosity conversations she’s been listening to.  

In Part 1 we talked about the recent podcast with Rick Hester, Amy Shilz, from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Lucy Butler from the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island.  We talked about the enrichment programs at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the four operant freedoms.

In Part 2 we shared the story of Oliver, a pony who is now living at Lucy’s River Haven Animal Sanctuary.  Prior to his rescue, he spent seven years locked in a stall with zero turnout.  We shared a recent experience Lucy had with her vet.  The visit highlighted how resilient animals can be.  

We also talked about bits and bridling.

Episode 353 Dominique is Back! Pt 2 Training Resilient Animals

Dominique is back!  Dominique took some time off over the summer.  Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent Equiosity conversations she’s been listening to.  

In Part 1 we talked about the recent podcast with Rick Hester, Amy Shilz, from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Lucy Butler from the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island.  We talked about the enrichment programs at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the four operant freedoms.

In Part 2 we shared the story of Oliver, a pony who is now living at Lucy’s River Haven Animal Sanctuary.  Prior to his rescue, he spent seven years locked in a stall with zero turnout.  We shared a recent experience Lucy had with her vet.  The visit highlighted how resilient animals can be.  
We also talked about bits and bridling. 

In Part 3 we continue with discussion of bits as Dominique returns us to the question of whether or not to use bits at all.  My answer comes straight from the “horse’s mouth”, no pun intended.  We look at what horses tell us.  In particular we consider the instructions so many first time riders are given - “kick your pony to make him go, pull back on the reins to make him stop”.  That advice has led to the large collection of bits that every tack store has on display.  Many of those bits look more like medieval torture devices than anything that belongs in a horse’s mouth.  The question is not should bits be used, but what should we really be teaching those first time riders and novice horses?

Episode 354 Dominique is Back! Part 3 - Should Bits Be Used?

This episode begins a very special series.  In July I attended Anja Beran’s Annual International Workshop.  I was accompanied by eight other clicker trainers.  At the end of the week Anja sat down with us for an evening of questions.  I began by asking Anja for her definition of classical dressage.  From there the conversation ranged over a variety of questions, including one from Heather Binns on the use of bits, spurs, and whips.  

I know many in the clicker training community are unequivocally opposed to the use of these tools.  But when you hear Anja’s explanation of how she uses these tools it, it may not change your mind for your own practice, but it may help you to understand why others choose to use them.  

This is a double decker episode.  Dominique was not able to join us for the interview, but I wanted her reaction to Anja’s interview.  When she first heard Anja talking about bits and spurs, she sent me a distressed email.  Why are we presenting this interview?  She had heard similar words from other trainers.  Everyone says whips are arm extenders, but what she has seen is at some point they aren’t used to just point, they are used to hit.  

The words she was hearing at first made her very uncomfortable.  She was not at the Workshop so she had not watched Anja Beran’s training as I have done now over three years.  She has not seen the horses nor has she experienced what I also know - you can ride horses into soundness.  But after listening to Parts 2 and 3 of the interview, Dominique came to understand that Anja Beran very much shares our ethical foundation.  The welfare of the horse sits first and foremost at the center of her training.   

This is an important interview.  I feel very privileged that Anja spent so much time with our group.  It was a great pleasure to spend the week watching her beautiful horses. It is important to preserve classical dressage.  It is part of our riding heritage and there is much that can be learned from the old masters that is of benefit to our horses.  I hope you enjoy this interview series with Anja Beran.

Episode 74 Anja Beran Pt 1 What Is Classical Dressage And Why Use Bits?

Sound horses - that's what we all want.  The question is does your riding contribute to keeping your horses sound?  That means so much more than fit.  It means are you riding in such a way that your horse will be stay sound well into his twenties?  Anja talks about classical dressage and the role that it plays in developing a horse's balance for the good of the horse.  This is followed by a discussion of her work between Alexandra and Dominique.

Episode 75: Anja Beran Pt 2: Good Riding And Sound Horses

We conclude our conversation with Anja Beran with a discussion of the current system in Germany for performance testing young warmbloods and the problems that creates.

Episode 76: Anja Beran Part 3: An Advocate For Change

Manda Scott takes us through the basics of maintaining healthy, sustainable pastures.  We can not only grow healthier pastures for our horses, we can sequester carbon to help the planet.  It's a win-win.

Episode 78: Manda Scott Pt 2: Understanding Pasture Management

Susan Kayne, founder of the thoroughbred rescue Unbridled Thoroughbreds, begins by talking about what can be done to help ex-race horses and other unwanted horses.  She goes on to describe the initial training involved in re-homing off-the-track-thoroughbreds.

Episode 81: Susan Kayne: Unbridled Thoroughbreds Pt 2

In this podcast Dominique describes how she uses video analysis in her training.  She adds details and some wonderful surprises in how video can be used to improve your training.

This can sound like a dry topic, but it is anything but.

Episode 92: Taking Video Analysis To A New Level

Lindsay Wood Brown joins us for a conversation on counter conditioning.  Dominique starts us off by describing the situation she has with her easily distracted dog.  The behavior she’s dealing with is something many of us have to contend with - whether it is a dog or a horse who is exhibiting the behavior.  

In this conversation we begin with the basics - what is counter conditioning?  Lindsay describes how she would have talked about it earlier in her career.  She then brings us forward to her current understanding of these procedures.  The shift takes her from classical conditioning to operant.  The change helps her to refine the procedures and gives her a systematic strategy to progress with an animal.

Episode 93 Lindsay Wood Brown Counter Conditioning

Dr Susan Friedman is our guest for this very special 2 hour podcast.  Normally we would divide up such a long conversation into many parts and spread them out over several weeks so they fit better into the rush of your life.  But this conversation is perfect for binge listening.  We didn’t want to make you wait, especially given the topic.  

For this podcast we’ve shifted away from horse training, and we’re looking at how the corona virus is impacting our lives.  The question I wanted Susan to help me with is how do we find our power?  How do we reframe what is happening to us so our actions are not so fear driven?

The corona virus has shown us how fast our behavior can be changed by negative reinforcement.  We are staying home, staying six feet apart, washing our hands, wearing masks - all to avoid becoming sick.  My question to Susan was: I can certainly see how powerful negative reinforcement is, but for so many reasons it isn’t sustainable.  Apart from the emotional toll it puts on us, there’s the paradox of avoidance.  The more effective it is at changing behavior, the more ineffective it becomes at sustaining that change.  That’s especially relevant when it comes to eliminating a virus.

The conversation begins with a discussion of escape and avoidance behavior.  Then we make the pivot with this wonderful quote from Susan: “positive reinforcement is such a pervasive actor in our lives.”  That’s a gem and Susan gives us many more.  We begin with a discussion that’s centered around fear and end with hope.  

This podcast is over two hours long.  Don’t let that keep you from listening.  We have divided it into segments so you can listen in small units.  Or you can binge listen to the whole conversation.  Whichever way you choose, this podcast will give you a lot to think about.

Enjoy!

Episode 104: Susan Friedman - Escape Avoidance, The Corona Virus And "Easter Eggs"

In May Dominique needed to move her three horses to a new barn.  Over the years two of her horses had become non-loaders so Dominique was dreading the move.  She knew she couldn’t wait until the last minute and hope for the best.   Instead she began in March teaching her horses to load willingly, happily, voluntarily onto a trailer.  Her takeaway - she loved every minute of it.  Her horses all load voluntarily onto the trailer.  On moving day it took less that five minutes to load all three horses.  In this episode she describes what she did.

Episode 106: Easter Eggs To Trailer Loading - Pt 2

Canine trainer, Michele Pouliot joins us for a discussion of platform training: what, why and how.

Episode 107 Michele Pouliot Part 1 Platform Training

In Part 3 Michele Pouliot describes how she assembles a freestyle routine using back chaining.  In Parts 1 and 2 of our conversation with Michele we learned how she uses platforms to teach the foundation behavior that she uses in her freestyle routines.  Now in this episode she describes how she links these behaviors together to create a consistent performance.  

We make the connection to dressage tests and other patterns that we ride. So even if you can't see yourself ever teaching a liberty freestyle routine, there's a lot here for horse people.

Episode 109: Michele Pouliot Pt 3 Building A Freestyle Routine

Last week we began a two part conversation with Suzanne Kernek.  Suzanne is a horse owner and a professional dog trainer.  She’s also a regular attendee of my Half Moon Bay CA clinics. 

At the clinics I always love our evening conversations where we talk about the connections that Suzanne has found between the work that I teach and the dog training that is her everyday life.  

At the end of last week’s episode Suzanne had just commented on the connection between physical and emotional balance.  We’ll pick up there as Suzanne explores the question: is this link as clear in dogs as it is in horses? 

We’ll be talking about the many ways in which the rope handling that I developed for the horses can be used with dogs.  I don’t have a dog, so I rely on my friends who train dogs to test this out for me.  When we look at the rope handling from the perspective of using it with dogs, I always find details that make the work even clearer for horses.

Episode 112 Suzanne Kernek Part 2 Going To The Dogs

Helene Lawler is a dog trainer who has become fascinated by balance, so of course we had to have a conversation.  What has she been learning from horses that applies to her dog training? 
 
In this week’s episode Dominique asks the question “What is Balance?”  Before you listen to the podcast, think about what would you say.  Now listen to the podcast to find out how Helene and Alexandra answered her question.

Episode 128: Helene Lawler Pt 2: What Is Balance?

We’re in the middle of a fun conversation with Helene Lawler.  Helene is a professional dog trainer.   If you have listened to the previous episodes you know that she has become balance obsessed.  It’s so exciting.  Once that genie pops out of the bottle, there’s no shoving it back in.  Everything changes when you see your training and your learners through the balance lens.

I love talking about balance.  Good balance  - physical and emotional  - sits at the core of everything that I teach. One of my central training beliefs is good balance doesn’t just feel good to us.  It feels good to our equine training partners as well.  Helene Lawler would say that applies to the dogs she works with as well.  Balance matters.  

This week we continue our conversation about how she has been applying the work that I’ve been developing for horses to her dog training.  We share some fun stories, including one involving stilts and horses.  You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out what that’s about.

Episode 129: Helene Lawler Pt 3: Good Balance Is Reinforcing

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