How do you reward a horse - it's not all about treats!

How do you reward a horse?  Just like people, horses like to know when they are right. When horses (or people) don’t know the goal, it’s hard to participate let alone feel motivated. Many horses become dull and disinterested because they don’t know why they are doing something, or because they are asked to do the same thing over and over without enough breaks, or rewards.  There are two types of rewards in training. Behaviorally speaking, they are defined as positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement:  - Positive Reinforcement is where a reward is offered on the expression of the desired behavior. Positive reinforcement is very reward-oriented often involving sounds (clicker, "good boy/girl") or treats, but not always. What I like is that it helps you focus on the desired outcome and look for the horse’s efforts in that direction. - Negative Reinforcement is when the pressure (stimulus) is removed upon the desired response. It is simply the cessation of pressure – as when the horse swishes a fly with its tail. In essence, the fly has trained the horse to swish its tail. If you act like a fly and release your hand or leg when the horse swishes its tail, you will teach the horse to swish its tail. If you release the pressure when the horse steps forwards or backward or sideways... you will teach it to do just that. In the end, it's not about the treat. I am not at all against treats, but I am in favor of the strategic use of treats. I want the horse doing things for me rather than for the treat. I use treats like your date would bring you flowers or chocolate. I use them so my horses look forward to seeing me when I enter the barn, and enjoy being with me when being groomed, saddled, and bridled. [Join Happy Horse Happy Life for free]( now and learn all about rewarding your horse in Connection, the first module of the Happy Horse Curriculum which is now included in our regular membership that is just $0.66/day after a 14 day free trial. [Join now]( and start enhancing your relationship with your horse right away! "Hi, prospective members! I am loving Linda's new curriculum. It has renewed my enthusiasm for building an even stronger connection with my horse. As my horse and I develop our relaxation, responsiveness, confidence, implusion and bending, I seek to learn more advanced dressage movements. (Note: not advanced movements, but more advanced than what we are currently doing. :-) ) One of things I love about HHHL is that I can be conscious of doing this while having a happy horse and maintaining connection." - Marti S.  You'll learn all about Connection in Module 1, and here are some of the problems that it solves (plus so many more in the full curriculum!):   All you need to do is [join](, navigate to the courses tab and click "preview" on the How to Talk Horse Curriculum to get the entire first module! © 2022 Happy Horse Happy Life UK Ltd. | All Rights Reserved | [Unsubscribe](