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The 3 Sciences

Many of us refer to ourselves as R+ training, clicker trainers, etc… But whole horse care, keeping, and ethically focused training, we don’t just use one science, we take information from all the applicable sciences. We aren’t following the formula that science lays out for us, like a step by…

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Equine 5 Love Languages

So, the CARE system soothes the GRIEF system, how do we stir up the CARE system in our animals? Well, with humans we have the 5 love languages, but how can those apply to animals? Does it work the same? Well we have to adapt some of them to the…

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Science of Grief

As we all spent the last few days grieving the loss of our friend, Merry, and giving Grayson extra attention, many of the kids asked me if donkeys cry. Well, their eyes don’t tear up, but i can assure you, they cry with all their heart. Grayson belowed many cries…

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The Power of Conditioning

The power of the clicker. I, among many, believed that if my horse wouldn’t do something for food (being lured into a trailer or distracted from a scary situation) that it couldn’t be achieved with positive training. Back before I started R+, I had a horse who was scared to…

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The Right Horse Finds Us

The right horses find us… having difficulty with your horse? They’re here to teach you something, stop and open your mind to learning. Sometimes the right horses just land in your lap, no effort, no plans, just the right horse shows up one day. 13 years ago i got a…

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Choosing R+ Tack, Bridles

Now let’s talk headgear. The purpose of the gear we put on our horse’s face is to communicate what we want them to do to earn reinforcement (release and/or add an appetitive). We’re going to talk specifically only about the R+ part of this, the R- part has been discussed…

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Choosing R+ Tack, Saddles

You’re a clicker trainer getting started with riding, what tack do you use? There are so many options out there, but they’re all often based on aversive control – but we still want some level of emergency security. How do we decide? The correct answer is “whatever you and your…

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It’s OK Not To Ride

Did you know it’s ok not to ride? So many people are shamed into giving up their horses because they’re not “using” them to their full “potential”. People are convinced to euthanize their horse because “they’ll never be able to ride again”, even if they could live a full, happy…

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A Fun Day Out

Most days being a volunteer at a horse rescue is full of hard work, physical labor, emotionally draining, heart and back breaking work. We are filled with grief, sorrow, and heartache for the horses we can’t save and those we lose too soon. These kids experience a lifetimes’s load of…

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My Rant About Food

Why are so many people so hung up on food? They’re worried their horse will be dependent on food, they’re worried food will make them dangerous. But no one ever worries their horse will become dependent on aversives – even if that means escalating the aversives to stronger and stronger…

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Behavioral Science Blog Posts:

Emotional Neuroscience Blog Posts:

Ethical Discussions:

Stories and Lessons of EE’s Rescue Posts: