In this episode of Horsemanship in Practice, I’m joined by Millie Martin of Equus with Millie, an accredited equine behaviourist and positive reinforcement trainer.

Millie and I approach horse training from quite different perspectives, which leads to a really interesting conversation about how horses learn, where our methods differ and where there is more common ground than you might expect.

We discuss:

• Force-free training and positive reinforcement
• The four quadrants of learning
• Clicker training and shaping behaviour
• Using food effectively in training
• Pain, stress and behaviour
• Fear, thresholds and desensitisation
• A case study involving a horse with a serious fear of bicycles
• Our different approaches to loading
• Working with vets and needle-shy horses
• The importance of staying open-minded as trainers
• Paying attention to what our horses are trying to tell us

Equus with Millie

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Equuswithmillie/

Email: equuswithmillie@gmail.com

The Relational Horse: How Frameworks of Communication, Care, Politics and Power Reveal and Conceal Equine Selves
Edited by Gala Argent & Jeannette Vaught
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/isbn/9789004514935/html

(Un)Stable Relations: Horses, Humans and Social Agency
Lynda Birke & Kirrilly Thompson
https://www.routledge.com/UnStable-Relations-Horses-Humans-and-Social-Agency/Birke-Thompson/p/book/9780367874506