Horses frequently learn to dislike some of the routine procedures that we need to do to them to keep them clean, healthy, and ridable. Some examples are haltering, biting, pasting with dewormers, injections, nasogastric, tubing, genital examination, washing of the penis for breeding, or other manipulation about the head, legs, genitals, or hind quarters. Two of the most effective traditional methods for shaping behavior in other animal species have been conditioning and desensitization. Conditioning involves rewarding the desired behavior and punishing bad behavior. Desensitization means to become use to a stimulus through repeated exposure.

Traditional equine training has relied heavily on punishment to shape a horses behavior and with pretty good results in the experienced hand. Add to this fact that anyone who has hung around a large barn has seen bribing horses with treats as unsuccessful and it is easy to see why there is a perception you can't bribe a horse to be good. However this is contrary to what traditional animal training techniques teach us. Recent changes in training have emphasized the use of positive rewards with some remarkable if somewhat spotty success. Examples would be the natural horseman techniques and clicker training. Now, at the 2000 AAEP convention Dr. Sue M. McDonnell presented an interesting paper on rehabilitating bad horse behavior while in hand using positive reinforcement. In hundreds of cases she says she has been 100% successful with even very hard (read dangerous) cases.

Dr. McDonnell is a PhD at the Equine Behavior Lab at New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, specializes in animal behavior and frequently has dealt with behavior problems is horses that come into New Bolton. In this article I will present her ideas, edited through my own experiences.

I will place quotes from Dr. McDonnell in italics and I will use bold to emphasize points.

Dr. McDonnell says, "We encourage the view that behavior modification is just another opportunity for the horse to learn that it can work for a positive outcome. The work in this case is tolerance of a mildly aversive experience. This view puts the focus on establishing a new positive behavior pattern for the horse (and sometimes for the people) as opposed to eliminating undesirable behavior." Dr. McDonnell goes on, "The methods used rely mostly on positive reinforcement. Excessive restraint and punishment are specifically avoided." and she recommends the following equipment:

• It is important that a large area that is enclosed with good footing and headroom is important. The area must be free of objects that the horse might crash into. It should be quiet without distractions and the horse should start out relaxed. Perhaps most important is a calm, relaxed trainer and if necessary an assistant.
• One lead shank with a 28–40' chain lead
• Sweet feed or other highly palatable food treat
• A small unique bucket to offer the feed to the horse
• Comfortable safety vest, helmet, and shoes as preferred to afford greater confidence
• Items for the procedure that the horse resists.

From Dr. McDonnell's philosophy three related training concepts fall out that the horse should learn:

• The procedure really does not hurt (that much).
• A reward will follow the stimulus.
• Resistance will not change the trainer’s behavior.

"For the horse to learn that the procedure really doesn’t hurt, it must experience one or more replicates of the procedure with minimal pain, stress, or commotion." This means that initially there should be some slight modification of the procedure to minimize pain and the horse must be given some wiggle room. Aggressive restraint techniques that rely on pain just confirm that the procedure is actually something to be avoided.

"For the horse to learn that the procedure leads to a reward, it needs to experience one or more replicates of the procedure (or successive tolerable approximations or sequential elements of the procedure) followed immediately with positive reinforcement." To achieve this the aversive procedure is broken down into small steps starting before the horse becomes upset and the horse is rewarded for the successful completion of each step. As the horse successfully completes each step, the next step is linked up and rewarded when successfully completed until the horse is accepting the procedure completely. Ten repetitions or each step is an average that Dr. McDonnell found works with most horses but if the trainer is observant they can adjust this depending on the horse’s response.

Dr. McDonnell recommends a very small amount of sweet feed as the positive reinforcement combined with a soothing repeatable spoken "good horse.” Very small amounts, just a half teaspoon, are offered as small rewards seem to cause greater desire to achieve and prevents satiation. The few grains offered as a reward are best offered in a small unique bucket to help prevent "mouthy" behavior. In time the horse will learn to associate the spoken "good horse" with the reward and it will become a powerful reward on its own. You can substitute a clicker or any sound for the spoken word but anything you have to hold gives you one less hand to use.

The third and last concept is that the horse to learn that ordinary resistance does not interrupt the procedure. This is best accomplished by having all of your tools well organized in a safe place that allows a little moving around and approaching the horse in a calm manner. Do not over-restrain or reprimand for small motions or movements but neither should this stop the orderly progress of the training session. The horse quickly learns what motions or movements of his own affect those operating around him. Dr. McDonnell Describes a game horses learn quickly when around jumpy people. If people will reliably flinch when the horse does a certain thing, he will learn to repeat and watch for the response and seems to enjoy making the people jump.