"My secret to happy horses under saddle?"  It’s all about providing the right value and volume of reinforcement! For new riders, inexperienced or green or horses, or horse who are over aroused or starting their positive reinforcement journey, the right reinforcer, such as hay or another high volume low value one can be a game-changer!

Yes, you read that right: Hay can be fed from the tack! My students and I use it all the time with young horses or those new to clicker training. It’s not forever, just until they learn to be at ease receiving food under saddle.

Remember: Always get permission before using hay under-saddle, especially in arenas or yards. With a little practice, it's easy to minimize any mess.

Here's how it works...

The little gray horse listens for his favorite word or click, then if he doesn't receive another cue to carry on or do something different, he settles into a soft default position and waits for the cue that the food is coming. This brings a ton of comfort...

"A strained smile, a tentative way, and a worried look—that’s what I saw on the man in the rearview mirror as I pulled the horses down our drive, leaving my husband and dogs (blue heelers) behind. Up until that moment, I thought this evacuation was a load of crap, an aggravation and a waste of time. But seeing my rock of a husband’s face waiver as we left, I started to wonder: Would things ever be the same?

 The photos that popped up in Google inspiring me to write this post? They capture my last hurricane evacuation, driving away from the farm to take refuge in Georgia, thanks to generous friends of a friend.

What can't be seen seen in the photos of that time is the calm before the storm (horses loading well, trailer ready to go just needing a few quick check lists reviewed—or the flooding devastation that left my husband stranded, rescuing every animal he could, including feeding the neighbor's cattle... with our expensive horse hay!  (Yes, he and the bull became besties by the en...

Beyond the Saddle
 

"It's not about what you can do, but what you choose to do."
 

Not that there’s anything wrong with riding or to say that you’ll never get to ride your horse again, but given that there are times when we simply cannot...
 

So often, it’s not about whether our horse *can* do something; it’s about whether it’s *fair* to ask it of them—and of ourselves. Many kindhearted equestrians, particularly women in middle age or older, feel the pull to *do X* with their horse, driven by the ticking of time and the desire to create memories while they still can. Sometimes it's the horse’s age that limits them; sometimes it’s our own.
 

It’s a bittersweet reality: the years bring both blessings and burdens. Family responsibilities, changing physical abilities, and the unyielding biological clock can make the dream of riding feel distant. And yet, our horses are still there—beautiful, present, and ready to connect.
 

My own experience as a lifelong equestrian has taught me that true...

                           Elephants, Enrichment and the Power of Positive Reinforcement

I came across a fascinating study recently (thanks to Rachel Bedingfield 🙏) that beautifully supports something many of us have seen with our own horses:
When animals associate their experiences with something positive, they become more optimistic and resilient—even in uncertain situations.

Here’s what the researchers found:

🧠 Elephants used past experiences—and the emotional value of those experiences—to make decisions about ambiguous situations.

🐘 They showed a clear "positive bias":

• They approached an ambiguous positive cue 3x more often, and
• Responded to it twice as quickly compared to a cue associated with a negative experience.

In contrast, when the ambiguous cue was associated with something negative, they were slower and less likely to engage.

🐴 Why This Matters for Our Horses

This is the emotional groundwork of what we do every day with compassionate, positive reinforcement (R+)...

Regrets from the road...On a recent trip with a young horse recently, I watched my own horse drink readily and frequently while the youngster wasn't so sure of doing this on the trailer. Oh how I wish I had thought not only to condition drinking on the trailer for the young horse and also regretted having not put it on cue. Thankfully, it was a short trip and I brought salt for his food.

BUT, what a great winter weather activity and one that can be done in small spaces too. 

Considering training your horse to drink on cue???

🪣It can be done through:

• capturing the horse drinking and rewarding with food after they are finished, and eventually adding a cue.
• Or it may be done by shaping the behavior through selective bridging and feeding as the horse get's closer to the water.
• Of course, it can help to have a horse that is already thirsty such as one that has recently consumed salt, has just been worked, or is coming in from the sun on a warm day etc. 
• You might be wondering do I cl...