What is R+?
Positive reinforcement is one of the quadrants in operant conditioning. Operant conditioning was studied in the lab extensively by Edward Thorndike (1898) and BF Skinner (1938). The terms are mathematical; positive means the addition of something and negative means the subtraction of something to either increase or decrease the frequency of a behavior. They do not mean good and bad. The foundation of applied learning theory is scientific. It explains how all organisms learn.
Negative reinforcement (R-) is subtracting an aversive or something unpleasant as reinforcement to increase behavior. So, when we pull back on the reins, it applies an unpleasant pressure to the bit and when the horse stops moving forward we quit pulling back and remove the aversive as reinforcement. The horse is more likely to stop the next time we pull back on the reins because he knows that stopping results in the bit pressure going away.
R+ or positive reinforcement is adding something pleasant after a desired behavior to increase it. When your horse trots up to you in the pasture, you give him a treat. He is more likely to come to you the next time because it resulted in something good.
P- or negative punishment is subtracting something good to decrease a behavior. A lot of parents take their teenager’s phone away when their child skips school or does some other undesirable behavior. The learner makes the connection that a certain behavior results in something they value being taken away and so they are less likely to repeat that behavior! With horses sometimes our presence or attention is reinforcing and by leaving when the horse starts nibbling our clothes we are using P-.
In P+ or positive punishment, an aversive is added after an undesirable behavior to decrease it. If the horse kicks out when we are riding, we tap them with our crop. The horse learns that kicking out results in something he doesn’t like, pain, being added. The horse is less likely to kick out again because it results in a bad outcome.
In reward based training, we try our best to use mostly positive reinforcement by adhering to LIMA (least invasive minimally aversive) and following the Humane Hierarchy. This involves looking at the horse's health and environment first before implementing training principles and outlines best practices when doing so.
An R+ based approach reduces and often eliminates frustration, fear, pain, and stress- all common side effects to training with aversives. Positive reinforcement activates the SEEKING system of the brain. By training through this system, we are able to keep the horse relaxed and engaged. When we utilize negative reinforcement/pressure and release and punishment, we are working out of the FEAR system. Horses that tend to be pretty sensitive by nature, easily go above fear threshold when they are trained with aversives because we are essentially using fear and/or pain to influence behavior.
Positive reinforcement reaches the hard to reach horses, unlike any other approach because the horse is operating out of a completely different system of the brain. On the other hand, horses that are more laid back and described as “lazy” are difficult to motivate with aversives because they are only inspired to put forth the minimum amount of effort required to avoid the aversive. Sometimes they outright ignore pressure or aversives and we are left increasing the pressure to a point where we question if what we are doing is ethical. With positive reinforcement, the horse is more invested in the training because there is something in it he values. Positive reinforcement builds try and increases motivation in the horses that are difficult to engage. There is something in it for them and that is a game changer for a lot of horses that lack the desire to perform and comply.
With reward based training, the horse is given choice because he is free from suffering the consequences of an aversive if he chooses not to comply. When training with aversives, the horse is forced to comply regardless of the reasons behind his resistance. When a horse resists or refuses, he is not being stubborn, willful, dominant, or obstinate, but rather communicating in the only way possible that he is either afraid, does not understand, or has a physical restriction or pain. When we use negative reinforcement we up the pressure until the horse responds the way we want. He is not able to communicate how he feels about what we are asking or if he does, it’s easy to ignore. When we punish the horse for resisting we compound the problem. If the horse is afraid or does not understand, it makes little sense to punish him, but it happens a lot in traditional training. Physical issues such as back pain, dental problems, hoof pain, ulcers, muscle tension, are overlooked and the horse punished for not complying although he has good reason to refuse.
Positive reinforcement is the obvious answer to ethical training. It is our responsibility as horse owners and riders to teach our horses in the most safe and humane way possible what they need to know in order live in our world and meet our expectations.
Negative reinforcement (R-) is subtracting an aversive or something unpleasant as reinforcement to increase behavior. So, when we pull back on the reins, it applies an unpleasant pressure to the bit and when the horse stops moving forward we quit pulling back and remove the aversive as reinforcement. The horse is more likely to stop the next time we pull back on the reins because he knows that stopping results in the bit pressure going away.
R+ or positive reinforcement is adding something pleasant after a desired behavior to increase it. When your horse trots up to you in the pasture, you give him a treat. He is more likely to come to you the next time because it resulted in something good.
P- or negative punishment is subtracting something good to decrease a behavior. A lot of parents take their teenager’s phone away when their child skips school or does some other undesirable behavior. The learner makes the connection that a certain behavior results in something they value being taken away and so they are less likely to repeat that behavior! With horses sometimes our presence or attention is reinforcing and by leaving when the horse starts nibbling our clothes we are using P-.
In P+ or positive punishment, an aversive is added after an undesirable behavior to decrease it. If the horse kicks out when we are riding, we tap them with our crop. The horse learns that kicking out results in something he doesn’t like, pain, being added. The horse is less likely to kick out again because it results in a bad outcome.
In reward based training, we try our best to use mostly positive reinforcement by adhering to LIMA (least invasive minimally aversive) and following the Humane Hierarchy. This involves looking at the horse's health and environment first before implementing training principles and outlines best practices when doing so.
An R+ based approach reduces and often eliminates frustration, fear, pain, and stress- all common side effects to training with aversives. Positive reinforcement activates the SEEKING system of the brain. By training through this system, we are able to keep the horse relaxed and engaged. When we utilize negative reinforcement/pressure and release and punishment, we are working out of the FEAR system. Horses that tend to be pretty sensitive by nature, easily go above fear threshold when they are trained with aversives because we are essentially using fear and/or pain to influence behavior.
Positive reinforcement reaches the hard to reach horses, unlike any other approach because the horse is operating out of a completely different system of the brain. On the other hand, horses that are more laid back and described as “lazy” are difficult to motivate with aversives because they are only inspired to put forth the minimum amount of effort required to avoid the aversive. Sometimes they outright ignore pressure or aversives and we are left increasing the pressure to a point where we question if what we are doing is ethical. With positive reinforcement, the horse is more invested in the training because there is something in it he values. Positive reinforcement builds try and increases motivation in the horses that are difficult to engage. There is something in it for them and that is a game changer for a lot of horses that lack the desire to perform and comply.
With reward based training, the horse is given choice because he is free from suffering the consequences of an aversive if he chooses not to comply. When training with aversives, the horse is forced to comply regardless of the reasons behind his resistance. When a horse resists or refuses, he is not being stubborn, willful, dominant, or obstinate, but rather communicating in the only way possible that he is either afraid, does not understand, or has a physical restriction or pain. When we use negative reinforcement we up the pressure until the horse responds the way we want. He is not able to communicate how he feels about what we are asking or if he does, it’s easy to ignore. When we punish the horse for resisting we compound the problem. If the horse is afraid or does not understand, it makes little sense to punish him, but it happens a lot in traditional training. Physical issues such as back pain, dental problems, hoof pain, ulcers, muscle tension, are overlooked and the horse punished for not complying although he has good reason to refuse.
Positive reinforcement is the obvious answer to ethical training. It is our responsibility as horse owners and riders to teach our horses in the most safe and humane way possible what they need to know in order live in our world and meet our expectations.
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