I visited one of my clients last Friday to do some lessons at her barn. When I arrived, her three baby goats were enjoying some fresh air outside the barn. However, for their safety, we needed to get the goats back in the barn, before we started our lessons with the horses. But, the goats […]
The PORTL Laboratory
I have some exciting news today! During the last part of 2022 and the beginning of this year, Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz and I were busy with a writing project. And, the article we were writing is now published! The article, which is titled “The PORTL Laboratory,” was published earlier this month in the journal Perspectives […]
Let’s talk about slow learners
Darley is an older Arabian. He was skin and bones when my friend first rescued him. But, he’s a happy horse now! I’ve been doing some clicker training with Darley, and he enjoys our training sessions. However, at first, Darley wasn’t really catching on. Sometimes, he would do several behaviors in a row. Then, he […]
Apollo’s choice: Grass or training? (video)
Spring has arrived in north Texas and with spring comes spring grass! The arena at our barn has grass all along the edge. Delicious, yummy grass. Tempting grass…. Apollo and I have sometimes struggled with the spring grass in past years. This year, we’ve been working on a new reinforcement system in the arena with […]
Training myths: End the session on a good note
I regularly hear trainers say that you should end a training session on a good note. This phrase can mean a few different things. However, I find that people often mean that you keep training until your animal does several good repetitions of the behavior you’re practicing. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have […]
B. F. Skinner and Errorless Learning
Happy Birthday, B. F. Skinner! Yesterday, March 20, was Dr. B. F. Skinner’s birthday. In honor of Dr. Skinner’s birthday, I shared the following quote on my Stale Cheerios Instagram account and Facebook page. Skinner writes: “The implication that learning occurs only when errors are made is false.” This quote comes from his 1968 book, […]