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Mary Hunter and her horse Apollo


On this site I share stories of my animal training adventures, information about the science of animal training and behavior, and tips and advice to help you improve your training.

Join me as we explore the best training strategies for creating fast learning, effective communication, and enthusiastic, willing animals.

If you’re new to Stale Cheerios, I recommend that you start by visiting this page to learn more about Stale Cheerios and that you visit my Top Posts page.

~Mary Hunter

Recent posts from the StaleCheerios blog

Chewie’s Diary Week 23: Rainbow mat

By on July 17, 2025 in Chewie’s Diary

Recently, Chewie and I have been playing with a rainbow exercise mat. I like to set up sessions in which Chewie can investigate and explore new objects on her own terms. I call these exploration sessions. My goal is to create an environment in which Chewie will want to interact with the objects we use […]

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Chewie’s Diary Week 22: Training locations

By on July 9, 2025 in Chewie’s Diary

Selecting the right training location can make training so much easier! In a not-so-good training location, progress is much slower and the horse may spend considerable time engaging in unwanted behaviors.  With Chewie, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to where we do our training sessions. Recently, we have been doing a lot of […]

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