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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

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Chewie’s Diary Week 20: Fly spray

By on June 26, 2025 in Chewie’s Diary

Horses generally don’t like fly spray.  Fly spray has a strong smell. It can be strange and scary when it squirts out of the bottle and touches the horse, unexpectedly. And, a horse may not like the way it feels on their body.  Earlier this spring, I tried using a rag to put fly spray […]

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Chewie’s Diary Week 18: Forehead target

By on June 11, 2025 in Chewie’s Diary

Chewie has been learning to touch her forehead to my hand! This behavior is both fun and practical. I wrote last week about nose targeting. Chewie knows how to touch her nose to lots and lots of different objects. Nose targeting is the most common type of targeting. However, with positive reinforcement, animals can learn […]

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