A smart trainer can theoretically train any behavior that an animal is physically able to perform and mentally able to understand. The folks at the New England Aquarium are taking this task seriously, and they’ve been training all sorts of behaviors to some of the most unlikely species! They’ve recently been working on target training […]
An Introduction to Reinforcement
We’ve been talking about different forms of negative reinforcement in class. So, I thought this might be a good week to talk about positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and different types of behavioral responses associated with negative reinforcement. (more…)
Strange and Wonderful Equine Hybrids
Many equine species are able to breed with each other. Although the offspring are usually not fertile, some of them can be quite interesting too see! Most people know that a mule is the cross between a horse and a donkey. (The above mule is a little fellow named Scooby. We used him for riding […]
Miniature Horse with an Attitude!
Many miniature horses are sassy, spunky little things. I think they know they’re adorable, and know that since they’re small and cute they can get away with things that people would never put up with from big horses. The camp where I’ll be working this summer has 2 miniature horses, Blossom and Midnight. The minis […]
Scientific Accuracy
National Geodetic Survey officials say the Four Corners marker showing the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) west of where it should be, the Deseret News reported. The only place in the United States where four state boundaries come together was first surveyed by the government in […]
Working on haltering with Austin
I’ve been wanting to play with Austin, a young draft-cross gelding who lives at the rescue. He’s had a bit of training in the past, including being halter trained and being trained to lead. However, he’s pretty shy, a little skeptical of people and hasn’t had anybody working with him consistently recently. When I first […]