Training Tips and Best Practices

I'm by no means a horse trainer, these are just the tips and tricks I've picked up that have worked for me with Cinnamon and other horses and animals I've worked with.

1. Never use negative reinforcement. This hopefully is obvious to most people, but negative reinforcement will just not work for a rescued horse (or dog)  because they've likely been damaged by abuse in the past. Not only will this not work, but if attempted, this technique will leave you with a nervous animal that cannot absorb any training for the rest of the session. If Cinnamon does something non-desirable, I just ignore it, and wait for a good behavior to positively reinforce.

2. Be generous with positive reinforcement. I use voice, physical touch (a pat on the shoulder) and treats in that order. If Cinnamon does something small that warrants a reward, I tell her "GOOD GIRL!".  If she undergoes a somewhat stressful experience like picking up her hooves for the first few times, I give her a treat to reward her (which she considers a pretty big deal). This system has been pretty successful in getting her to learn desired behaviors.

These are Cinnamon's Favorite Treats, In Peppermint
They are only $2.99 a pack and the horses go crazy for them. I also like them because they're nutritionally complete.

3. Less is More. I try to always err on the side of less activity, especially in the beginning. This means for the first couple weeks I only took Cinny out for 10-20 minutes per day. When exercise started, that meant beginning with 10 minutes of walking and trotting. This allows the horse to adapt comfortably and it lessens the chance of the horse getting overwhelmed and having a bad experience, which I think is a big setback. The more positive training sessions, the more the horse enjoys going out, learning, etc.

4. Always End on a Good Note. This is another reason to keep training sessions short and sweet. I try to always end with Cinnamon doing something good, then receiving a big reward and ending the session. I think that horses remember the last few minutes of the training session the most and I think this is the part that "sinks in". I also always end with giving her supplements once she's cooled down and put away, which she looks forward to.