A French study recently reported that use of food rewards in training horses leads to faster results and a better relationship with people.
Hmmm. Isn’t this what B.F. Skinner “proved” by his research throughout the 20th century? Isn’t this what countless horse people throughout time have harnessed?
According to thehorse.com:
“‘What we’re hoping to do is develop techniques which will allow us to obtain the animal’s confidence in us, without using constraints,’ said Carol Sankey, MSc, a PhD candidate in ethology (the study of animal behavior) at the University of Rennes in western France, and co-author on the study. At the previous Research Day event, Sankey’s team presented findings that force can result in a negative relationship between horses and humans.”
Seems to me those desired techniques have been developed, clicker training and natural horsemanship for example. Regardless, any scientific validation which results in better care and understanding of the horse earns our thumbs up.
Read the whole article here.