Learning Theory: How Horses Learn

I started as a horse trainer years before I became an equine science student and aspiring equine behaviorist. So it makes sense that over the years, as I’ve gained education and experience, my viewpoints have shifted. Like many trainers, I was applying methods that worked, and I knew to an extent why they worked. I could explain my methods by talking about pressure and release, making the right thing easy, and rewarding the horse for the smallest tries. Those are all great concepts, and ones I still use, but as I've grown as an equine behaviorist, I've put a name to why those concepts work. I've learned what’s happening scientifically behind the training, and in doing so, discovered more ways to apply the scientific theories, making me a more effective trainer. Today, I’ll sum up the concepts involved in learning theory so you don’t have to learn them the long way, like I did.

What is learning theory?

Learning theory is an approach that explains changes in behavior produced by mental or physical practice, including non-associative learning and associative learning. In other words, it’s how we explain the process of learning. Horses learn in straightforward and predictable ways, which is why we can train them and interact with them the way we do. Most horse trainers are applying learning theory whether or not they understand it. By understanding the theory we’re applying, horse trainers can use best practice methods and understand how their actions are affecting the animals in their care.

Learning theory in practice: associative and non-associative learning

Associative learning

Associative learning involves two types of training: classical conditioning and operant conditioning.  

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning was one of the first concepts of learning to be described, and many of us are probably familiar with it because of Pavlov and his dogs. It is just the process of forming an association between two stimuli. For example, a neutral stimulus (like a bell) becomes associated with a positive or negative stimulus (a positive example would be food, a negative one might be an electric shock). This conditioned reflex is an involuntary response. Eventually, the bell causes the same involuntary response in the animal as being presented with food because it’s so associated with food. Basically, the first stimulus or event becomes tied to the event that comes directly after it. The equine example of this might be the sound of a bucket being associated with grain.

But how does this apply to horse training? It’s involved in surprisingly a lot. One example is training a stop from a seat cue. If a shift in weight precedes every rein cue to stop, eventually that shift in weight becomes so strongly associated with the “stop” cue of the reins that it becomes the “stop” cue itself. Then you get a horse that stops from just a seat cue.

Whether you intend it or not, your horse is always making associations, which is why it’s important to pay attention to your routines and stay consistent with your cues.

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is the major learning process involved in horse training. It involves the variable effects of adding or taking away stimuli to increase or decrease the likelihood of a response. It involves four categories: positive reinforcement, positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment. Although they're presented as distinct categories, there can be nuances and overlap between them, just like most concepts in horse training.

Positive Reinforcement Adding something pleasant to reinforce a desired response. Example: the horse lowers their head on cue and is rewarded with a treat.	Positive Punishment Adding something aversive to punish an undesired response. Example: the horse kicks out and receives a smack with a crop.
Negative Reinforcement The removal of an aversive stimulus to reinforce a desired response. Example: Rein tension is applied until the horse stops, then it is released.	Negative Punishment The removal of a desired stimulus to punish an undesired response. Example: the horse is pawing before being fed and the handler withholds grain until the behavior stops.

Some important notes on operant conditioning:

• In operant conditioning, positive does not mean "good" and negative does not mean "bad." Positive means adding something, and negative means taking something away.

  
  

• For negative reinforcement specifically, aversive means something the horse wants to avoid, which can be as minimal as light pressure, not necessarily overly frightening or painful. Horse trainers should be careful to avoid escalating aversive cues or stimuli to the point that they become painful or frightening.

  
  

• Negative reinforcement is implicit whenever tactile devices are used. In other words, all our physical cues—legs, reins, seat—involve negative reinforcement. This is not inherently a problem, but it can become one when we’re not thoughtful with our timing and the amount of pressure we apply.  

  
  

• Most often in horse training, we use negative reinforcement. It’s how we teach the horse to respond to cues from the halter, legs, reins, seat, and almost everything involved in riding. Positive reinforcement is also a fantastic method of training. Many people are familiar with it as clicker training. The International Society of Equitation Science recommends using a combined reinforcement approach, using both negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement as needed.

• Positive punishment is associated with lowered motivation, learned helplessness, fear reactions, negative associations with the punishing person, emotional changes, learning deficits, and possible PTSD. In general, it should be avoided.

Using negative reinforcement (the pressure and release of the halter) to ask Floofy to step onto the wooden platform.

Positive reinforcement can be used for a lot of things. Here, I'm just pairing the sound of the clicker to the food reward with this young stallion.

Non-Associative Learning

Non-associative learning is another fundamental form of learning, where behavior changes happen due to repeated exposure to a single stimulus. In other words, a horse learns from experiencing the same thing over and over again. This is an incredibly important part of horse training because it involves habituation, dishabituation, and sensitization, processes we’ve all experienced many times, even if we haven’t connected these labels to them.

Habituation

Habituation is the process of decreasing a horse’s response to a stimulus. It’s stimulus-specific and tends to be long-lasting. Horses get habituated to the feeling of the saddle, the sight of the mounting block, the sound of a handler’s jacket, and countless other things in the environment. Many horse people know this process as desensitization. Habituation refers to the process of the response getting smaller, while desensitization means the methods a trainer applies to achieve habituation, which deserve a post of their own. Habituated is one of the most important parts of horse training. Every horse you work with has either been habituated to the everyday routines they're expected to go through or needs to be habituated to them, as is the case for young horses and many rescues. It can be things you wouldn't even think should be scary, like haltering or grooming, but almost everything we do with horses requires them to be habituated to our actions, the objects we use, and the environments we put them in.

This horse was able to ground drive well on the first try because she's habituated to the feeling of the bridle and of ropes touching her hind end.

Dogs are another thing that's helpful for horses to be habituated to, especially if you do a lot of trail riding.

Many horses are habituated to wearing a fly mask.

Sensitization

Sensitization is the opposite process to habituation, where a horse’s response to a stimulus is increased, so they respond more quickly or with more intensity. This can be why horses’ responses to objects or situations get worse over time. For example, if a dog jumps out at a horse from behind a bush, they may have a more extreme reaction in similar environments later on, like spooking at bushes even if they didn’t mind them before. Luckily, we can desensitize horses who have these big reactions until they're habituated to walking past things like bushes again.

A flock of birds had just flown out of this tree. Afterward, this horse proceeded to look at two more trees that hadn't bothered her before the birds startled her, before going back to her normal, not-frightened-by-trees self.

Dishabituation

Dishabituation is the recovery of a habituated response. It can be difficult to tell whether this is actually a sensitization process, so although it is part of non-associative learning, we normally stick to sensitization and habituation in discussions about learning.

Why should learning theory matter to you?

It may seem like this is all overly theoretical or not connected to practical applications, but the reality is that every interaction we have with a horse involves these principles of learning theory, whether we are aware of it or not. Every cue, release of pressure, or reward is shaping your horse’s behavior. Sometimes we’re reinforcing exactly what we want, but other times we’re unintentionally creating confusion, frustration, or reinforcing behaviors we don’t want to see more of. Understanding learning theory allows us to communicate more clearly. It lets us set our horses up for success.