Psychology of Learning
Set your horse up for success!
“So much of our conventional thinking must be tweaked, if not reversed. We must reassess our views on the
weight of past influence and current adaptation” ~Stephen J. Gould, Harvard University
The Osierlea approach to horse training and rehab is based on understanding not only the horse’s
biomechanics, but also its nature and learning processes. When training a horse or rider, we consider how to
improve the technique and tactics applied by the rider, as well as the Psychology of Learning for both the horse
and rider.
Technique
Technique is riding style. In other words the riders biomechanics, use of aids, learned responses of the horse,
and the mechanical influences of the rider
Tactic
Tactic is use of movements, exercises, figures, and patterns to teach the horse. If the rider lacks good
technique, then even the best tactic will fail.
Psychology of Learning:
Psychology of learning involves such things as:
How to set up your horse for success
Horses DO:
Horses DO NOT:
w/foreknowledge – “Today we will work on . . “ or “Now she must be changing the topic from collected trot
to canter depart . . “
Set your horse up for success!
“So much of our conventional thinking must be tweaked, if not reversed. We must reassess our views on the
weight of past influence and current adaptation” ~Stephen J. Gould, Harvard University
The Osierlea approach to horse training and rehab is based on understanding not only the horse’s
biomechanics, but also its nature and learning processes. When training a horse or rider, we consider how to
improve the technique and tactics applied by the rider, as well as the Psychology of Learning for both the horse
and rider.
Technique
Technique is riding style. In other words the riders biomechanics, use of aids, learned responses of the horse,
and the mechanical influences of the rider
Tactic
Tactic is use of movements, exercises, figures, and patterns to teach the horse. If the rider lacks good
technique, then even the best tactic will fail.
Psychology of Learning:
Psychology of learning involves such things as:
How to set up your horse for success
- How to tempt your horse into experimentation
- How much to ask from your horse
- What to settle for (short term)
- When and how to reward (how long to go on, when to call it a day)
- How to decide when to “Call it a YES” and when to “Call it a NO”
- How to make corrections that will positively help your horse’s learning process
- When to go back to the Life Learning List and reevaluate
Horses DO:
- Think only in linear terms – This, then this, then this
- Think in black-and-white or yes/no – they do not understand ‘kind of’ or “yes, but…”. One must say “I call it
- Learn only in retrospect – they have no foreknowledge
- Learn complicated responses by patterning & experimentation
- Learn complicated things best when the components are taught independently and consecutively
Horses DO NOT:
- Have a clue what we want – they only figure it out after the fact, only by experimentation, and only then if we
w/foreknowledge – “Today we will work on . . “ or “Now she must be changing the topic from collected trot
to canter depart . . “
- Have the slightest interest in pleasing us
- Have the slightest interest in DIS-pleasing us
- Intentionally set out to be obstructive or resistant – they “do what works”
- Think laterally or ‘outside the box’ or intuitively or calculatedly