Lesson 7

Behavior Modification Techniques

By Dr. Jim and Lynda McCall

Lesson Seven

DISCRIMINATION

The stallion barn at Texas A & M University sits off by itself. In the 1960's, it had four stalls, each with a two-acre paddock. In one of these stalls was a Quarter Horse stallion by the name of Fourble Joe.

Joe was one of the most beautiful Quarter Horse ever registered but he had a well deserved reputation for being B-A-D --bad! Fourble Joe had savaged some of the best stallion men in Texas. It was said that he killed a black man but was known that he tore the pectorals out of his owner when he was yearling. Even at the age of 18, Fourable Joe was not to be taken for granted.

While working on his PhD at Texas A & M, Jim was employed as the stallion manager. It was part of his job to keep the stallions in halter shape, show them to the mare owners and to handle the stallions in the breeding shed.

To achieve these goals, it was necessary for Jim to catch Joe at least once every day. They say that Necessity is the Mother of Invention but it is also true that "that what doesn't kill you makes you smarter".

Here is one of the many lessons in horse psychology that Jim learned from Fourble Joe.

Catching Joe was a dangerous job in itself. At first I thought he was just a temperamental old stud. Sometimes he wouldn't come anywhere near me when I arrived at his "compound" so I had to go into the paddock to catch him. This was always dangerous to my very existence. As soon as Joe saw me, he would charge and act like he was going to kill me.

Other times, however, Joe would meet me at the gate waiting to be haltered. When that happened, a rush of relief always ran over me.

After several weeks, I began to think that there was a pattern to Joe's behavior. Whenever I came to take Joe to the breeding barn to service a mare, he would meet me at the gate. When I came to get him to groom him, I had to go into the paddock to get him.

It puzzled me how he knew the difference. At first I assumed that it must be the noise coming from the breeding shed that foretold of the pending events. But when I changed the breeding location, he still met me at the gate.

I had overlooked the telltale cue. Whenever I was going to groom Joe, I always caught him in a nylon halter with a cotton lead. When I planned to take him to the breeding shed, I always came with a leather halter and a chain shank.

Fourble Joe knew what I was going to do by the halter I carried. Obviously, he was always up for the trip to the breeding shed but he didn't give a "hoot" about being groomed or shown to mare owners.

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Horses are quick to pick up on signals that indicate a certain type of behavior that is expected. This can be extremely irritating if you don't detect the signal or know how to manipulate the underlying principles.

Signals that indicate that a certain type of behavior is expected are referred to as stimulus controls. Horses are quick to pick up on signals that indicate a certain type of behavior that is expected. This can be extremely irritating if you don't detect the signal or know how to manipulate the underlying principles.

Here is another story that points out how sensitive horses are to signals which determine behavior.

Several years ago we were teaching horse training to two young ladies using the same horse. In the beginning, there was fierce competition between the two of them. Then, one of the students decided it was not necessary for both of them to work so hard on the breaking and training. She would let the other do the work. At the end of the summer, she would ride on exhibition day, demonstrating the other's accomplishments. Of course, this created a great deal of resistance from the other participant.

The only response we gave her was: "It will all wash out in the end." Not well versed in horse psychology, she didn't have a clue what we were talking about. She wheeled and fumed off.

The day of reckoning came. Each trainer had to ride his horse in a sequence of events designed to demonstrate the level of accomplishment. The hard working trainer rode first. The horse was putty in her hands. Whatever she asked, the horse tried to achieve. By the end of the session, this horse was leading the class.

The rival gloated in the wings. Soon she would be riding the same horse. Being a better rider than her conscientious partner, she was sure she could win the title of overall horse and rider team. With worlds of confidence she stepped up on the horse and began the required exercises. From the first moment, the work began to deteriorate. The horse lacked responsiveness. Flow was nonexistent. When the rider asked for speed, her world fell apart. The superbly trained horse ran off with her.

As Jim stepped into the arena to catch the horse, tears began to pour out of the rider's eyes. She jumped down and ran out in total disgrace.

Discrimination between riders happens frequently. Your horse may work perfectly for you, but your friend cannot get him to do anything.

Professional trainers tear their hair out over just such situations. Hours of training produce a horse that is ready to walk into the show ring and win. Delighted with the progress of his trainer, the owner arrives at the show to ride. The trainer warms the horse up. His performance is flawless. The owner climbs into the saddle just in time to enter the class - DISASTER! The horse blows cue after cue.

Embarrassed, the owner steams out of the arena. Hot words fly. It is not the fault of the trainer. It is not the fault of the horse. The problem is the stimulus controlling the behavior of the horse. In this situation, our best guess is that the horse is reading one or two signals.

The show ring, itself, oftentimes, can be the stimulus which tells an old seasoned campaigner he can get away with unacceptable behavior. Since it is difficult, and even considered embarrassing, to discipline a horse in the show ring, many horses gradually realize that they can cheat.

The most obvious signal is that the horse is discriminating between the novice rider (the owner) and the trainer. The owner's riding skills lack the precision and expectations of the trainer. Therefore the horse will perform a different way. The solution to this problem is for the owner and trainer to work closely together until the novice rider can learn to ask for and demand the same performance.

We have seen many attempts to correct this discrimination between the show ring and the training pen and most of them lack effectiveness. It does no good at all to whip the horse after the class.

Remember, immediacy is the key to correcting improper behavior.

Neither will it work to give the horse the opportunity to do it again outside the ring. Even if the horse does make the mistake again, the correction out of the ring will not permanently alter the behavior.

The only guaranteed cure is to reprimand the error at the time it is being made. Sacrifice the class or arrange to have mock training shows, but do not ever allow the horse to learn that different rules apply in the show ring.

We have discussed some of the ways stimulus control can disrupt training. Discrimination, however, can be a powerful training tool when used to our advantage.

Let's return to the 1960's in the stallion barn at Texas A & M. As soon as Jim realized the "power" of the leather halter, he left that nylon halter on the hook. With the leather halter in his hands, Joe always met him at the gate.

Sometimes he took Joe to be groomed and sometimes he took Joe to be bred. The unpredictable nature of broodmares created the perfect training situation. Fourble Joe was being rewarded on a variable ratio schedule. Joe never knew which time they would be going to the breeding shed, so he always met Jim at the gate in hopes that this time would be the time.

Over the years, Jim has frequently used a discriminating stimulus to help curtail the behavior of rowdy studs. Since leather halters and chain shanks are always in order when handling stallions, the position of the chain can be the discriminating stimulus. Under routine handling, Jim likes to place the chain either just through the halter or under the chin (depending on the nature of the beast).

When going to the breeding room, the chain moves to the best position for controlling a 1,000-pound breeding machine that may resist direction. This position ranges from under the chin to through the mouth, again depending on the nature of the stallion.

Specific tack also allows a horse to expect a certain movement or action. Not only does an English saddle feel different from a Western saddle, but the kinds of movements and maneuvers we expect while riding in each are also different.

Bits are great discriminating signals. The very structure of individual bits is designed to communicate with a horse in a specific way. Bits may apply pressure to the bars, the corners of the mouth, the tongue, the roof of the mouth, the chin, the poll or a combination of points.

The Racing Dee or Snaffle which uses light pressure on the bars and corner of the mouth, is often used with racehorses who are asked to run into the bit. By grabbing this bit, a fast moving horse can gain forward balance and move faster into the pressure. The Snaffle is used basically in the same way for jumping horses, while English Pleasure horses may be collected on it for work on the flat.

The Spanish Spade works on a completely different principle. The action of the spade uses all the possible bit pressure points. This bit allows great control for the most sensitive well-schooled mouths and needs to be in the hands of a rider with extremely sensitive hands.

If we want different performances from the same horse, changing bits for events will help cue the horse for each performance. The more discriminating signals used the better. A bit, a different saddle, a different kind of working arena, a different rider or trainer - all these signals will enhance a horse's ability to know what work is expected of him.

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