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If you are in the presence of a horse, you are a horse trainer—good or bad. Whether you know it or not, you are constantly influencing the behavior of the horses around you. You are reinforcing their behavior which means that you are either encouraging or discouraging behaviors to occur again. This course will help you understand what you can do to change horse behavior and how to do it. Our goal as trainers and behaviorists is to understand horses and to learn how to train horses using behavior modification techniques powered by a positive reward system. This system is built on the basic principles of operant conditioning. Understand the basic rules which control the behavior of all living things and you will be well on your way to becoming a good horse trainer. Students may be required to provide video (VHS or DVD) of situations with horses....and may be assigned individual projects by the instructor. Course Outline: Every Action Causes a Reaction The Reinforcers The Conditioned Reinforcers Eliminating Undesirable Behavior Immediacy Reinforcement Schedules Shaping Stimulus Control Flooding versus Desensitization Learned Helplessness Respect Consistency Limited Distrations Quit On A Good Note Pick the Right Horse To Train |