When can I stop using food is a common question people new to positive reinforcement (R+) ask?

Often these people are considering switching over from Negative Reinforcement (R-) which is a GREAT switch to make. (Being narky I sometimes wish to reply “when do you stop the release”)

There are a few things to consider here. Basically the short answer is NEVER - but there are lots of side avenues we can explore.

Firstly reinforcement makes the behaviour stronger.

So stopping reinforcement, whichever way you do it, should mean the behaviour is invariably going to become weaker and weaker over time, until it just fizzles out.

If you are lucky.

If you are practising R+ then on the way to the fizzle you may discover what is often called an “extinction burst”

This will basically be your horse getting frustrated and shouting I KNOW THIS BEHAVIOUR EARNS ME REINFORCEMENT. This is not a safe emotion to find in a horse – frustration. And not a happy place mentally for your horse to be either. Some horses may bite or strike in their frustration, and can become very unsafe as well as unhappy.

In humans this frustration often leads to violent acts – things being thrown or being punched.

With negative reinforcement – if you stop the reinforcement many things can happen.

If the exercise is pulling on the reins to get your horse to slow down – not releasing the reins when your horse does slow can have a number of side effects.

The ones you will see the most are signs of pain, as well as frustration. Open mouth behaviour trying to avoid the pulling. Head tossing, Running away. Grabbing the bit and running.

Again, unsafe behaviours you don’t want to see, and pain and frustration you shouldn’t want your horse to experience.

If the behaviour is using your heels to make your horse go, if you don’t stop the pressure when he does go, again your horse can become frustrated and uncomfortable and again, unsafe. Instead of just the go forward cue not working, there is a big possibility of your horse kicking or biting at your legs, worse still, bucking, or perhaps even trying to run away from your legs.

Once again an unhappy mental state for your horse, and unsafe for you.

Back to stopping the food.

With R+ the good thing is that anything your horse likes can be used as reinforcement.

Some horse like scritchies. Some like walking to explore. Some like foraging through enrichment boxes. Some like games. Some like that green pick on the side of the road.

And here you need to let go of your R- mindset if you still carry it – stopping the training or giving a rest USED to be a reward: but R+ horses LIKE working, so stopping can actually be a punisher!

Some enjoy their training so much that they will happily perform multiple behaviours for the same small reinforcement that earlier reinforced only a single behaviour. Often you notice that you are already not reinforcing the easier behaviours, but only the newer or harder ones.

You can add duration, and reinforce longer patterns of behaviour, eg walking for 20 steps instead of 3 steps when teaching leading. You can start behaviour chains, and reinforce at the end of the chain instead of each individual behaviour within the chain.

You may find a behaviour your horse really enjoys doing, and this behaviour can be used to reinforce a behaviour he doesn’t like as much. Heard of ‘Premack principle’ - or eat you vegies before you get dessert?

So there are many ways to progress from one behaviour one treat,

but we need to do this as our horse progresses, when he shows he is ready to work like this.

One major occurrence is that performing the behaviour can become reinforcing in itself – it does build a positive conditioned emotional response after all. Meaning that it has been reinforced so heavily, that doing it actually feels good!

So if you have a wonderful equine partner like me – you too may be blown away by your horse leaving their bowl of ‘end of session’ treats, to come and offer to work more for those exact same treats!

But to start (and to solidify) it is one behaviour one treat – and we need to never stop reinforcing – it is of course what makes the behaviour strong.

Written by Vicki Conroy for the PPGA Equine sub-committee