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Contrafreeloading in Horses: Why Horses Choose to Work for Food agency contrafreeloading equine enrichment equine welfare foraging behaviour horse behaviour horse care horse psychology positive reinforcement training puzzle feeders trauma-informed horse care Dec 08, 2025

Contrafreeloading is a term that I haven’t heard in the horse world for a while, but recently I have had a few conversations where it’s cropped up.

It is a fascinating behaviour observed across many animal species, where animals choose to ‘work’ for food or rewards even when the same reward is free...

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