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Unlocking the Equine Voice: How Choice Transforms Connection and Care affective state agency choice connection contrafreeloading cooperative care cue poisoning environmental agency equine behaviour horse care horse psychology horse training horse/human bond learned helplessness positive reinforcement training relational agency self-regulation start-button behavior the five domains model Feb 01, 2026

Equine Agency and Cooperative Care: The Science of Choice in Horse Training

What is equine agency? Equine agency is the capacity for a horse to engage in voluntary, goal-directed behaviour that allows them to influence their environment and social interactions. In modern horse training, agency is t...

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Guiding Sails Caught By The Winds of Change bhs horse play horse training liberty natural horsemanship positive reinforcement Sep 12, 2024
Things are shifting in the horse world. I'm seeing more and more promotion of liberty work, bitless/bridaless, and lovely shows that have completely different judging criteria from the traditional show jumping or dressage.
 
I love the often bit-free element of this and the focus on connecti
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How Do We Achieve Positive Affect In Horses bhs horse care horse play horse training liberty natural horsemanship positive reinforcement Aug 30, 2024

A question from one of our members this week was "How can we promote a positive affective state in horses without food. I thought this was a fantastic question and something that underpins the work we do here at Horse Play Highlands. 

Positive affectivity (PA) is a characteristic that describes how...

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Natural Horsemanship - What is it? bhs horse care horse play horse training liberty natural horsemanship positive reinforcement riding lessons Jul 02, 2024

I was recently asked the question "What is Natural Horsemanship?" It's a great question and to be honest I think that it's starting to have two different meaning in the horse world. Meaning 1 refers to the Natural Horsemanship way of training, the use of  pressure and release techniques along with '...

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