Lead a Horse to Water

Your horse appears a little 'out of sorts'. Advice from your trainer to push them through it doesn't sit well. Is your horse trying to tell you something? In this episode I talk about the signs of a horse in discomfort or pain and how to trust yourself in recognising those signs. Catch up with me at www.equine.training and find my new interactive course at understandhorses.com The equine pain face...

In this episode Sooz Foster (check out previous episodes for her bio) and I dig down into patterns and how they can help us help our horses. Adapted from Leslie McDevitt's pattern games for dogs, these simple devices can ease anxiety for you and your horse especially for horses that struggle to leave home because of separation based anxiety.  Apologies for some sound issues from Sooz at the s...

Touchy about targets? No, really I'm not! I just love good, careful and clean teaching of handheld target behaviours (and all other behaviours of course). Targets are often used to lure forward movement- again I have no issue with this WHEN DONE WELL. Listen while I ramble through my thoughts on the subject and gather your own thoughts too. Who is targeting for? When should handheld target trainin...

Thank you all for the amazing support and for listening in. Please reinforce me as you see fit by sharing this episode and by getting in touch with any questions, suggestions or just to say you've listened! You can get in touch via my website https://www.equine.training/equine-training-podcast/ on Facebook or Instagram and you can find my online courses at understandhorses.com Email me (contact vi...

In this episode I speak to Andrea Harrison about positive training and adopting a growth mindset. It's a good one! I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it. Andrea is an educator who is passionate about all species, including horses, dogs and humans! She has taken her positive message to the media many times, including appearances on TV shows, print radio, podcasts and more...

Give me a clue! Is that a cue?  In this episode Sooz Foster and I dig deep into the topic of cues. What is a cue? When do we introduce a cue? What does a suitable cue look like? Is the environment a cue? And lots more! It's rather a long episode as we begin to unravel our thoughts on cues and it might need a couple of listens.  I mention in the podcast Understand Horses which is a new on...

In this episode (episode 4, I'm on a roll)  I answer a listener's question about how to introduce movement behaviour using reward based training. It's a typical scenario where we have trained a good stand calmly behaviour only to find when we want to introduce movement (walk on) our horse is stuck. I talk through some different training protocols to help if you find yourself in the same situa...

In this episode of the podcast I'm in conversation with Jenny Eicher from Equine Centred. Jenny has been involved with horses her whole life. She has a BSc in psychology doing her dissertation on foals understanding of human given cues. After graduating from university, Jenny went on to train as a Counsellor, Psychotherapist and Equine Therapist. She also studied Applied Equine Behaviour to instru...

In this episode Sooz Foster and I discuss her crossover from traditional to positive reinforcement trainer and the joy that horses bring us even without the opportunity of riding. We talk about the importance of considering pain and physical issues before putting a training plan in place and Sooz shares her horse, Teddy's, journey. A BHS stage 4 senior coach and stable manager, Sooz is also a ride...

Trudi Dempsey introducing myself (with some trepidation) to my potential six guests (OK if it's less than six I promise not to cry). Who am I, where did I come from and where am I going (someone tell me please)? Answering two of my most asked questions regarding positive reinforcement training. I'm a certified horse behaviour consultant with the IAABC offering consultations in the South West...