Equiosity is the podcast about all things equine with a special emphasis on the horse-human bond.
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This is part 2 of our conversation about shaping on a point of contact. In Part 1 we began the conversation with Dominique saying she doesn’t believe you can fully reap the full benefits of positive reinforcement training if you don’t understand and use this concept of shaping on a point of contact - at least when you’re working with horses. That’s a strong statement to make. As always, contrast…
Dominique has been watching trainers in the barn where she keeps her horses working with treats to teach some behaviors and traditional commands to teach others. The difference in the demeanor of the horses under these different contexts is striking. This has made Dominique appreciate all the more how important shaping on a point of contact is. That’s a concept that is very much part of my work.…
This is part 4 of a conversation that’s on one subject - the foundation lesson that I call the grown-ups are talking, please don’t interrupt. In several recent podcasts Dominique has said this is her favorite behavior. That’s a strong statement to make, so we both thought we should have a conversation where she gets to explain why she likes grown-ups so very much. It turns out we both have a lot…
This is part 3 of a conversation that’s on one subject - the foundation lesson that I call the grown-ups are talking, please don’t interrupt. In several recent podcasts Dominique has said this is her favorite behavior. That’s a strong statement to make, so we both thought we should have a conversation where she gets to explain why she likes grown-ups so very much. It turns out we both have a lot…
This is part 2 of a conversation that’s on one subject - the foundation lesson that I call the grown-ups are talking, please don’t interrupt. In several recent podcasts Dominique has said this is her favorite behavior. That’s a strong statement to make, so we both thought we should have a conversation where she gets to explain why she likes grown-ups so very much. It turns out we both have a lot…
This is part 1 of a conversation that’s on one subject - the foundation lesson that I call the grown-ups are talking, please don’t interrupt. In several recent podcasts Dominique has said this is her favorite behavior. That’s a strong statement to make, so we both thought we should have a conversation where she gets to explain why she likes grown-ups so very much. It tuns out we both have a lot to…
This is Part 3 of our conversation with Michele Pouliot. Michele is best known as a dog trainer, but she also has a strong horse background. , Since 1974 Michele has been a professional guide dog instructor with the largest US guide dog school serving the blind. Before entering the guide dog field, she was a professional in the field of horse training, mentoring under Linda Tellington Jones and…
This is Part 2 of our conversation with Michele Pouliot. Michele is best known as a dog trainer, but she also has a strong horse background. , Since 1974 Michele has been a professional guide dog instructor with the largest US guide dog school serving the blind. Before entering the guide dog field, she was a professional in the field of horse training, mentoring under Linda Tellington Jones and…
We’re beginning a conversation with Michele Pouliot. Michele is best known as a dog trainer, but she also has a strong horse background. Beginning in 1974 Michele has been a professional guide dog instructor with the largest US guide dog school serving the blind. Before entering the guide dog field, she was a professional in the field of horse training, mentoring under Linda Tellington Jones and…
We recorded this conversation early in April 2026 right after the Clicker Expo. In Part 1 the Clicker Expo served as a launching point for our conversation. We talked about Dr Susan Friedman’s presentation on Doing Compassion and my own talk on Thinking Fast, Making Quick Decisions. My program included a discussion of the characteristics we see in skilled trainers. In part 1 I listed some of those…
We recorded this conversation early in April 2026 right after the Clicker Expo in New York. In Part 1 the Clicker Expo served as a launching point for our conversation. We talked about Dr Susan Friedman’s presentation on Doing Compassion and my own talk on Thinking Fast and Making Quick Decisions. In Part 2 we continue with the discussion of the Thinking Fast presentation. We talk about what…
We recorded this conversation early in April 2026 right after the Clicker Expo. Dominique was really torn. She wanted to attend the Expo, but she didn’t feel comfortable traveling to the US given the current political climate. In the end she decided to stay home. That meant she was especially eager to hear about my Expo experience. In this episode we talk about Dr Susan Friedman’s presentation on…
In 2025 Dominique needed to take some time off over the summer. I went ahead and did a series of interviews, including one with Dr Claire St Peter and Dr Carol Pilgrim, episodes 349 to 351. We were talking about stimulus control. Those episodes aired in the fall. The episode you’re about to listen to was supposed to air back in the fall as well, but somehow it fell between the cracks and we moved…
In 2025 Dominique needed to take some time off over the summer. I went ahead and did a series of interviews, including one with Dr Claire St Peter and Dr Carol Pilgrim, episodes 349 to 351. We were talking about stimulus control. Those episodes aired in the fall. The episode you’re about to listen to was supposed to air back in the fall as well, but somehow it fell between the cracks and we moved…
In 2025 Dominique needed to take some time off over the summer. I went ahead and did a series of interviews, including one with Dr Claire St Peter and Dr Carol Pilgrim, episodes 349 to 351. We were talking about stimulus control. Those episodes aired in the fall. The episode you’re about to listen to was supposed to air back in the fall as well, but somehow it fell between the cracks and we moved…
This is part 3 of a conversation with Chirag Patel. Chirag is based in London where consults on the ethical and science-based practice of behavior management and training for animals housed in domestic, zoo, and laboratory environments. Chirag earned his BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Sciences from the Royal Veterinary College in London and a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Animal Behavior from the…
This is part 2 of a conversation with Chirag Patel. Chirag is based in London where consults on the ethical and science-based practice of behavior management and training for animals housed in domestic, zoo, and laboratory environments. Chirag earned his BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Sciences from the Royal Veterinary College in London and a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Animal Behavior from the…
We have amazingly reached episode 365. That means you can listen to an equiosity podcast every day for a year and not have to repeat any episodes - unless you want to. That’s a lot of talking. So join us as we look back over 365 episodes. We talk about why we started the podcast and what has kept us going. If you are new to the Equiosity podcast, you have a lot of great listening ahead of you!…
This is part 1 of a conversation with Chirag Patel. Chirag is based in London where consults on the ethical and science-based practice of behavior management and training for animals housed in domestic, zoo, and laboratory environments. Chirag earned his BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Sciences from the Royal Veterinary College in London and a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Animal Behavior from the…
This is Part 4 of our conversation with Dr Susan Friedman. Dr Friedman is one of our favorite guests on this podcast. She’s a professor emeritus in the psychology department at Utah State University. She’s been a long-time member of the Clicker Expo Faculty and she runs the very popular on-line course Behavior Works: Learning and Living with Animals. In Part 1 Susan shared with us her most recent…
This is Part 3 of our conversation with Dr Susan Friedman. Dr Friedman is one of our favorite guests on this podcast. She’s a professor emeritus in the psychology department at Utah State University. She’s been a long-time member of the Clicker Expo Faculty and she runs the very popular on-line course Behavior Works: Learning and Living with Animals. In Part 1 Susan shared with us her most recent…
This is Part 2 of our conversation with Dr Susan Friedman. Dr Friedman is one of our favorite guests on this podcast. She’s a professor emeritus in the psychology department at Utah State University. She’s been a long-time member of the Clicker Expo Faculty and she runs the very popular on-line course Behavior Works: Learning and Living with Animals. In Part 1 Susan shared with us her most recent…
This is Part 1 of a five part conversation with Dr Susan Friedman. Dr Friedman is one of our favorite guests on this podcast. She’s a professor emeritus in the psychology department at Utah State University. She’s been a long-time member of the Clicker Expo Faculty and she runs the very popular on-line course Behavior Works: Learning and Living with Animals. In part 1 Susan shares with us her most…
This is Part 5 of a conversation with Lucy Butler of River Haven Animal Sanctuary, and Dr Stephanie Jones and her grad student, Sofia Abuin. In Part 1 we talked about the common links between teaching people and working with animals. We talked about coercion, control, and most importantly about empathy. In part 2 Stephanie described a pilot study she and her colleagues set up at the River Haven…
This is Part 4 of a conversation with Lucy Butler of River Haven Animal Sanctuary, and Dr Stephanie Jones and her grad student, Sofia Abuin In Part 1 we talked about the common links between teaching people and working with animals. We talked about coercion, control, and most importantly about empathy. In part 2 Stephanie described a pilot study she and her colleagues set up at the River Haven…
This is Part 3 of a conversation with Lucy Butler of River Haven Animal Sanctuary, and Dr Stephanie Jones and her grad student, Sofia Abuin Dr. Jones graduated with her PhD in Behavior Analysis from West Virginia University in 2021. Her primary research focuses on effects of implementer errors that occur during well-established behavioral treatments. To meet this aim, she conducts laboratory and…
Finding Science in the Art of Training This is Part 2 of a conversation with Lucy Butler of River Haven Animal Sanctuary, and Dr Stephanie Jones and her grad student, Sofia Abuin Dr. Jones graduated with her PhD in Behavior Analysis from West Virginia University in 2021. Her primary research focuses on effects of implementer errors that occur during well-established behavioral treatments. To meet…
This is Part One of a conversation with Lucy Butler of River Haven Animal Sanctuary, Dr Stephanie Jones and her grad student, Sofia Abuin Dr. Jones is new to Equiosity. She graduated with her PhD in Behavior Analysis from West Virginia University in 2021. Her primary research focuses on effects of implementer errors that occur during well-established behavioral treatments. To meet this aim, she…
Dominique is back! Dominique took some time off over the summer. Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent Equiosity conversations she’s been listening to. In Part 1 we talked about the recent podcast with Rick Hester, Amy Shilz, from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Lucy Butler from the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island. We talked about the enrichment programs at the Cheyenne…
Dominique is back! Dominique took some time off over the summer. Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent equiosity conversations she’s been listening to. In Part 1 we talked about the recent podcast with Rick Hester, Amy Shilz, from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Lucy Butler from the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island. We talked about the enrichment programs at the Cheyenne…
Dominique is back! Dominique took some time off over the summer. Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent Equiosity conversations she’s been listening to. In this episode we revisit the conversation we had with Rick Hester, Amy Schilz and Lucy Butler. Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. Amy is in charge of the giraffe at the zoo. Lucy…
This is part three of our conversation with Dr Claire St Peter from the University of West Virginia where she is currently the Chair of the Department of Psychology, and Dr Carol Pilgrim, a Professor Emerit in the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr Pilgrim has received many honors throughout her career including the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching…
This is part two of our conversation with Dr Claire St Peter from the University of West Virginia where she is currently the Chair of the Department of Psychology, and Dr Carol Pilgrim, a Professor Emerit in the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr Pilgrim has received many honors throughout her career including the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching…
We’ve covered a lot of topics with behavior analysts. This week we’re talking with Dr. Carol Pilgrim and Dr. Claire St Peter about stimulus control. Dr Claire St Peter is from the University of West Virginia, where she is currently the Chair of the Department of Psychology. Claire has been on this podcast many times. Claire is not only a behavior analyst she is also a horse person. When I say that…
For the episode we’re continuing our conversation with Rick Hester, Amy Shilze and Lucy Butler. Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. He oversees all the zoo's behavioral programming. His work includes the zoo's animal training for husbandry, medical, and public show behaviors, enrichment, developing programs to improve problem behavior situations,…
For the episode we’re continuing our conversation with Rick Hester, Amy Shilze and Lucy Butler. Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. He oversees all the zoo's behavioral programming. His work includes the zoo's animal training for husbandry, medical, and public show behaviors, enrichment, developing programs to improve problem behavior situations,…
For the episode we’re heading to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for a conversation with Rick Hester, Amy Schilz and Lucy Butler. Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. He oversees all the zoo's behavioral programming. His work includes the zoo's animal training for husbandry, medical, and public show behaviors, enrichment, developing programs to improve…
This is part 3 of a conversation with Michaela Hempen and Lucy Butler about their visit in August to attend Anja Beran’s 12th International Workshop held at her stable in Bavaria. Both Michaela and Lucy have been guests on the podcast many times before. Michaela is well known for the research project she did on the operant control of cribbing. With her own horses she has been using my work to help…
This is part 2 of a conversation with Michaela Hempen and Lucy Butler about their visit in August to attend Anja Beran’s 12th International Workshop held at her stable in Bavaria. Both Michaela and Lucy have been guests on the podcast many times before. Michaela is well known for the research project she did on the operant control of cribbing. With her own horses she has been using my work to help…
This is part 1 of a conversation with Michaela Hempen and Lucy Butler about their visit in August to attend Anja Beran’s 12th International Workshop held at her stable in Bavaria. Both Michaela and Lucy have been guests on the podcast many times before. Michaela is well known for the research project she did on the operant control of cribbing. With her own horses she has been using my work to help…
Equiosity Episode 342: Horses for Future Jane Myers and The Equicentral System Pt 2 This is part 2 of a conversation Jane Myers on the equicentral system and pasture management. This episode comes from the archives of my Horses For Future podcast that I produced from 2019 to 2021. The podcast explored what horse people can do to help in the climate change crisis. Think of the green plants in your…
We’ve just finished a three part conversation with Dr Susan Schneider that was centered around the climate change crisis. In that conversation I referenced my Horses For Future podcast. This is a podcast that I produced from 2019 to 2021. It explored what horse people can do to help in the climate change crisis. The premise is a simple one. Horse people can make a difference in the climate change…
This is Part 3 of a three part conversation with Dr. Susan Schneider. Dr.Schneider is the author of “The Science of Consequences”. For the past eight years Dr, Schneider has made climate change her primary focus. Dr. Schneider is on the faculty at Western Michigan University and serves on its Climate Change Working Group. She also serves on the Tools of Change Landmark Peer Review Panel for…
This is Part 2 of a three part conversation with Dr. Susan Schneider. Dr.Schneider is the author of “The Science of Consequences”. For the past eight years Susan has made climate change her primary focus. Her work on climate change and sustainability includes outreach, community projects, organizing, academic and nonacademic publications, and extensive public speaking. As Senior Scientist for the…
In this three part series we’re joined by Dr. Susan Schneider is a behavior analyst. She is the author of “The Science of Consequences” which many of you may have read. Normally when we have behavior analysts as guests we talk about academic subjects such as schedules of reinforcement. In this case I wanted to talk to Susan about what horse people can do to help mitigate the climate change crisis.…
Our guest this week is Anita Schnee. Anita is a Feldenkrais™ practitioner who has joined us many times on this podcast. During the recent conversation we recorded with Dr Brennan Armshaw and Dr Claire St Peter (episodes 324 and 325), I kept thinking - I wish we had invited Anita. Well, it turns out Anita was listening. Anita offers Awareness Through Movement classes twice a month via zoom. After…
Our guest this week is Anita Schnee. Anita is a Feldenkrais™ practitioner who has joined us many times on this podcast. During the recent conversation we recorded with Dr Brennan Armshaw and Dr Claire St Peter (episodes 324 and 325), I kept thinking - I wish we had invited Anita. Well it turns out Anita was listening. Anita offers Awareness Through Movement classes twice a month via zoom. The…
This week we are joined by two behavior analysts. Dr. Claire St Peter is the chair of behavior analysis at the University of West Virginia. She has been a frequent guest on this podcast. We are also joined by Dr. Brennan Armshaw, who also teaches at the University of West Virginia. Claire is a horse person so she’s able to bridge the world between behavior analysis and horse training. Dr. Armshaw…
This week we are joined by two behavior analysts. Dr. Claire St Peter is the chair of behavior analysis at the University of West Virginia. She has been a frequent guest on this podcast. We are also joined by Dr. Brennan Armshaw. Claire is a horse person so she’s able to bridge the world between behavior analysis and horse training. Dr. Armshaw has not yet been drawn into the world of horses, but…
We want to start small. That’s an important part of loopy training and constructional training in general. You begin with a small, simple, easily achieved response which means you are starting with a high success rate resulting in a high rate of reinforcement. This is great from your horse’s point of view. Very little effort yields consistent goodies. From our point of view we want to start small…
