The Four Quadrants of Operant Conditioning for Horse Trainers (With Examples)

When a horse trainer wants to influence their horse's behavior, whether they know it or not, they turn to operant conditioning. Operant conditioning (also called Skinnerian conditioning) increases or decreases the horse's behavior based on the consequences that follow.

These consequences fall into four categories: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. Keep reading to learn more about the four quadrants and how to leverage them for success in your horse training.

Reinforcement

Reinforcement refers to an action that leads to an increase in desirable behaviors. There are two distinct types of reinforcement: positive and negative. Both work in opposing ways but will ultimately lead to an increase in the response you are training for.

R+ (Positive Reinforcement)

Positive Reinforcement (also referred to as R+) increases desired behaviors by providing a reward to the horse after displaying the correct response. Positive refers to the addition of a desired stimulus to increase a behavior. Many trainers use a marker signal or clicker and food although anything that is rewarding to the animal can be used as a reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement gives rewards for desired behaviors

Positive reinforcement is rapidly making its way onto the mainstream horse training scene. By relying on positive stimuli and rewards to encourage behaviors, trainers can quickly train new responses and create a willing participant.

Examples:

• Clicking and giving a horse a treat after performing a trot transition

• Telling a dog "yes" and handing them some food as soon as they sit down

• A teacher praising their student when they hand in their work on time

  
  

R- (Negative Reinforcement)

Negative Reinforcement (also referred to as R-) increases a desired behavior by removing an aversive or annoying stimulus as soon as the correct response is given. It involves causing mild discomfort to the horse until they perform the correct behavior and then immediately removing the stimuli so they can create an association between escaping discomfort and that behavior. In the horse world, this type of training is often called "pressure and release."

Round penning is a popular form of negative reinforcement

Examples:

• Tapping a horse on their hindquarters until they yield them away

• Flicking a lunge whip behind a horse until they start trotting

• The beeping sound in a car continues until you buckle your seatbelt

  
  

Punishment

Punishment refers to an action that leads to a decrease in undesirable behaviors. There are two distinct types of punishments: positive and negative. Like with reinforcement, they both use opposite methods to achieve the goal of decreasing a given response.

P+ (Positive Punishment)

Positive punishment (also referred to as P+) decreases an undesirable behavior by adding an aversive stimulus to discourage the response. Positive punishment deters unwanted behaviors by adding annoying or aversive stimuli as the animal displays an unwanted response. Just a few decades ago, P+ was the go-to method for many animal trainers but is now getting phased out in favor of more humane and effective forms of training.

Trainers may use positive punishment to deal with dangerous behaviors

Examples:

• Giving a horse a slap on the cheek after they bite at you

• Squirting a cat with a water bottle when they eat the plants

• A teacher assigning extra work for students who were disruptive during class

  
  

P- (Negative Punishment)

Negative punishment (also referred to as P-) decreases an undesirable behavior by removing a desirable stimulus to discourage the response. Negative punishment removes the horse's ability to continue the behavior, taking away the intrinsic reward they get from performing it. Eventually, they learn that displaying the undesirable behavior leads to the removal of something they want.

Removing your horses ability to perform an undesirable behavior is negative punishment

Examples:

• Putting a horse on a lead rope so they can't reach the grass after ignoring your cues to stop

• Putting a dog on a leash after they chase a squirrel

• Giving a child a timeout for yelling so they can't play or interact with their siblings for a period of time

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Understanding and applying the principles of operant conditioning will enhance your ability to communicate with your horse. Armed with the four quadrants you can create a training environment where both you and your horse thrive together.