What is a Primary Reinforcer?

Positive reinforcement horse training uses reinforcements, or rewards, to encourage desirable behaviors. However, for trainers new to R+ horse training, deciding what can be effectively used as a reinforcer can be difficult. Do you have to give your horse a treat or will scratches work?

There are actually two types of rewards: primary and secondary reinforcers. Understanding the difference between the two can help trainers determine what rewards they should use and how to create new reinforcers.

Primary Reinforcers

When getting started with R+ it is best to use primary reinforcers until the horse gets a sense of what you are asking of them. Primary reinforcers have intrinsic value to the horse and are of biological significance. They are something an animal needs to survive, meaning they awaken a reflex in response to the reinforcer.

A primary reinforcer can be food, water, sleep, shelter, safety, or sex. Because of their significance to survival, primary reinforcers can be extremely powerful and motivating for a horse.

Various treats and grains on the market make highly rewarding primary reinforcers

Primary reinforcers will be automatically associated with dopamine release without conditioning. For instance, your horse's mouth begins to water when presented with grain. You do not have to teach your horse that eating is a good thing, their automatic dopamine release will tell them that.

For horse trainers, the best and easiest primary reinforcer is food. Primary reinforcers for horses can be grain, hay pellets, carrots, horse cookies, or any other edible treat. When choosing your food reinforcer, keep in mind what your horse likes. Favorite foods will have a stronger effect on their training than something they do not like.

How to Use Primary Reinforcers

Primary reinforcers can be used to encourage desired behaviors. Many trainers pair food rewards with clicker training to help communicate what they want.

Clicker trainers often use primary reinforcers to back up their clicker

To use primary reinforcers all you have to do is...

1. Ask for the desired approximation of whatever behavior you are training

2. Click (if using a clicker)

3. Give the horse a snack

   
   

Primary reinforcers are highly effective at motivating the horse to perform and tend to be more resistant against extinction. Horses trained with primary reinforcers will be willing to do their work even as reinforcers are phased out.

Primary vs. Secondary Reinforcers

A secondary reinforcer can function like a primary reinforcer but must be conditioned first. Secondary reinforcers are stimuli that are conditioned to elicit the same response as a primary one. For instance, a clicker can be conditioned to create the drooling dopamine release associated with food.

Scratches can become good conditioned reinforcers

For horses, a secondary reinforcer can be anything from scratches, a kind word, or even another movement. However, before you can use secondary reinforcers to reward behavior, you have to condition it to mean something. On their own secondary reinforcers don't mean much to our horses, so we have to teach them what they mean before we can integrate them as reinforcers in our training.

How to Create a Secondary Reinforcer

A secondary reinforcer can be created by pairing a primary reinforcer repeatedly with a neutral stimulus. Loading the clicker is a form of creating a secondary reinforcer.

Praise is an easy secondary reinforcer to use when riding

Creating secondary reinforcers can be helpful for riders who do not want to constantly stop and hand their horse treats while riding. A properly conditioned secondary reinforcer can mean a scratch or "good boy" can serve as a reward for behavior interspersed with food reinforcers.

If you want to turn a scratch or praise into a secondary reinforcer...

1. Give your secondary reinforcer (pat, word, etc.)

2. Immediately follow with a food reward

3. Repeat 10 to 20 times in a session over a couple of days

   
   

Once your horse noticeably perks up at the secondary reinforcer, it has been conditioned.

ALWAYS start out a session by giving some treats for a secondary reinforcer at the beginning of a session and interspersed throughout to keep the conditioning strong.

---

Using both primary and secondary reinforcers gives you more ways to communicate with your horse. Now that you know the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers, you can use them both to reward your horse and shape desirable behaviors.