How Can I Help?
Information
PATH Equestrian offers a wide variety of services ranging from full behaviour assessments to basic lessons. Working with humane, science-based and non-fear based training methods.
My methods and ethics:
Behaviour Assessments
This initial consultation will give you immediate answers about your horse’s behaviour. Using only positive, practical, and effective scientific methods to provide long-term solutions.
After this consultation, you will have a thorough understanding of the root cause of your horse’s behaviours, an in-depth evaluation of your horse and their environment and a solution and plan to resolve these issues.
Included:
- In-depth history taking of known training, medical or behavioural problems.
- All aspects of your horse’s management, environment and training will be taken into consideration and documented.
- A thorough discussion of the behavioural problem(s) and possible causes.
- A comprehensive written behaviour modification/training plan. This will include detailed instructions about what is recommended to resolve these issues.
- Follow-up discussion of implementation with the information listed in the assessment.
- Email and messaging support for additional questions.
Please note: While some behaviour issues may be resolved with the behaviour assessment, others may require follow-up sessions. This will depend on the severity of the horse’s problem, how long it has been occurring and how easy the changes are to implement.
*Please contact for pricing*
Virtual Lesson Programs
Virtual Lessons:
Traditional 30-minute- 1-hour long lessons via Zoom, Skype or Facetime.
Process:
Step 1: Intake form and goal planning
Step 2: Invoice is sent and lesson is scheduled!
Continuous Lessons:
Continous lessons are an ongoing and evolving lesson type. An hour deposit is paid upfront, then lesson plans and feedback are deducted as time is used.
Process:
Step 1: Intake form and goal planning
Step 2: Invoice is sent!
Step 3: Starter basic videos are requested, I offer feedback and we build from there!
What are the benefits of continuous lessons?
Continous lessons allow us to focus on specific training behaviours and get immediate feedback on that behaviour. An hour of continuous lessons goes a longer way than an hour of virtual as we can usually get 4-6 lesson plans done with one hour of continuous lessons.
*Please contact for pricing*
“I have been working remotely with Brie for awhile now. We started with an assessment that was incredibly thorough and informative. Brie gave many different ideas for enrichment and improving my horses environment. Brie has also been very encouraging and positive with our training. Brie is always sure to point out the good things we are doing in a feedback video and then gives pointers to try next time. The lesson plans are detailed and easy to understand and I always get a quick response if I have any questions. It is so heartening to know I have someone I can turn to for help with my horses training and I am guaranteed to get a kind compassionate response from Brie!”
– Rachel
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an equine behaviour consultant?
An Equine Behaviour Consultant is a professional who has studied equine behaviour, equine psychology, the learning theory, equine ethology and equine welfare. Behaviourists use this knowledge to solve and work with horses who have behaviour problems.
What can an equine behaviourist help with?
Handling issues/management issues: leading, biting, head shyness, pulling / avoidance of pressure, crosstying issues and catching issues.
Aggression issues: towards horses and towards humans.
Anxiety issues: Separation, fear of novel (new) objects, fear of new places.
Stereotypic behaviours: Weaving, headshaking, box-walking, wall biting, self-mutilation, kicking walls and excessive pawing.
Are you a horse trainer?
In addition to consulting and working with behaviour issues, I can offer training and training solutions for you and your horse!
What training methods do you use?
I am a LIMA (“Least intrusive, minimally aversive”) trainer. Simply put this means that I will use the least intrusive minimally aversive strategy out of the set of humane and effective tactics. LIMA trainers work towards utilizing Positive Reinforcement and eliminate the use of punishment when working with horses. From a training perspective, Positive Reinforcement is the first line of teaching, training and behaviour change.
There is no “one size fits all” training solution for horses with behaviour problems. Each horse is unique and what may work for one horse may not work for another. Every training and behaviour program is carefully tailored to the individual needs of each horse.
Want to learn more?
IAABC: Statement on LIMA
What is Postive Reinforcement?
Positive Reinforcement is one of the 4 quadrants of operant conditioning. Positive Reinforcement (R+) is the addition of an appetitive (something the animal wants to acquire, for example, food) to reward/increase a behaviour.
When a favourable outcome or rewards occurs after an action, that behaviour becomes strengthened (reinforced).
Positive Reinforcement is a powerful and effective form of training, especially when combined with a marker. A marker is used to mark the desired behaviour, a common marker is a handheld clicker which is where the name “Clicker Training” comes from.
Can food rewards make my horse pushy or dangerous?
There are a lot of misconceptions about the use of Positive Reinforcement in horse training. Many of these misconceptions stem from genuine miscommunication or lack of understanding. With horses, this kind of training can seem foreign but the science behind these methods are consistent across all species.
This is one of the largest misconceptions that you can run into with Positive Reinforcement Training. Horses that have become “pushy” or “muggy” when training with food rewards is the aftermath of poor training, and not the use of food rewards. Proper Positive Reinforcement takes the guesswork out of how to get the food and limits the withholding of food rewards. Creating a healthy relationship with food is a technique and a skill that helps ensure a horses food feelings are being met while also ensuring we are safe.
What are the dietary concerns of using food with training?
There shouldn’t be any! Horses in a species-appropriate environment should be eating for 16-18 hours a day. Providing food as a primary reinforcer is a lot easier for horses than for some species. Most horses will work for low-value reinforcement such as hay, celery or hay pellets. This results in no extra calories being given during training.
In instances where horses have special dietary needs, I work closely with an equine nutritionist to ensure their dietary needs are being met.
Will I always need to carry food on me?
Yes and No. This is a complicated question but one I am happy to try and provide a simplified answer for.
Traditionally, horses are trained with Negative Reinforcement, which is the removal (negative) of an aversive (something the horse doesn’t like) stimulus to reward/increase the likelihood of a behaviour.
Horses don’t choose to work for us just because. There is motivation behind all behaviours. With pressure and release training, the motivation is the removal of pressure and with Positive Reinforcement training the motivation at the start is typically food.
When training with Positive Reinforcement correctly it is important to recognize that control over how to receive reinforcement can become a primary motivator. This results in a phenomenon called Contra-Freeloading (the opposite of freeloading). Simply put when a horse is offered a choice between food and food that requires effort to obtain the horse chooses to work for the food that requires effort. This means that during Positive Reinforcement Training we are working with 2 primary motivators instead of just 1 (as compared to Negative Reinforcement Training).
When teaching a new behaviour, you will need to carry food rewards. But, once a behaviour becomes reinforced (using our two motivators) and the horse is reliably performing the behaviour on cue, there are methods for fading out the food rewards for that behaviour.
Contact
Phone
pathequestrian@gmail.com
Address
Located in Caledon East, Ontario
Hours of operation
Private Property – Please contact for availability!