Not only do horses learn to predict the goings on in their world, they also learn how to control them. This is important to horses as feeling out of control makes them feel unsafe and defensive behaviour becomes more likely.

Much is made of horses trying to get the upper hand and be in control and that this is something to be discouraged, but it is a simple fact that horses learn about the consequences of their own behaviour and adapt accordingly. Therefore they learn how to control the environment around them with no particular political agenda, this is simply a matter of how to best thrive and survive!

There are four possible outcomes to behaviour that will cause a horse to either do or not do that behaviour again under similar conditions. These outcomes naturally divide into two types: reinforcers that increase performance of the given behaviour and punishers that diminish performance of behaviour.

Positive reinforcers are stimuli that are enjoyed by the horse and are added to him as a consequence of behaviour e.g. the horse comes when called so is given a carrot. The horse repeats this behaviour in future because he has learned that he will achieve this outcome again and again.

Negative reinforcers are the removal of stimuli that are aversive to the horse e.g. rein tension is released when the horse stops. The horse continues to repeat this response whenever he can predict that rein tension will increase (e.g. because the rider signals this with the light aid), or whenever he encounters actual increases in rein tension because he has learned that by doing so he will escape or avoid increased bit pressure in his mouth.

When trained by positive reinforcement the horse performs behaviour to gain something he likes, when trained by negative reinforcement it works to escape or avoid something he doesn’t.

Negative punishment is the removal of something the horse wants to have e.g. taking the carrots away from a horse when he bites so he learns not to because he would rather not lose out on carrots.

Positive punishment is the addition of something the horse finds aversive such as hitting a horse when he tries to kick so that in future he doesn't kick because he knows he will be hit.

Punishment is often counter productive as the side effects are an increase in fearfulness and/or behavioural inhibition, neither of which are conducive to progressing a horse’s education, so good training programmes rely more heavily on reinforcers. Reinforcers help horses learn what they should be doing, and this helps them to be braver and less inclined to behave dangerously.