Equiosity

Equiosity
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Education
  • Updated weekly

Equiosity is the podcast about all things equine with a special emphasis on the horse-human bond.

  1. 2 hr ago

    Episode 379 The Very Best Behavior Part 3 - The Evolution of Default Behaviors

    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 to say about grown-ups. In Part. 1 I got us started by describing the behavior I’m referring that I call the grown-ups are talking, please don’t interrupt. We ended that episode by saying that we aren’t just looking for a particular head orientation, but we are looking for the whole expression of the horse because we want to build in calmness and Deep all-is-well relaxation. In Part 2 we described how you go about creating not just a horse who stands still when asked, but who is relaxed, confident and at ease when doing so. We included some handling tips for building duration. It turns out the process of building duration helps the base behavior of grown-ups to expand. Grown-ups morphs into ground tying, meaning your horse remains in stillness while you move around him and perform tasks such as grooming, foot care, saddling, etc. We looked at what it means for grown-ups to be an off switch for other behaviors. And we ended with the way grown-ups can be used to teach great balance. We can use grown-ups to normalize the feel of standing in balance. In Part 3 we continue to talk about balance, both physical and emotional. We describe default behaviors - what they are and how they function. That includes “the pose” which is a behavior that has been a keystone in Robin’s training. I describe both how the pose was taught and its many benefits.

    43 min

  2. 5 days ago

    Episode 378 The Very Best Behavior Part 2 Still, Calm, Relaxed - For Longer

    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 to say about grown-ups. In Part 1 I got us started by describing the behavior I’m referring that I call the grown-ups are talking, please don’t interrupt. We ended that episode by saying that we aren’t just looking for a particular head orientation, but we are looking for the whole expression of the horse because we want to build calmness and a deep all-is-well relaxation into the behavior. In Part 2 we describe how you go about creating not just a horse who stands still when asked, but one who is relaxed, confident and at ease when doing so. We include some handling tips for building duration. Building duration helps expand the base behavior of grown-ups. It transforms basic grown-ups into ground tying, meaning your horse remains in stillness while you move around him and perform tasks such as grooming, foot care, saddling, etc. We explain what it means for grown-ups to be an off switch for other behaviors. And we end with the way grown-ups can be used to teach great balance. We can use grown-ups to normalize the feel of standing in balance.

    45 min

  3. 4 Jun

    Episode 377 The Very Best Behavior! Grown-Ups Part 1

    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 say about grown-ups. I get us started by describing the behavior that I call the grown-ups are talking, please don’t interrupt: what it looks like and how you teach it. I explain why I gave it that name, and I describe how it evolved into one of the core foundation lessons that I use to introduce a horse and handler to clicker training. We’re teaching stillness. Both Dominique and I share some stories that help explain why we so value this behavior.

    52 min

  4. 29 May

    Episode 376 Michele Pouliot Pt 3- To Click or Not To Click

    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 Wentworth Tellington. Michele retired from Guide Dogs for the Blind after 42 years of service. During her last 16 years, she held the position of Director of Research and Development for programs at Guide Dogs. In that position Michele was responsible for bringing science based Clicker Training to guide dog training and promoting the expansion of Clicker Training internationally within the guide dog field. In her "hobby world", Michele has actively competed in both horse and dog sports since 1970. After successfully competing in dog obedience for 20 years, she moved into the new sport of agility in 1992. In 2006, Michele became fascinated with the sport of canine musical freestyle and began a dog sport journey she continues to love. She has competed in canine musical freestyle with her English Springer spaniel, Cabo, Australian Shepherd, Listo and her young Springer spaniel Deja Vu. Michele thoroughly enjoys this artistic sport that combines the precision of obedience with trick behaviors and challenges her creative side through music and choreography. Michele has won numerous international competitions and Championship Titles. She thoroughly enjoys the ongoing challenges in the sport of canine freestyle and the use of Clicker Training to achieve innovative and entertaining routines. In Part 1 of our conversation we began with some of the differences that exist in the horse and dog communities in terms of what prompts people to compete. Michele talked about strategies she has developed to create long sequences for competitions in which you can’t stop for a click and a treat. In Part 2 we talked about how important it is to protect the learners enthusiasm for the behaviors you’re asking for - and how difficult this can be, especially when you begin to ask for more duration. Michele shared several strategies for building duration. We ended with an example of teaching a horse (or dog) to put a foot on a raised stand and keep it there. We emphasized the point that you want to begin by teaching easy behaviors. Michele made the distinction - are you clicking for movement or for stillness? That brought us to a question I keep returning to which is: to click or not to click. That’s where we begin in Part 3 of our conversation. We consider also strategies for those times when training falls apart.

    57 min

  5. 21 May

    Episode 375 Michele Pouliot Pt 2 Protecting Enthusiasm

    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 Wentworth Tellington. Michele retired from Guide Dogs for the Blind after 42 years of service. During her last 16 years, she held the position of Director of Research and Development for programs at Guide Dogs. In that position Michele was responsible for bringing science based Clicker Training to guide dog training and promoting the expansion of Clicker Training internationally within the guide dog field. In her "hobby world", Michele has actively competed in both horse and dog sports since 1970. After successfully competing in dog obedience for 20 years, she moved into the new sport of agility in 1992. In 2006, Michele became fascinated with the sport of canine musical freestyle and began a dog sport journey she continues to love. She has competed in canine musical freestyle with her English Springer spaniel, Cabo, Australian Shepherd, Listo and her young Springer spaniel Deja Vu. Michele thoroughly enjoys this artistic sport that combines the precision of obedience with trick behaviors and challenges her creative side through music and choreography. Michele has won numerous international competitions and Championship Titles. She thoroughly enjoys the ongoing challenges in the sport of canine freestyle and the use of Clicker Training to achieve innovative and entertaining routines. In 2007, Karen Pryor invited Michele to join the faculty of Clicker Expo Conferences. Her presentations are for me always one of the highlights of the Expo. In this episode Michele shares strategies she uses for developing her freestyle routines where she can’t click and treat during the performances. Maintaining her dog’s enthusiasm for the behaviors she asks for is essential if they are to succeed in competition. So the question is how do you go from clicking and treating every small effort to long sequences in which you can not include a click and treat mid-way through a performance.

    52 min

  6. 15 May

    Episode 374 Michele Pouliot Pt 1 Clicker Training and Competition - Bringing the Two Together

    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 Wentworth Tellington. In 1972, Michele became active in training her first pet Labrador and became fascinated with the comparisons of how dogs and horses learn, stimulating her interest and pursuit in professional dog training. Michele has served as an International Assessor of guide dog school programs for the International Guide Dog Federation. She has completed assessments on guide dog schools in Norway, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Holland and Great Britain. Michele retired from Guide Dogs for the Blind after 42 years of service. During her last 16 years, she held the position of Director of Research and Development for programs at Guide Dogs for the Blind. In that position she transformed the training program to clicker training. Over her 40+ years of dog training, Michele has been responsible for bringing science based Clicker Training to guide dog training and promoting the expansion of Clicker Training internationally within the guide dog field. In her "hobby world", Michele has actively competed in both horse and dog sports since 1970. After successfully competing in dog obedience for 20 years, she moved into the new sport of agility in 1992. After much fun and success in agility with Labradors, English Springer Spaniels and even Great Danes, Michele took a break from dog sports to focus on her equine hobbies. In 2006, Michele became fascinated with the sport of canine musical freestyle and began a dog sport journey she continues to love. She has competed in canine musical freestyle with her English Springer spaniel, Cabo, Australian Shepherd, Listo and her young Springer spaniel Deja Vu. Michele thoroughly enjoys this artistic sport that combines the precision of obedience with trick behaviors and challenges her creative side through music and choreography. In 5 years in the sport, Michele has won 4 international competitions and attained 5 Championship Titles. In 2008 she received the first scores of double 10's (perfect scores) for Technical and Artistic in one routine in WCFO's Championship division (Perfect Dance Partners). She repeated this accomplishment at the 2009 International competition when all 3 judges awarded double 10's to her freestyle routine. To date Michele and Listo have earned 'double 10' scores a total of twenty-four times. Michele thoroughly enjoys the ongoing challenges in the sport of canine freestyle and the use of Clicker Training to achieve innovative and entertaining routines. In 2007, Karen Pryor invited Michele to join her faculty for Clicker Expo Conferences. At Clicker Expo, Michele presents on the application of clicker techniques for a variety of dog sports, general training, and for the training of guide dogs for the blind. Karen Pryor and Michele collaborated for the development of Michele's online freestyle course which is available from the Karen Pryor Academy. In this episode we begin a conversation that is centered around strategies used in competition where you have to develop long duration programs in which you are not allowed to use treats.

    48 min

  7. 8 May

    Episode 373 A Clicker Expo Wrap Up Part 3 - Training Traps and a Backstage Pass

    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 characteristics. Among other things skilled trainers able to be flexible as needed. They are able to make adjustments in what they are asking. And they are creative. They are able to find teaching strategies and appropriate training steps that suits their learner’s individual needs. For the full list refer back to Part 1. These characteristics are not some special gifts that people are born with. We can think of them as a by-product that emerges as we gain experience training our animal learners. The point of my program is we can be more deliberate, less hit or miss, in the development of these traits. When we jump into this training, of course people are focused on what they will be teaching their horses. That’s only natural. But it isn’t just the horses who are learning new skills. In the Thinking Fast program, I turned the spotlight onto the handler. What are the lessons the handlers are learning as they introduce their horses to basic targeting and the other core lessons? The structure and focus of these lessons helps to develop advanced training skills. In Part 2 we continued with the discussion of the Thinking Fast presentation. We talked about what advanced training means, especially for handlers, and how do we develop advanced training skills? In Part 3 we begin with another of my Expo Talks, this one is on Training Traps. To introduce that topic I have to first define what I mean by broad and narrow end of the funnel thinking. Defining terms to start out with is important. It means we are all on the same page, talking about the same thing. A good illustration of that is the discussion of starter button and constant on cues. I’m using definitions that for me go back to Karen Pryor’s book, “Lads Before the Wind”. In this Episode I also share what happened in the Backstage Pass presentation where I was supposed to work with a dog. Find out how that turned out in this week’s episode.

    48 min

  8. 28 Apr

    Episode 372 A Clicker Expo Wrap Up Pt 2 - Developing Advanced Training Skills for Handlers

    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 advanced training means, especially for handlers, and a teaching process that helps to develop advanced training skills.

    53 min
See All (380)

About

Equiosity is the podcast about all things equine with a special emphasis on the horse-human bond.

Information

  • Creator
    Equiosity
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    380
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Equiosity

You Might Also Like