Equiosity

Equiosity

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

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Episode 356 Dr. Stephanie Jones, Sofia Abuin, and Lucy Butler Part 2

    Finding Science in the Art of Training This is Part 2 of a conversation with Lucy Butler of River Haven Animal Sanctuary, and Dr Stephanie Jones and her grad student, Sofia Abuin Dr. Jones graduated with her PhD in Behavior Analysis from West Virginia University in 2021. Her primary research focuses on effects of implementer errors that occur during well-established behavioral treatments. To meet this aim, she conducts laboratory and applied research with the aim of supporting development of robust behavioral interventions. She started teaching and conducting research at Salve Regina University in 2021 and is the principal investigator for the Translational Research and Applied Intervention Lab. Through her lab, she supports research engagement of students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral training levels. She publishes in and reviews for several peer-reviewed behavior-analytic journals, such as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Education and Treatment of Children. Good training is very much emphasizes the importance of taking the time to build a relationship with the individuals you’re interacting with. We modeled that in Part One. Dominique and I were meeting Stephanie and Sophia for the first time in this recording. So I instead of jumping straight in to the study Stephanie and her collegues conducted at River Haven, in Part One we began by talking about control, and even more about empathy. In this episode Stephanie describes a pilot study she and her collegues from Salve Regina University set up at the River Haven Animal Sanctuary. Shaping can be incredibly challenging to teach well. Often people refer to the science and the art of training. What Stephanie and her colleague Michael Yencha wanted to investigate is what makes up the “art” part of training? Is there a way to tease this apart so it becomes less mystery and more approachable through science?

    45 min

  2. 23/12/2025

    Episode 355 Dr Stephanie Jones, Sofia Abuin, and Lucy Butler Pt 1 Coercion, Control and Empathy

    This is Part One of a conversation with Lucy Butler of River Haven Animal Sanctuary, Dr Stephanie Jones and her grad student, Sofia Abuin Dr. Jones is new to Equiosity. She graduated with her PhD in Behavior Analysis from West Virginia University in 2021. Her primary research focuses on effects of implementer errors that occur during well-established behavioral treatments. To meet this aim, she conducts laboratory and applied research with the aim of supporting development of robust behavioral interventions. She started teaching and conducting research at Salve Regina University in 2021 and is the principal investigator for the Translational Research and Applied Intervention Lab. Through her lab, she supports research engagement of students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral training levels. She publishes in and reviews for several peer-reviewed behavior-analytic journals, such as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Education and Treatment of Children. Good training is very much emphasizes the importance of taking the time to build a relationship with the individuals you’re interacting with. We modeled that in Part One. Dominique and I were meeting Stephanie and Sophia for the first time in this recording. So instead of jumping straight in to the study Stephanie and her collegues conducted at River Haven, we began by talking about coercion, control, and even more about empathy.

    54 min

  3. 11/12/2025

    Episode 354 Dominique is Back! Part 3 - Should Bits Be Used?

    Dominique is back! Dominique took some time off over the summer. Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent Equiosity conversations she’s been listening to. In Part 1 we talked about the recent podcast with Rick Hester, Amy Shilz, from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Lucy Butler from the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island. We talked about the enrichment programs at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the four operant freedoms. In Part 2 we shared the story of Oliver, a pony who is now living at Lucy’s River Haven Animal Sanctuary. Prior to his rescue, he spent seven years locked in a stall with zero turnout. We shared a recent experience Lucy had with her vet. The visit highlighted how resilient animals can be. We also talked about bits and bridling. In Part 3 we continue with discussion of bits as Dominique returns us to the question of whether or not to use bits at all. My answer comes straight from the “horse’s mouth”, no pun intended. We look at what horses tell us. In particular we consider the instructions so many first time riders are given - “kick your pony to make him go, pull back on the reins to make him stop”. That advice has led to the large collection of bits that every tack store has on display. Many of those bits look more like medieval torture devices than anything that belongs in a horse’s mouth. The question is not should bits be used, but what should we really be teaching those first time riders and novice horses?

    1h 1m

  4. 03/12/2025

    Episode 353 Dominique is Back! Pt 2 Training Resilient Animals

    Dominique is back! Dominique took some time off over the summer. Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent equiosity conversations she’s been listening to. In Part 1 we talked about the recent podcast with Rick Hester, Amy Shilz, from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Lucy Butler from the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island. We talked about the enrichment programs at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the four operant freedoms. In Part 2 we shared the story of Oliver, a pony who is now living at Lucy’s River Haven Animal Sanctuary. Prior to his rescue, he spent seven years locked in a stall with zero turnout. We shared a recent experience Lucy had with her vet. The visit highlighted how resilient animals can be. We also talked about bits and bridling.

    52 min

  5. 20/11/2025

    Episode 352 Dominique Is Back! Part 1 Treat Horses Like Zoo Animals

    Dominique is back! Dominique took some time off over the summer. Now she is back and full of enthusiasm for the recent Equiosity conversations she’s been listening to. In this episode we revisit the conversation we had with Rick Hester, Amy Schilz and Lucy Butler. Rick is the Curator of Behavioral Husbandry for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. Amy is in charge of the giraffe at the zoo. Lucy Butler and her husband own the River Haven Animal Sanctuary in Rhode Island. With Dominique we revisit the four operant freedoms, and we consider the parallels between the way zoo animals are managed past and present and the way we keep horses. There is so much we can learn from modern zoo keepers. As Dominique says at the start of the conversation, she’s been looking through some of the traditional horse training books she owns and they just seem so out of date especially when she compares them to the work that Rick and Amy talk about. Her takeaways from their interview make for a lively conversation.

    44 min

  6. 13/11/2025

    Episode 351 Dr Claire St Peter & Dr Carol Pilgrim Pt 3 - Equine Simulators and Good Science Matters

    This is part three of our conversation with Dr Claire St Peter from the University of West Virginia where she is currently the Chair of the Department of Psychology, and Dr Carol Pilgrim, a Professor Emerit in the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr Pilgrim has received many honors throughout her career including the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award, the Faculty Scholarship Award, the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, the ABAI Student Committee Outstanding Mentor Award in 2006, and the ABAI Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis award in 2017. Her research contributions include both basic and applied behavior analysis, with an emphasis in human operant behavior and relational stimulus control. Our subject is for this podcast is stimulus control. In Part 1 Dr. Pilgrim started us out with definitions and an introduction to the subject. She shared the story of Clever Hans, a horse who was said to be able to do complicated math problems. What he really could do was read the very subtle cues his handler and others were giving that told him when he had reached the right answer. In part two we took a deeper into the subject of stimulus control, including a discussion of relational stimulus control. That brought us to the use of models. Dr Pilgrim described the use of models to teach women to do their own breast cancer exams to detect any abnormalities in the very earliest stages. In Part Three we continue with the discussion of simulators as it relates to training riders. I share a story about a riding simulator I got to experience during a visit to the UK. We also talk about why science matters as we describe the use of A/B reversals to develop riding and handling skills.

    39 min

  7. 06/11/2025

    Episode 350 Dr. Claire St Peter & Dr. Carol Pilgrim Part 2 Stimulius Control

    This is part two of our conversation with Dr Claire St Peter from the University of West Virginia where she is currently the Chair of the Department of Psychology, and Dr Carol Pilgrim, a Professor Emerit in the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr Pilgrim has received many honors throughout her career including the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award, the Faculty Scholarship Award, the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, the ABAI Student Committee Outstanding Mentor Award in 2006, and the ABAI Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis award in 2017. Her research contributions include both basic and applied behavior analysis, with an emphasis in human operant behavior and relational stimulus control. Our subject is for this podcast is stimulus control. In Part 1 Dr. Pilgrim started us out with definitions and an introduction to the subject. She shared the story of Clever Hans, a horse who was said to be able to do complicated math problems. What he really could do was read the very subtle cues his handler and others were giving that told him when he had reached the right answer. In part two we take a deeper into the subject of stimulus control, including a discussion of relational stimulus control.

    44 min

  8. 30/10/2025

    Episode 349 Dr Claire St Peter & Dr Carol Pilgrim Pt 1 - Stimulus Control

    We’ve covered a lot of topics with behavior analysts. This week we’re talking with Dr. Carol Pilgrim and Dr. Claire St Peter about stimulus control. Dr Claire St Peter is from the University of West Virginia, where she is currently the Chair of the Department of Psychology. Claire has been on this podcast many times. Claire is not only a behavior analyst she is also a horse person. When I say that everything is connected to everything else, Claire has been helping us to see the connection between behavior analysis and horse training. We wrote an article together on loopy training which was published in 2022 in the Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior. The title was: Connecting animal trainers and behavior analysts through loopy training. Claire has gone on connecting animal trainers and behaviors analysts via this podcast. This past spring I received a SABA award for all the equiosity episodes Dominique and I have done on topics directly related to behavior analysis. When Claire and I met up after the award ceremony, we were chatting about topics that would be interesting to cover. Claire suggested we reach out to Dr Carol Pilgrim for a deep dive into stimulus control. Dr Carol Pilgrim is a Professor Emerit in the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr Pilgrim has received many honors throughout her career including the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award, the Faculty Scholarship Award, the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, the ABAI Student Committee Outstanding Mentor Award in 2006, and the ABAI Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis award in 2017. Her research contributions include both basic and applied behavior analysis, with an emphasis in human operant behavior and relational stimulus control. In Part 1 of this podcast we begin the conversation with basic definitions and concepts related to stimulus control.

    42 min
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About

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

Information

  • Creator
    Equiosity
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2025
  • Episodes
    357
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Equiosity

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