top of page
Search
Writer's pictureHannah Parrett

The pressure of 'training' and the harmony of travel.

An awful lot of animals feel the pressure of human expectation as exactly that, pressure. Our focus, our waiting for a response, our crossness, our disappointment, our pleasure even. This is particularly true of animals that live with people whose expectations are high, but their inter-special communication isn't always consistent. Or they allow life situations to seep into the interactions with their animal, so say on a grumpy day, the same response, or try isn't rewarded similarly and the animal feels the inconsistency and is confused.

Negative reinforcement is the removal of an aversive stimulus, the timing of which highlights the correct response for an animal and positive reinforcement is the addition of a pleasant stimulus added after a correct response.

Both these methods of training include an element of pressure applied to the animal, the pressure of expectation. Unless you are rewarding freely offered behaviours, there is an element of pressure. Some might argue that your presence itself is pressure and therefore there is simply no way to use purely positive reinforcement. Unless the animal is free to leave, is wild, un-contained, and chooses to be with you, then if you give them food, that could be said to be a purely positive reward. But then what about when the food runs out? Withheld food becomes negative reinforcement.

Anyhoo - this isn't wholly supposed to be about the semantics of learning theory! It's supposed to be about the joy of travelling on foot with an animal.

The harmony of 'together travelling' can help explain a lot when we consider confined spaces like houses and gardens. It's about a release of focus.

This is why two dogs shut in a small garden may fight until they've walked together. Or why two horses can't get along until they've hacked together. Moving together in the same direction is a very natural way to find harmony. A way of being in agreement without pressure or question.

It's the greatest reason dogs thrive so much with people out and about, and suffer depression and behavioural issues when they spend the majority of their time in the house and only go for short, strongly controlled on walks. The pressure of the persons' focus is never released.

A dog and human travelling in the same direction can feel a sense of together, but individual; alone, in company; free, with a friend.

Consider the difference in the feel for the animal between travelling in harmony and the pressure of two eyes, waiting for a response in a small exclosure. The pressure in the latter is intense.

Horses I think feel such pressure very keenly. It's perhaps why it's possible to see such enormous relaxation in a well educated event horse who knows to run and jump, is skilled and understands, but harder to see the same relaxation from a dressage horse whose rider has to focus keenly on the tiniest subtleties of the animal's performance, without the simple equation in the conversation of a jump to clear. It's potentially much harder for a dressage horse to feel 'right' and to know he's done well. The feel is the same in dressage as in intense, dog focussed training sessions in a small enclosure.

Perhaps the two animals who need to perform in that situation also need to spend a good deal of time travelling in harmony, in the same direction with their people in order to find relaxation around people and not only find relaxation away from people.

The harmonious walk I'm talking about with dogs cannot be found for the dog that is intensely focussed on a ball, or playing with their person, ignoring everything in the environment. The relaxation and harmony can only come from a dog freely trotting in the same direction as his person, left alone, trusted, to explore. Not all dogs can be trusted. Not all people can trust all dogs.

The harmonious trail ride for a horse cannot be found if he is made to work as though in an arena. Not all horses can be trusted. Not all people can trust all horses.

There are ingredients that have to be present in order for an animal to find the relaxation of harmonious travel - he or she can't be full of pent up energy - actually that's not true, if either horse or dog are filled with pent up energy, that will just have to be released before the relaxed, energy conserving trot can be found and enjoyed. Which is why not all people can trust all dogs or horses. If the horse or dog need to gallop for miles before settling, not all people are going to want to join in.

It's the joy of freedom and movement. I know it, I find it running. If I'm fit enough and not too fat! If I'm too heavy or unfit, the joy decreases and the work increases! But that is the homeostasis of life huh. Nothing like a bit of impossible to ignore feedback.....


3 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page