Adele Shaw, CEBC

Not all discomfort is obvious. Sometimes it’s extremely hard to diagnose or find. Sometimes it’s not something that shows up on X-rays, bloodwork, or in a lameness exam. Sometimes it takes listening to your horse and following your gut that something is wrong, and not stopping. No matter how much resistance from others you receive. From personal experience I can tell you that it can take years sometimes to get answers. And even then it may not be something you can medicate or operate on. It may be something that requires gradual and compassionate support from a wide variety of sources until your horse is feeling better. It’ll be a journey. From professional experience I can tell you that sometimes you have to keep getting opinions and pushing for answers. You’re going to have to be your horse’s advocate. I’ve worked with clients who were being gaslit left and right from so many professionals, and yet they kept trusting their gut (and I cheered them on!). Come to find out…. They were right all along. Something was wrong. And sometimes… it’s not necessarily pain that’s causing discomfort. It could be a lack of strength, proprioception, parasites, unhealthy environment, nutritional deficiencies, lack of clarity or consistency in training and handling …. The list goes on. At the end of the day though, if we are asking something of the horse that they have been properly prepared for. And if the horse is comfortable in their body and in their environment….. horses are pretty biddable creatures that are eager to keep the peace. They deserve the benefit of the doubt at the first signs of resistance or being difficult. Remember, they aren’t giving you a hard time. They are having a hard time. If you’re struggling with your horse, and you’ve exhausted everything you can think of, let’s chat! My 1:1 behavior consulting services are open. DM me and I’ll directly message you the information. 💌 And while I’m not a veterinarian or professional bodyworker, I work with your team to support you and your horse. Sometimes a fresh perspective from someone who specializes in difficult behavior is exactly what’s needed. ❤️

Splish-splash, I was taking a bath… 🎶 Raven having a grand time submerging herself. ❤️ It’s so important for horses to get opportunities to engage in species-typical behaviors of their own accord. When we prevent or block horses from being able to engage in these types of behaviors we can inadvertently be causing a much more serious problem later on (that may not even seem related). Sometimes we do this because of fear, convenience, time constraints, financial constraints, or even just the incorrect belief that we shouldn’t allow them to happen. An easy example of this is not providing 24/7 forage access. There’s a wide range of reasons someone might not provide this so that their horses can engage in species-typical foraging behaviors. But at the end of the day, regardless of all of those reasons, preventing our horses from being able to act on such a fundamental part of who they are is going to do tremendous harm to them in the long run. Rolling in water is maybe not as critical as foraging, but is still a normal behavior for horses. Playing in a creek is not as critical as foraging, but it’s still normal. Yes, even for those *very* expensive show horses. They too deserve to be a horse. So before you are quick to stop your horse from running, playing, rolling, play fighting, eating… whatever. Think about who you have at the other end of your lead rope. That’s a horse, who needs to do HORSE things. The more we try and bubble wrap them and stop them from existing as a horse, the worse off they are. And honestly …. probably eventually us too.

If your horse becomes distracted or tense when food is on your body, one change worth exploring is stationary reinforcement. There are two main reasons I often recommend using stationary reinforcement. First, it helps clarify what the click means. When the food is not on your body, the click becomes a clear cue to pause and stay where you are, and the food comes to the horse at their station. Many horses settle more easily when they do not feel the need to track hands, pockets, or movement. Second, it supports consistency and predictability for both horse and human. Keeping reinforcement in one location reduces accidental changes in timing, posture, and delivery that can happen when food lives on the handler. This is especially helpful for horses who feel food anxious and for handlers who are still building smooth, repeatable mechanics. Nothing about the behavior changes. The task stays the same. Only where the reinforcement lives shifts, and that change often makes the whole session feel clearer and calmer.

Stationary reinforcement helps clarify what the horse is being reinforced for. In this setup, the focus stays on a specific behavior that gives the horse clear direction about what to do with their body. Staying at the station is the behavior that predicts access to food. This approach supports learning by reinforcing: •Remaining at the station while the environment stays active •Waiting calmly after the click while the food is retrieved •Keeping the body organized and predictable during care tasks As these pieces are practiced and reinforced, the behavior becomes more resilient, even when something reinforcing is nearby. The station works as an anchor because it has been built through repetition and support. This structure is especially helpful for horses who feel food anxious or easily overwhelmed, and for everyday handling where clarity and steadiness matter. It also supports cleaner timing and more consistent mechanics for the handler.

When a horse is struggling with something that feels a little aversive in a training session, they often communicate it in small, subtle ways. A slight head movement. A brief change in facial expression. A moment of tension before they settle again. Those expressions are information, not misbehavior. It can be tempting to worry that reinforcing during these moments means we are rewarding an unwanted expression or emotion, but that is not how learning works, because emotions themselves are not behaviors that can be reinforced in isolation. What we can do instead is influence how the horse feels about an experience over time through counter-conditioning, where a potentially uncomfortable moment is consistently paired with calm, predictable, and positive outcomes. As long as the horse is not over threshold and their expressions are mild or brief, reinforcing in these moments does not teach the horse to be tense or grumpy, but rather helps the experience itself begin to feel safer, more familiar, and more manageable. The real work happens in the details of the training, in how the environment is set up, how clear and fair the criteria are, how quickly we respond to signs of uncertainty, and how willing we are to adjust when something feels harder for the horse than we expected. If you want more support learning how to read these moments, adjust your setup, and build training that prioritizes emotional safety and clarity, The Willing Equine Academy offers step-by-step courses, ongoing education, and a supportive community designed to help you and your horse build trust, confidence, and cooperation together.

Have you ever had a session where the first few reps felt great, and then everything quietly unraveled? Let's say you're working on walking over ground poles. A horse can step over a pole nicely three times and then suddenly go around it on the fourth. That does not automatically mean they are being resistant or lazy. It can mean the movement is getting harder, something is fatiguing, coordination is slipping, or they are protecting a body part that is working close to its limit. This is where a lot of well-meaning training unintentionally goes sideways. We keep asking because the first reps looked great. We raise the rate of reinforcement. We encourage. We sweeten the deal. But if the horse is saying “that was all I had,” more motivation is not the answer. What progress usually looks like is stopping before they say no, and building the ability to do one more repetition comfortably over time, not squeezing out one more today. Try this the next time poles (or any other behavior) gets inconsistent: Track the number of reps your horse offers with ease before they hesitate Stop one rep before that point and end on comfort, not struggle Practice once or twice a week, not every day, so the body can recover and adapt Increase only one variable at a time, either more reps or more poles, not both Collaborate with your vet or bodywork team if the pattern is consistent or worsening A horse opting out is feedback. When we treat feedback like valuable information, rather than something to override, we protect soundness, confidence, and long-term willingness all at once. If you want more support like this, including how to troubleshoot training struggles without ignoring or correcting your horse, come join us inside The Willing Equine Academy.

In this video, I walk through how and why I sometimes leave reinforcement in a fixed location instead of carrying it on my body, and how that choice can change both the mechanics and the emotional tone of a training session. We explore stationary reinforcement, where the click marks the behavior and cues what comes next… the reinforcement receiving behaviors for the horse, and the reinforcement delivery behaviors for the trainer. You’ll see how this setup can support • cleaner timing and body mechanics • reduced food anxiety and anticipation • improved distance and stationary behaviors • increased safety during hoof handling and cooperative care • calmer starts, ends, and resets within a session If you’d like more support with food placement, loop clarity, and building calm into training, you can learn alongside us inside The Willing Equine Academy. ❤️

One small habit that can shape your entire training session is which hand you use to feed. If you always feed from the same hand, it can feel smooth and consistent on one side, but then everything suddenly feels harder or messier when you switch sides, and it can be confusing to figure out why the horse seems less clear or less settled. What is often happening is not a behavior problem, but a positioning problem. When we always feed from one hand, our body naturally adjusts around that choice. We reach across our chest differently, we open or close our shoulders without realizing it, and we change where and how the food is delivered. All of that becomes part of the picture the horse is learning from. On one side, the picture may be very clean and predictable. On the other side, the same behavior can suddenly feel different to the horse because our cues, posture, and reinforcement delivery are no longer matching what they learned before. That is why practicing feeding from both hands matters so much. It helps keep your positioning more symmetrical, your cues more consistent, and your reinforcement clearer no matter which side you are working on. It also gives your horse a much better chance to generalize the behavior instead of learning it as something that only works under very specific conditions. These details may seem small, but they are often the difference between training that feels easy and training that feels frustrating or fragile. Paying attention to your own mechanics, including something as simple as which hand you feed from, is one of the most powerful ways to support clarity, confidence, and calmness in your horse.

My Horse Knows This… So Why Are They Struggling? Let’s troubleshoot tension, behaviors falling apart, loss of cue effectiveness or understanding, and more during training. Give the video a watch and listen, and then let’s talk about some other solutions that might not have been mentioned in this video. What would you have done first when you noticed things were not going according to plan? If you’re working with a horse who ‘knows’ the behavior but keeps getting stuck, frustrated, or inconsistent, and you want support that goes deeper than quick tips, The Willing Equine Academy is where we do that work together. You’ll find structured courses, live support, and a community that understands these nuances.

If your horse is glued to your hands during training, this is for you. One of the most common reasons horses get pushy, muggy, or “locked in” on our hands is that our hand movement has accidentally become a cue. Even tiny hand movements can start to mean “food is coming.” or can get mistaken for other cues that do involve hand movements. So instead of correcting it, we teach stimulus control and clarity. Here is the simple pattern I use: 1.Start in a calm default neutral. 2.Add tiny hand movement and reinforce the default. Start with something as small as finger wiggles. Click and feed when your horse stays in that neutral position. If they lean toward your hands, you did too much. Lower your criteria and try again. 3.When you do move your hands to cue behaviors, make your real cue look obviously different. Be consistent with the way in which you present that cue. Help your horse understand the difference between “my hands are moving” and “this is a target cue.” 4.Cycle back and forth. A few reps of default with hand movement, then a couple reps of your target behavior, then back to default again. If the target starts to weaken, do fewer hand movement reps in between and strengthen the target first. Reminder: You’re not aiming for perfection, you’re aiming for rhythm. If you get 10 to 20 good reps for every not so good rep, that’s a win! That is how you make progress without withholding, punishing, or turning your horse into a robot. Want more help resolving food anxiety, mugginess, or other training challenges? Join us inside The Willing Equine Academy. You are welcome here. ❤️

Void was a little hot and tired at the end. We offered to carry him but he insisted on doing it himself. 🐈‍⬛ 1.2 miles 💪 (Ps. This is private property, and the horses are fully aware of him and keep their distance. He had plenty of rest and fresh water upon return.)

Often, the default response to a distracted or nervous horse is to add pressure in an attempt to regain control: → Moving their feet → Disengaging the hind end → Backing them up → Driving them forward Another common approach is to correct the reaction: → Backing them up → A pop on the lead rope → Tapping with a crop or spur → Tight circles until they stop There is another option though, and it’s often safer and more effective. 😌 Adding pressure or corrections on top of an already tense situation tends to increase confusion and escalate the stress response, rather than resolve it. Over time, this teaches the horse that the environment (and sometimes the handler) is unpredictable. Instead, I teach equine caregivers to focus on clarity, predictability, and support: 1️⃣ Slow your breathing and movements so your horse has a stable point of reference. 2️⃣ Pause and allow processing time. A well-practiced “stand with me” behavior can be a reliable reset for both horse and human. 3️⃣ If your horse enjoys touch, gentle, familiar contact can help bring them back into the moment. 4️⃣ Redirect attention using calm, well-rehearsed behaviors (like a hand target), or offer a few pellets by hand to encourage chewing and regulation. 5️⃣ From there, either continue with familiar patterns, allow grazing time, or retreat calmly to a place of safety. The key is that all of these tools need to be practiced before you need them. When rehearsed in low-stress environments, they become powerful support when your horse is faced with something new or challenging.

Patterns help build clarity and understanding. They establish a sense of consistency. Consistency, clarity, and understanding build confidence and relaxation. They also establish stronger communication and better outcomes. Patterns also help us effectively measure progress. It’s hard to say whether something is getting better or worse if we don’t have a clear comparison. The data will be inconsistent and have too much variety to give us an accurate picture. Patterns can also be simple. Something like this. Default neutral (building duration) at a appropriate distance from the station, send to station, practice stationing at the target (building distance and duration m), back-up ___ steps to reset the send position (building the distance over time), default neutral (building duration). Repeat! Gradually increasing difficult over many sessions. Now I can see in two or three weeks, or months, how far we’ve come with our send distance, duration in the default, and duration/distance in the station. There’s fewer variables, more clarity for the trainer, and increased safety through predictability for the horse. What else does this help with? • Cue clarity / stimulus control development • Reducing food anxiety or general stress during training Will I be able to cue the behaviors outside of this pattern? Yes, once I introduce more behaviors to the pattern, mix it up a bit, and also vary our location. This is how we build strong, reliable behaviors and their related cues. —— Do you use patterns in your training? I’d love to hear about some of them!

Not all discomfort is obvious. Sometimes it’s extremely hard to diagnose or find. Sometimes it’s not something that shows up on X-rays, bloodwork, or in a lameness exam. Sometimes it takes listening to your horse and following your gut that something is wrong, and not stopping. No matter how much resistance from others you receive. From personal experience I can tell you that it can take years sometimes to get answers. And even then it may not be something you can medicate or operate on. It may be something that requires gradual and compassionate support from a wide variety of sources until your horse is feeling better. It’ll be a journey. From professional experience I can tell you that sometimes you have to keep getting opinions and pushing for answers. You’re going to have to be your horse’s advocate. I’ve worked with clients who were being gaslit left and right from so many professionals, and yet they kept trusting their gut (and I cheered them on!). Come to find out…. They were right all along. Something was wrong. And sometimes… it’s not necessarily pain that’s causing discomfort. It could be a lack of strength, proprioception, parasites, unhealthy environment, nutritional deficiencies, lack of clarity or consistency in training and handling …. The list goes on. At the end of the day though, if we are asking something of the horse that they have been properly prepared for. And if the horse is comfortable in their body and in their environment….. horses are pretty biddable creatures that are eager to keep the peace. They deserve the benefit of the doubt at the first signs of resistance or being difficult. Remember, they aren’t giving you a hard time. They are having a hard time. If you’re struggling with your horse, and you’ve exhausted everything you can think of, let’s chat! My 1:1 behavior consulting services are open. DM me and I’ll directly message you the information. 💌 And while I’m not a veterinarian or professional bodyworker, I work with your team to support you and your horse. Sometimes a fresh perspective from someone who specializes in difficult behavior is exactly what’s needed. ❤️

Surefoot pad time with the herd . Great for balance, therapeutic exercises, hoof rehab, proprioception, and more.