S6 E5: How a Table-top Game can make you a better Owner/Trainer - with Mary Hunter

To the uninitiated, suggesting that a table-top game can make us be better horse trainers may sound a bit bonkers. But to those of us in the know, and those of us who have played this and similar games, we have experienced just what a positive difference they can make to our training in what is a low-risk environment – there’s no chance of us stuffing up our horses.I’m so pleased to have Mary Hunter from Behavior Explorer join me today to explain a little about how this works and why playing a game, away from our horses can do so much for us.Plus, we get to hear Mary’s horsie origin story too, where, much like Lucy in S6 E3, Mary had a particular, special horse who really changed the trajectory of her life. Mary Hunter:Mary Hunter earned an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in behavior analysis from the University of North Texas. Mary’s business, Behavior Explorer (BehaviorExplorer.com), offers educational courses and programs for individuals interested in the science of behavior. In addition, she teaches as an adjunct instructor in the behavior analysis department at the University of North Texas. In 2019, Mary and Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz published their first book, PORTL: The Portable Operant Research and Teaching Lab.Mary’s research interests include studying the process of shaping and finding better ways to teach people to train animals. Her master’s thesis, which examined the effects of a single reinforcer during shaping, was published in 2019 in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. She is a full member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and has presented her research at the organization’s annual convention.In her free time, Mary has lots of fun training her young filly, Chewie. She also blogs about her horse training adventures on her personal blog, StaleCheerios.com. In this episode we discuss:(1:30) - introducing to today’s episode & guest(4:07) - where in the world(8:57) - horses: where it all began(10:41) - enter Casey Jane (CJ)(14:02) - needing to figure out a different way & a transformation(16:24) - going back to Graduate School to learn more(16:50) - how a single, challenging horse can change the trajectory of life(18:35) - the direction of study leading to the field of Behaviour Analysis(22:43) - getting to learn hands-on with rescue horses(24:29) - consulting and enter Apollo(26:39) - taking up Horse Agility(31:24) - analysing our own behaviour & why we make certain decisions & our own motivations(37:55) - farewell Apollo & welcome Chewie(43:37) - teaching humans in various places(47:07) - PORTL: how a table-top game makes us better horse trainers(51:14) - the difficulty of practicing these skills with our animals(53:41) - practicing non-verbally, getting creative with the environment & breaking things down into bite-size pieces(1:01:12) - practicing being able to adjust what we’re doing based on what our horse is doing(1:07:06) - the role of previous learning(1:14:14) - helping develop empathy for ourselves & our learners(1:18:05) - reducing frustration for safety(1:21:38) - honing our timing(1:24:27) - opportunities to play with us & where to get PORTL(1:26:54) - tips for you(1:34:10) - where to find out and learn more(1:36:07) - episode wrap-up & what’s on next weekLinks from Mary:Behavior Explorer: BehaviorExplorer.comPersonal blog: StaleCheerios.com Our links mentioned this episode:  Sign-up to our email listAbbey's Run Equestrian websiteAbbey's Run Equestrian on FacebookAbbey’s Run Equestrian on YouTubeAbbey’s Run Equestrian on LinkedIn Thank you to Matthew Bliss for podcast production & consultation. If you'd like him to help with your podcast, get in touch by email at [email protected]