Choice, Trust, and Confidence: The Power of Positive Reinforcement Training
Ask An Expert: Horse Care and Riding AdviceShow Notes
Positive reinforcement training isn’t just about treats and clickers. It’s about helping your horse feel safe enough to learn. In this episode of Ask an Expert, Shawna Karrasch, a pioneer in the field, and trainer and breeder Jessie Hillegas explain how it builds more confident, trusting horses, how to bring it into a horse who was trained traditionally, and how it can help with everything from separation anxiety to vet care.
Please note: Shawna shares a personal story in this episode that includes a mention of childhood sexual abuse.
Episode Highlights: What positive and negative reinforcement actually mean, how clicker, target, and food-based training fit in, and why they affect a horse’s brain and emotions differently How to bring positive reinforcement into a horse who was trained traditionally, and how it fits with dressage, eventing, hunters, and jumpers Why separation anxiety happens and how to build a new association with being apart, one small step at a time How cooperative care and giving your horse a choice can make vet visits, handling, and grooming easier Simple ways to enrich your horse’s turnout and keep them mentally engaged
Meet the Experts, Shawna Karrasch and Jessie Hillegas Shawna Karrasch is a pioneer of positive reinforcement training in the equestrian world, bringing humane, effective behavior techniques to professionals and amateurs alike through her teaching, books, and global clinics. She began her career training marine mammals like dolphins, sea lions, and orcas, where voluntary participation made reward-based methods essential, and later recognized how these same principles could transform horse training. She is the author of You Can Train Your Horse to Do Anything.
Jessie Hillegas began her riding career in traditional hunter jumper programs, spending 20 years working with large A-rated show barns on the East Coast, where she trained young horses, coached Bucknell University’s equestrian team, taught lessons from beginner through advanced, and prepared horses for competition. She later launched her own warmblood breeding and training program in Pennsylvania, breeding top hunters that have won prizes at venues like Warrenton, Upperville, and the Devon Horse Show. After a filly she bred came back to her with PTSD-like behavior, she turned to positive reinforcement, and today she and Shawna work as partners through Shawna Karrasch Equine.
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