Topics

Breeding and Reproduction

Horse breeding from planning through foal care

Hoof Care

Prevention and treatment for problems of the equine foot

Nutrition

Proper feeding practices for foals, adult horses, and older horses

Welfare and Industry

Discussions about the welfare of our equine friends

Diseases and Conditions

Horse-heath-problem risk factors, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment

Horse Care

How to care for the basic health needs of horses

Sports Medicine

All aspects of caring for performance horses

All Topics

Farm and Barn

Design and maintain a healthy horse operation

Lameness

Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of leg lameness

Vet and Professional

News and issues for equine health professionals
Magazine
Cover Story

Advanced Reproductive Techniques and Their Impacts

Pioneering methods in equine reproduction offer horse owners unprecedented control and flexibility

Also in this Issue

Research-Based Advances in Equine Orthopedic Therapies
Preserving Equine Health: The Art of Judicious Antibiotic Use
Pain Management: What the Latest Studies Tell Us
Infographic: Osteoarthritis in the Hind Limb: Diagnosis & Management
The Skinny on Slow Feeders
Infographic: Why is Your Horse Roaring and Whistling?
How Do Horseshoes Affect the Hoof?
Digital Edition

Give a Gift

Subscribe

Manage My Subscription
News

Latest News

How to Predict Foaling

4 Ontario Horses Test Positive for Strangles

Florida Donkey Tests Positive for Strangles

Washington Horse Confirmed Positive for Strangles

Massachusetts Horse Tests Positive for EHV-1

Managing Horse Wounds: To Bandage or Not to Bandage?

More News

Disease Alerts

EDCC Health Watch

Event Coverage

2024 Olympics
2023 AAEP Veterinarian Wellness
2023 NAEP
2023 EquiSUMMIT
Features

Latest Features

How Much Does It Cost to Own a Horse?

September 26, 2024

Dealing With Equine Colic: Here are 33 Do’s and Don’ts

June 25, 2024

Additional Features

Promoting Longevity in Performance Horses

Managing Your Performance Horse’s Joints

Everything You Need to Know About Laminitis in Horses

How To Feed Your Horse

West Nile Virus in U.S. Horses

All Features
Q&As

Latest Q&A

Should I Feed My Senior Horse Beet Pulp?

January 6, 2025

Equine Nutrition FAQ Series

Sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition

Learn More

Q&As

Equine Behavior

Our animal behavior experts field your questions about why your horse does XYZ.

Horse Nutrition

Equine nutritionists respond to queries about forage, grain, supplements, and other related topics.

Performance Horse Health

Veterinarians and researchers tackle questions about equine athletes.
Visuals

Featured Media:

Managing Horse Wounds for Optimal Healing

Infographic: Understanding Progesterone in Mares

Quick Links

Webcasts

Infographics

Slideshows
Podcasts

Featured Podcasts

Weight Loss for Horses With Gastric Ulcers

Calculating Your Horse’s Daily Forage Intake While Grazing

Podcasts

Ask 'TheHorse' Live

The Horse’s experts answer your questions during a monthly live audio event.

Equine Innovators

Join us as we interview leading equine researchers from the University of Kentucky.

All Podcasts
Free Reports

Fact Sheet: Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID)

Fact Sheet: Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) in Horses

Free Reports:

View All Free Reports

Quick referenced of horse conditions, diseases and health topics

Forms

Checklists and identification forms for horse owners
Tools

Normal Horse Vital Signs and Health Indicators

Mare Gestation Calculator

Adult Horse Weight Calculator

Additional Resources

Event Calendar
Horse Health Glossary
Get-A-DVM
New Products
Polls
TheHorse.com en Español
StableManagement.com

Study: Horses Prefer Food Rewards to Verbal Praise

May 4, 2018
Posted by Christa Lesté-Lasserre, MA

The researchers said owners shouldn’t stop using verbal praise, but they recommended adding a treat or food reward to help motivate horses to learn.

Topics: Behavior, Behavior & Handling, Horse Care, Horsemanship Science, Welfare and Industry

Favorite

Please login to bookmark

Please login to access.

For the moment, Lansade said, no scientific study has been able to prove that secondary reinforcement can substitute a food reward to motivate him to do the requested exercise. | Photo: iStock

Good job! That’s great!

Yes, good boy

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

SIGN UP

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Christa Lesté-Lasserre, MA

Passionate about horses and science from the time she was riding her first Shetland Pony in Texas, Christa Lesté-Lasserre writes about scientific research that contributes to a better understanding of all equids. After undergrad studies in science, journalism, and literature, she received a master’s degree in creative writing. Now based in France, she aims to present the most fascinating aspect of equine science: the story it creates. Follow Lesté-Lasserre on Twitter @christalestelas.

MORE ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

PrevPreviousHorses Can Differentiate Dominant, Submissive Human Postures

NextA Breath of Fresh Air: Senior Horse Respiratory HealthNext

Related Articles

How to Predict Foaling

Massachusetts Horse Tests Positive for EHV-1

Washington Horse Confirmed Positive for Strangles

Florida Donkey Tests Positive for Strangles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Learn More

Sponsored Content

Managing Horse Wounds for Optimal Healing

AAEP Preview: SmartPak Gastric Support

AAEP Preview: Bionote USA

No posts found

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

What measures do you take to encourage your horse to drink plenty of water during the winter? Select all that apply.
My horse has continuous access to fresh, ice-free water.
I add salt to my horse’s ration to encourage him to drink.
I soak my horse’s feed and/or hay.
I use heated water buckets or a trough with a submergible heater.
Other (please specify)
367 votes · 723 answers
VOTE View poll results

View All Polls

Readers’ Most Popular

Benefits of Extruded Horse Feeds

The Equine Microbiome and Immunity

How Do Horseshoes Affect the Hoof?

Horse Care: When Less is More

No posts found

Top Categories

Breeding and Reproduction

Nutrition

Horse Care

Hoof Care

Diseases and Conditions

Vet and Professional

Partners in Equine Health

Seek the advice of a qualified veterinarian before proceeding with any diagnosis, treatment, or therapy.

Follow us

Youtube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Twitter

Our Sites

A Home For Every Horse

American Cowboy

Barrel Racing Magazine

Breakaway Roping Journal

Calf Roping

EQUUS

Haul Safe

Hope In The Saddle

Horse & Rider

Practical Horseman

Stable Management

Team Roping Journal

The Horse

US Rider

US Roper

Resources

About Us

Contact Us

Freelance Info

Help

Horse Radio Network

Company

Meet the Staff

Mission Statement

Terms of Use

Community Policy

Advertise with Us

Your Privacy Choices

Data Subject Access Request

Cookie Consent

Privacy Policy

Seek the advice of a qualified veterinarian before proceeding with any diagnosis, treatment, or therapy.

RSS feed

Site Map

Privacy

EquineNetwork.com

Copyright ©2025 Equine Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without written permission of Equine Network, LLC is prohibited. THE HORSE, THE HORSE logo, THEHORSE.com and THEHORSE.com logo are trademarks of Equine Network, LLC.

We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site you consent to cookies. Learn more

Sign In

Username

Password

Remember Me

Lost your password?

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
First Last
Email*

Mobile Phone
Password*
Enter Password Confirm Password

Country*
Profile
Do you own a horse?

Yes

No
How many horses do you own?
Do you own a horse trailer?

Yes

No
Do you own a horse farm?

Yes

No
What is your primary involvement in the horse industry?
Other Involvement
In which equestrian disciplines do you ride, show, or participate?
Western
English
Newsletter Offers
Weekly Newsletters
Horse Health - the latest in horse health care, disease, and equine research, delivered to your inbox once a week.
Nutrition - Equine nutrition and feeding strategies
Soundness & Lameness - Recognizing, treating, and preventing injuries to keep your horse sound
Welfare & Industry - Equine welfare and rescue, and news of the worldwide horse industry
Reader Favorites - The most viewed content from TheHorse.com delivered in a convenient weekly digest
Monthly Newsletters
Equine Behavior - How and why horses act the way they do and how to correct problem behaviors
Breeding - Breed and raise the healthier horses with help from the world's foremost breeding experts
Older Horse Care - How to take the best possible care of your senior equine friends
Sports Medicine - All aspects of caring for performance horses
Vet & Professional - News and issues for equine health professionals
Other Newsletters
In-Depth - News, in-depth information, and timeless tips on a particular health problem or aspect of horse care
Equine Innovators - The latest research and, 'use it today' advice from the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center and UK Ag Equine Programs
TheHorse.com Announcements - Event notifications and special promotions from TheHorse.com
TheHorse.com Partners and Special Offers - Special offers from TheHorse.com's partners
SMS Notifications - I would like to receive text messages with special offers and more from Equine Network and its affiliates. Data rates may apply.
By clicking "subscribe", I consent to Equine Network’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service and I represent that I am over 16 years old.

X

X

Powered by GDPR Cookie Compliance

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

Enable or Disable Cookies

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.