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Reinforcer efficacy of grain for horses

Positive reinforcement is becoming more common in horse training. Identifying effective reinforcers is critical for training success. The aim of this study was to determine relative reinforcer efficacy of different grains. Four horses learned to muzzle touch a target, after which they were tested us...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Platzer, JoAnna, Feuerbacher, Erica N.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9825980/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36053983
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jeab.797
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author Platzer, JoAnna
Feuerbacher, Erica N.
author_facet Platzer, JoAnna
Feuerbacher, Erica N.
author_sort Platzer, JoAnna
collection PubMed
description Positive reinforcement is becoming more common in horse training. Identifying effective reinforcers is critical for training success. The aim of this study was to determine relative reinforcer efficacy of different grains. Four horses learned to muzzle touch a target, after which they were tested using a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement with different grains as the consequence. Break points were used to determine relative reinforcer efficacy of each grain and were also converted into unit price per kilocalorie to determine if caloric value impacted reinforcer efficacy. Condition 1 compared three textured grains that spanned industry‐accepted standards of low to high nonstructural carbohydrate content. Condition 2 compared three pelleted grains that similarly differed in nonstructural carbohydrate content, comparable to Condition 1, but that had a different texture than those of Condition 1. Finally, Condition 3 directly compared one grain each from Conditions 1 and 2. Results showed overall little difference in reinforcer efficacy or unit price between grains but found that all grains tested functioned as reinforcers for the horses. This suggests that a range of commercially available grains can maintain behavior and therefore be used for training. We also identified possible extraexperimental factors that impact reinforcer efficacy.
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spelling pubmed-98259802023-01-09 Reinforcer efficacy of grain for horses Platzer, JoAnna Feuerbacher, Erica N. J Exp Anal Behav Research Articles Positive reinforcement is becoming more common in horse training. Identifying effective reinforcers is critical for training success. The aim of this study was to determine relative reinforcer efficacy of different grains. Four horses learned to muzzle touch a target, after which they were tested using a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement with different grains as the consequence. Break points were used to determine relative reinforcer efficacy of each grain and were also converted into unit price per kilocalorie to determine if caloric value impacted reinforcer efficacy. Condition 1 compared three textured grains that spanned industry‐accepted standards of low to high nonstructural carbohydrate content. Condition 2 compared three pelleted grains that similarly differed in nonstructural carbohydrate content, comparable to Condition 1, but that had a different texture than those of Condition 1. Finally, Condition 3 directly compared one grain each from Conditions 1 and 2. Results showed overall little difference in reinforcer efficacy or unit price between grains but found that all grains tested functioned as reinforcers for the horses. This suggests that a range of commercially available grains can maintain behavior and therefore be used for training. We also identified possible extraexperimental factors that impact reinforcer efficacy. Wiley Subscription Services, Inc. 2022-09-02 2022-09 /pmc/articles/PMC9825980/ /pubmed/36053983 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jeab.797 Text en © 2022 The Authors. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Articles
Platzer, JoAnna
Feuerbacher, Erica N.
Reinforcer efficacy of grain for horses
title Reinforcer efficacy of grain for horses
title_full Reinforcer efficacy of grain for horses
title_fullStr Reinforcer efficacy of grain for horses
title_full_unstemmed Reinforcer efficacy of grain for horses
title_short Reinforcer efficacy of grain for horses
title_sort reinforcer efficacy of grain for horses
topic Research Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9825980/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36053983
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jeab.797
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