As you all know from either our previous blog post or this livestream, one of the biggest changes coming in V2 is the training system.
Just as a brief reminder and overview of this new system, instead of just a one-click button, you will have three sliders, time, positive reinforcement, and pressure. You will adjust these sliders based on a horse’s personality until you find the sweet spot. In order to determine that spot, you will receive text feedback each time you train your horse. The responses will range from negative to neutral to positive. Once a horse is responding well, you will know the sliders are set appropriately and can proceed with training the horse without adjusting the sliders further (and yes, they will automatically ‘save’ for you so you won’t need to re-adjust them every day!).
Today we want to give you some examples of some of the responses you might expect to see based on different inputs. The responses are unique based on a combination of the horse’s progress on learning the task, the accuracy of the slider inputs (compared to the horse’s personality, more will be available on this in the Wiki in the future!), and even some unique aspects of the horse’s personality.
Here are a few examples.
Training Task: Groundwork Halter
Task Completeness: 20%
Pressure Result: Too low
Reinforcement Result: Too high
Time Result: Too high
Response: Star wiggled all around while you tried to hold them still for the halter, and completely ignored your cues. They seemed to find your enthusiasm annoying, and kept trying to test your patience instead of doing what you asked. Star was physically exhausted by the end.
Training Task: Undersaddle Walk Out
Task Completeness: 60%
Pressure Result: Too low
Reinforcement Result: Too low
Time Result: Too low
Response: Star is starting to calm down while being ridden, and completely ignored your cues. They seemed frustrated and unable to tell when they did something right or wrong. Star was still fresh by the end and seemed to want to do more.
Training Task: Undersaddle Trot
Task Completeness: 80%
Pressure Result: Ideal
Reinforcement Result: Ideal
Time Result: Ideal
Response: Star trots easily from a fast walk, and responded quickly and calmly when you applied pressure. They seemed content and to really be trying for you. By the end, Star was quite content with how much they did and learned.
Yes, the responses are a little long, but they are designed to give you a lot of information. You can actually break down each response into four sections, starting with the task progress indication response, followed by the pressure slider accuracy response, then the reinforcement slider accuracy response, and lastly the time slider accuracy response. Use these responses to guide adjustments to your ‘training style’ for that particular horse!