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Want Carrots With That?By Kentucky Equine Research Staff · December 7, 2010
Training goes faster when positive reinforcement involves food rewards rather than physical contact in the form of wither scratching, according to a note in The Horse.
Though it produces a temporary slowing of heart rate, indicating horses enjoy it, scratching a horse's withers as a reward did not produce the same rate of improvement as when horses were given carrots for showing obedient behavior.
In addition, horses rewarded with food in a French study stood closer to humans and sought more contact outside of training sessions.
