04/01/2026
We love this explanation.....
We use clicker training with our herd, we give a cue, we are patient and support our horses to understand what we are asking for.... as soon as they offer a try (they might not get it completely right at first) we reinforce the try with a reward.
Letting the horse know what we are asking and showing gratitude for them trying to complete a task we ask is important to ensure they want to work with us ❤️
“A cue is not a command. It permits behaviour to happen. It does not make behaviour happen.”
- Karen Pryor
That line matters, not because of the words themselves, but because of what it exposes about how training actually works.
A cue is information.
It signals that a particular behaviour may be reinforced if the learner chooses to offer it.
A command is different.
A command assumes compliance and relies on a backup plan when that compliance doesn’t happen.
The real difference shows up in one moment:
What happens when the horse doesn’t respond?
If the next step is pressure, escalation, or correction, then the signal was never functioning as a cue. It was a command with enforcement behind it.
In cue-based systems, no response isn’t disobedience.
It’s feedback.
Feedback that tells us something about clarity, learning history, motivation, context, or capacity. Not about stubbornness. Not about respect.
A lot of people say their horses have choice, but when met with a no they are unsure what to do next, feel like they have to keep asking, or eventually turn to force. No’s can be uncomfortable when you realize the yes responses you were getting were compliance, not choice.
A cue does not make behaviour happen.
It allows space for a response.
And that space, whether the answer is yes, no, or not yet, tells us far more than compliance ever could.
