The AEBC Training System

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The revolutionary AEBC approach is based on what is known in psychology as 'learning theory'. It is the only system of horse training that fully embraces a scientific approach to arrive at training goals.

The system is centred around establishing a logical connection between your light aids and the horse's behaviour. Andrew McLean explains, "Animals learn to react to signals and they also give signals to their environment. The greatest variation in signals typically occurs in training, to and from both the rider and the horse."

"The amount of dysfunction is proportional to the anxiety level and expression. Because the AEBC system centres on maximizing the aid-response relationship, it recognises that it is also critical to diminish the effect of the environment as a control over the horse's behaviour. A horse that shies is simply more motivated by the environment than the aid."

The AEBC system focuses on making the connection from hoof to rein simple and clear, which means mastering control of the horse's legs. Andrew sums it up as, "By letting him know exactly where to put his feet, you give every horse confidence and reassurance."

This may sound simple enough, but according to Andrew McLean, the goal of confidence and calmness cannot be emphasised too strongly. "There is a terrible amount of wastage in the horse industry and the greatest cause of anxiety in horses is their training. The number of horses destined for pet food can be significantly reduced by incorporating more up to date training psychology into the training context."

"Whatever level the horse is at, even at Grand Prix level, the basic responses need constant checking and fixing. For various reasons, these responses can deteriorate at any time and it is this deterioration that is the deepest source of anxiety because these responses are initially trained by aversive pressures."

Andrew's PhD thesis, proposed eight training principles, which are detailed in a series of articles. With AEBC training you will see that the horse's security and stability directly reflect the quality and consistency of his basic learned responses. And that's good news because it puts control of your destiny (and your horse's) in your hands.

AEBC - the difference...

The AEBC does not dispute the goals of correct classical training, however the contemporary explanations of how the horse learns equitation are fundamentally flawed. This is particularly true when it comes to explanations of the horse's motivation and reinforcement (i.e. why he does the things he does).

Where there should be open doors in the analysis of horse behaviour, the flawed explanation leaves dead-ends and nourishes mythologies such as horse-whispering. Also, modern horse training systems do not separate or prioritise the two different forms of associative learning in animals - operant and classical conditioning. Yet professional trainers of other species deem this separation fundamental.

Knowing this, we realise that European systems do not recognise that the rein responses (stop/slow) are an opposite and mirror image of the leg responses (go). In contemporary European systems therefore the importance of the stop response is not recognised. Instead the rein responses are translated into 'contact', where the idea is that the rider rides the horse 'forward into the contact' (that is not properly trained).

This ideology causes conflict behaviours to the rein responses because the stop is not trained or maintained lightly in self-carriage. It also adds to wastage statistics.

The AEBC system trains both go and stop responses to be equally light and responsive. This allows the horse to be correctly ridden forward without heavy leaning on the reins. Within the AEBC system are other principles that arise from learning theory, such as always training and eliciting responses separately and training only one response per aid. The result is an easier horse to ride as well as a more relaxed one and one that will last.