top of page
MELANIE WATSON
Judge of Behavioural Trainer of the Year
Melanie has been in business, training horses, since 1985, in Skidby, East Yorkshire. She is a leading light in the UK for modern and ethical horse behaviour modification using applied behavioural science, learning theory and LIMA principles (least invasive, minimally aversive).
Bringing modern animal training thinking (using positive reward and positive reinforcement) into the world of UK horse training. Historically human dominance, force and punishing techniques have always been used on horses in order to subdue them - as they learn to “respect” humans and hopefully become compliant to their masters! Reform in education and thinking is desperately needed as dominance training is completely archaic and thrown out by modern scientific proof.
Branded Instinctive Horse Training, Melanie is the UK’s very first professional training yard to adopt force free training based on marker (clicker) Counter conditioning and systematic desensitising training as the base of retraining complicated and traumatised horses, and introducing all young horses into the world of ridden work via positive reward.
Alongside the bricks and mortar yard work, Melanie provides home visits across the North of England to where the problem is happening. She also provides behaviour consultations remotely mentors horse owners across the world via Skype, Zoom and Whats app video calling, to both understand the behaviour of their horses and supporting future behaviour change with bespoke training routes and protocols.
Although she works across species (zoos, dogs and anything in between) Melanie is ostensibly a horse behaviour specialist.
Melanie provides talks, training seminars, presents at conferences and runs workshops for horse and pet owners, animal trainers, zoos, veterinary students and regularly guest lectures at various universities and colleges across the UK.
Other speaking venues include business networking and charity events where Melanie captures the correlations in behaviour between the human animal and animals in general. There is much to learn about our own feelings, emotions and reactions when compared with our animals’ behaviours.
Understanding behaviour, what drives behaviour, why unwanted behaviour keeps happening and how we can shape positive new behaviours (behaviour modification) is a fascinating subject and one which affects every one of us as we interact with family, friends, workplace colleges and employees….as well as with all captive species and our pets of cause!
If you are interested in inviting Melanie to speak at one of your Business Networking events, Charity
fundraisers, Education centres, riding clubs, dog training clubs or anywhere else, then please feel free to contact her on:-
Email melanie@instinctivehorsetraining.co.uk
Website www.instinctivehorsetraining.co.uk
Facebook page www.facebook.com/instinctivehorsetraining
Return to Judges' page
bottom of page