The lovely Danke
I thought I would follow up with my own observations of the experience with Danke and the massage therapist.
As you may recall (and if you missed it you can read about it here) Danke was not OK with having Heather standing on the hay bale while she worked on her croup area. This was the first time she had attempted to work with her like this. In the past if Danke needed to move Heather would just stay with her till she settled. But, since Danke is so tall (17+hands) it was [more...]
I wrote this article in 1998. It appeared that year in the New England Dressage Association’s annual “Salute” publication. It is interesting to read it back 11 years later. Although I’ve grown a lot in those years the core message remains true. I would only make one change. Looking back on 16 years with Tulsa, I realize that it is she who is the teacher and I the humble student.
The author with the lovely Miss Tulsa.
How many times have we heard that there is so much to learn about dressage it would take a life time (or several!) [more...]
I get asked this question a lot: What is this clicker training business and what could it possibly have to do me? My goal in this article is to dispel some of the more common myths about clicker training that have emerged over the last several years as the method has increased in popularity among horse owners.
Once the horse understands the clicker you can use it for liberty work in the round pen. Photo by Cynthia Mallard.
Unfortunately, at the moment clicker training still conjures up visions of silly pet tricks or dolphin training in the minds of many [more...]
Let’s be pragmatic. Compared to horses, we humans can’t compete if the test is one of brute strength. We need to enter the training arena with our wits about us and use our brains to get to the horse’s brain. The more we can get the horse to want to go along with our ideas the less strength we need in the equation. The males among us can afford to play power games with the horse, using their height and strength to their advantage. As such they are willing to take bigger risks that the more slightly built [more...]
Let me start by highlighting the fact that clicker training in of itself is not a complete system for training, as dressage is. It is not intended to be. Clicker training is a means for reinforcing behavior. It doesn’t dictate what behaviors should be trained. This is good because that means it can be applied to any training situation.
The reason I write so much about clicker training, rather than about horsemanship or dressage, is because so much quality material is already available on those topics. (Check out my Other Resources page for suggestions.) My goal is to find the point [more...]
I’ve been working with a new horse recently. It has been so interesting because it has given me a chance to really think about what I click for in the beginning, especially when the horse isn’t “with me”. I wanted to write it down while it was still fresh.
This mare is 10 years old, and pretty set in her ways of bracing and leaving when she is uncertain.
The first session I spent just getting to know her in the stall and turning her on to c/t. She got it pretty quick.
Next session in the round pen she [more...]
Having been to numerous shows and clinics I am often struck by how willing people are to put up with problems (like tension, resistance, taking off, bucking) with their horse as if there is nothing that can be done about them. I really do think that the reason this happens is because people simply aren’t even aware that things could or should be better. I mean if a person knew it was reasonable to expect the horse to be calm and focused wouldn’t they be doing something about it? Sometimes the horse is young and the [more...]
Every day I am reminded again and again how every little thing counts to the horse. Horses want to get along with us. They are watching us closely for signs of meaning behind the things that we do. Right or wrong doesn’t enter into it. In fact, it is safe to go by the assumption that the horse is always Right. When I say that I mean we can be sure that from their point of view their actions make complete sense based on what we did. So, if we want a change in [more...]
OK I’ll be honest!! I can’t stand watching the little dance of line up horse to mounting block, he moves as soon as rider starts to get on block, so rider stops getting on and repositions the horse, and the whole thing starts over again ad infinitum. Good grief it doesn’t need to be like that.
Here’s the thing. If a person is unable to change this situation in a few sessions then what it tells me is one or both of the following: a serious lack of ideas when it comes to actually TRAINING (not just hoping [more...]
This is an update on Pamela, a horse I talked about back in February. Just to remind you, Pamela is a 6 year old Tennessee Walker who had been used as a ’show horse’ prior to being acquired by my client, Michele Williams. In the previous installment of her saga I had managed to reduce the catching/haltering process from 30 minutes to 5 minutes and I had gotten on briefly. The picture to the right is from that day. Not a pretty sight!
It is now 3 months later. Progress is slow but I generally only work with Pamela [more...]
