Nice job with the training of this Icelandic Horse, Vinur; loose rein, the horse has some nice head nod, he looks relaxed, use of his body is not restricted by the rider or the tack.
An 11 year old girl works with a 6 year old pony. Anndi practices her seatwork to help her find her balance without relying on stirrups. Nina learns that not all movement the rider makes means stop or go forward. Nina learns patience and rhythm and Anndi gets to experience the progress a young horse can make in one lesson.
The pony that has recently come to stay here for a while, is pretty dirty in the sheath area. I take my time with new horses and don't try to rush into things, so we're just now getting around to addressing the sheath cleaning.
The other day when he was in the round pen, I took a picture when he was slightly dropped, to use as a baseline for reference. He is very scaley and loaded with "stuff". Not much gunk because it's not sticky, it's pretty hard. With the light (and mottled) skin, I worry about something being cancerous.
It must be very uncomfortable for him.
This afternoon, I had nothing on the calender, so decided to *do* nothing. I put him in a small corral and took a book and chair to sit and read. I figured I could click him if and when he dropped. No pressure. Nothing asked. That would be a start to sheath cleaning.
Well, in watching him, I didn't get much reading done. It's hard to read and watch for the slightest try in dropping. Impatient, that's me.
I thought about it, thought about the mechanics, and decided that if I put some lubricant inside the sheath, that would at least help with loosening up some of the scaley stuff, even if he didn't drop. As I put my hand in, I was able to touch him, and clicked. He's pretty smart, and I think he made a connection.
I didn't want to stand with my hand inside of the sheath (neighborhood kids and all....), so I figured if I just put my hand on the sheath, on the outside, I would be able to feel if he was dropping at the slightest, and click that.
Yes, that's all it took for him. He got the idea, and dropped more and more each time.
I got some pictures for a baseline. I added more lubricant to soften the scaley stuff, and altho the whole procedure only took a few minutes, and we didn't *do* any purposeful cleaning, he looks a little cleaner. Not clean by any standards, but better than he was.
As I said, I don't hurry through these things, so it'll wait til the next opportunity.
We worked on chasing the ball; he's getting a little faster in going to it, leaving me to go to it (previously I would have to go with him to get to the ball), and returning to me for the treat.
We also starting some preliminary work on laying down. I wet him, and found that he is fine with the hose. He will stand at liberty, no lead rope, and be sprayed with no problem. He will also put his mouth in the spray.
After being sprayed, I left him for a while, watching for when he would drop and roll. I captured it three times, and clicked him. He received jackpots of watermelon and peppermints. He hasn't made the connection yet, tho.
We are teaching the pony to follow the ball, with clicker training. At first he would not follow it alone, we had to walk beside him. He is a lead-line pony, so that may be ingrained from his training. After a little practice, he would take a few steps to follow the ball alone. We are working on extended his thread, so that he will go out and away a little further as we progress. He is at liberty, the gate is open, he can leave at any time. When we get good consistency at length of travel, we will add a little speed to it. It will be fun to see him trot to the ball!
Annie, a purebred Crabbet Arabian, was a gift from a dear friend whose situation made it difficult for her to keep her in a restful retirement.
At my place, she had everything she could want—her own space to move in, attentive owners, green grass in summer and warmed water in winter. And people, who would come out and play with her. Annie enjoyed the occasional ride, and we had been working on balance and transitions. Her favorite things were grazing, being brushed and fussed over, grazing, walking with her person, grazing, clicker games, and did I say grazing?
A grand old lady who had a full life, Annie was loved and gave lots of love in return, and will be greatly missed.
This is Captain, a four-year-old Haflinger gelding, practicing clicker training. He is learning to lift his leg when it is tapped. This will be faded back to pointing to the leg.
I was trying to teach the pony to hold the flag in his mouth, with clicker training. The dogs are usually wondering in and out of the picture. This time it was at the wrong moment!
At least we got a fraction of a second of him holding the flag.
The pony is learning to target the ball, then to follow it, and to push it around.
Riding on the pony. He was a lead-line pony and no one knows if he was ever ridden without being lead. It seems like he's not sure if he should move unless he's lead by a ground person, so we're having him target the ball, as he did without a rider, only this time he has a passive rider on him.
This is an approximately eight-year-old pony, a good lead-line pony, but not fully trained. He has not yet been exposed to following a feel, and has a couple of small problem areas and some resistance. The resistance may be due to being uneduated in the area of "feel".
He has only had a couple of clicker training sessions prior to this one, and loves it. He is very quick to learn.
These picture are of Starlet and Lisa, and the trampoline.
Lisa says:
Starlet is my 3-year old, daughter of my first Rocky Mountain Horse, Tira. Starlet loves clicker training and took to it immediately. I don't get as much time with her as I would like due to my work/family responsibilities, but when I do - she is fast as lightening to pick something up.
We have also had the worst winter and Spring and the coldest June on record so working with the horses has been challenging. But finally we had a nice day on Saturday and Starlet and I worked on picking up feet willingly (she's always been a little sticky on this one issue); bareback pad, touch the tennis ball on the stick (preparatory to learning to bow, which is on our list of to-dos), move your hip over, move your shoulder over, circle me and whoa.
Sunday we began with willing feet - (one step backwards - not as willing as previous day) and so I decided not to belabor the feet but bring out something new and exciting! My son dragged the trampoline over and Starlet, after taking a bite of the styrofoam siding, put one foot on several times, then she put two feet on so quick it took my breath away. She did it so fast and so fearlessly that I barely had time to react.
I asked her to back up with a touch of my hand and the verbal cue "baaack" and off she went.
Stopped for the day as it was a big accomplishment!
The pony is learning to target the ball, then to follow it, and to push it around.
Riding on the pony. He was a lead-line pony and no one knows if he was ever ridden without being lead. It seems like he's not sure if he should move unless he's lead by a ground person, so we're having him target the ball, as he did without a rider, only this time he has a passive rider on him.
This is a video by Leslie Pavlich, working with her Quarter Horse on his easy gait (i.e. running walk of gaited horses). She helps to bring out the gait with clicker training:
[] Targeting: touching the ball on the end of the stick, wherever it is placed; up, down, side, under, over, and follow it as we walk along.
[] Bringing the head between the legs by targeting the ball. Increase range.
[] At the right time, lift one leg and ask him to target the ball under his chest. (Lifting a leg can be an additional behavior that is worked on separately, if you want the horse to lift his own leg.)
Yesterday, I had lifted his leg and asked him to target the ball under him (last picture below), so we're already at that point.
This horse has learned several behaviors with clicker training: fetch the stick, lift his own feet, stand on a pedestal, turn on the hindquarters, etc.:
"Outlining a revolutionary approach to training horses, mules, and donkeys, this extensive compendium offers an all-inclusive study of clicker training. Exploring a simple and practical style of equine conditioning, this resource clearly depicts how appropriate behavior can be reinforced, incorporating the chosen method into the context of communication with animals. Focusing on enhancing the entire relationship between horse and owner rather than specific problems, this unique reference is ideal for developing a truthful understanding of the equine mind."
TWH and Trail Skills
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Tennessee Walker: Here's a very nice video showing a Tennessee Walking
Horse practicing a trail skill.
The horse is TWH Chief's Fancy Blue Eyes and rider i...
Parelli Level 3 Horse Having Fun
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The owners learn "horsemanship" by going through the levels of PNH (Parelli
Natural Horsemanship) and build good relationships and two-way
communication ...
Bits or Bitless?
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"In the hands of a master horseman who has learned to ride with seat and
legs and who hardly uses the reins when riding a fully trained horse, the
most sev...