Most horses that we come across have already been taught a vast majority of the things they know through traditional training. These horse’s are often referred to as crossover horses. We are shifting our focus to positive reinforcement, how do we move forward? I discuss how to move...
Teaching pressure as a cue, with a strong positive reinforcement history instead of using escalating pressure. While this may seem like a matter of semantics, the resulting emotional state is quite different. I describe the difference and ways to create the behavior utilizing positive...
Sometimes, during training sessions, our horses get off track. I discuss ways to get back on track, to bring clarity to our sessions and to minimize frustration.
In this lesson we discuss and practice getting ready for fly season. We walk through the steps to getting our horses comfortable with being sprayed with fly spray.
Teaching your horse to happily participate in bridling isn’t hard to do when utilizing positive reinforcement as part of the equation. In this lesson I discuss what steps to take to create seamless bridling. In addition, I discuss how to change the reluctant horse into a happy participant....
Teach your horse to be cordial at the gate. Resource guarding is common among social animals, including horses. I discuss some techniques to help them to make better, safer choices at the gate or when in a group setting.
Leading often leaves something to be desired. In this lesson we discuss ways to help get your horse refocused and back in the game of leading. It is often too much momentum that leads to many of the challenges so we discuss ways to help our horses practice some impulse control.
In this lesson we discuss why horses bite. It’s not always what you might think. We also discuss positive and constructive ways to address the unwanted behavior.
In this lesson, I discuss equine body language, facial expressions and the importance of recognizing when our horses go over threshold. These observations give us important information that we can use to improve our training. Our horses’ emotions are an important part of our relationship...
In this lesson we being teaching our horses to go from point A to Point B. This is useful for exercise, for teaching your horse to go away from you, to trailer load, and for teaching your horse to jump or go over obstacles.
Many people struggle with good ways to motivate their horse to go forward…to WANT to go forward when asked. In this lesson we discuss ways to help your horse go forward. By utilizing positive reinforcement we put something in it the the horse wants and values and this is a game changer....
Teaching your horse to stand. Standing still, calm and relaxed, anytime, any place is one of the most important behaviors in their repertoire. Using the positive reinforcement in a systematic way increases clarity as well as your horse’s motivation.
We continue working on manners both on the ground and around food. However, we are going to take it a bit further and add movement. We will be reinforcing relaxation and downward transitions. Therefore we put a greater value on our horses choice to quiet their bodies AND minds. Overtime this...