This message is from: "Gail Russell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I had an interesting experience with Odin the other day. We took the other horses out of his pen and left him ALL ALONE....which may not ever have happened to him before. He was NOT HAPPY! Ran around, bucking and tearing about.
Heartless folks that we are, we loaded up the horses and took them away for a trail ride. I did leave Odin with some hay to occupy him, as I was concerned about colic if he got too upset. Upon our return, I went into the paddock and put a halter on him so Jim could bring the other horses back in. Well...he very much wanted to go see them. This is Odin, who has learned how to set his neck against us and take off. So....I had him doing head down, backing, yielding his hindquarters....all of which has been taught to him via the clicker. The interesting/instructive thing is that, while he was executing these behaviors, he was really very compliant, relaxed, etc. The work I had introduced him to with the clicker was solid enough that it overrode his desire to be with the other horses. When I stopped doing clicker-trained exercises.....and let him think for a minute, he reverted to pulling away. I was not fast enough to stop him before he had the mechanical advantage on me. Not a good thing, as Martha would say. However, the interesting thing was (glass half full thinking) that he had REALLY learned the exercises I had taught him with the clicker. Now, if I can just use the clicker to train him to yield to pressure,....even when he has a mechanical advantage on me....I think he might be able to stay with me even when he has the opportunity to pull away. Alexandra Kurlanda showed me how to use piles of hay as a distraction to teach Odin to "recover" from pursuing a distraction by responding to a pull on the halter as a cue. Alex also showed me how to do "mat training"....and then let the horse's desire to go to stand on the mat (where he thinks he can get clicked and treated) as a distraction....and an opportunity for him to be clicked for leaving the distraction. So...I learn a bit more each day. Now I just have to find the time to execute it. Gail
