This message is from: GAIL RUSSELL <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Waving the stick >around her head just makes her look a little askance, but not a flicker of >concern or understanding that she needs to do anything about it. Ditto for >trying to get her to drop her head or lift her feet when you squeeze her >hock.
I have one Fjord that Parelli type stuff works with pretty well. He is spooky and sensitive - like the hotter blooded breeds. However my other two Fjords have a more mule-like personality. I can *literally* beat my five month old colt with a push broom - and he *likes it.* (I guess something really itches somewhere - sometimes I brush him with a 20" wide push broom - just for fun. :) I believe the best approach with the "mule/Fjords is a combination of Parelli/Lyons/Dorrance/Hunt training - but with positive reinforcements of food - and "good efforts" marked by a "click." That way you don't have to beat them up to get a response - food rewards being *very important* to them. Mugging does not need to be a problem if you stop all outside treats and train the mugging away. (Mugging will happen - so once you start you have to be committed to spending "the time it takes" to train it away.) Today I held an apple in one hand and a lead rope that I wanted touched by a horsey nose in the other. Both within reach of the horse. When he reached for the apple, I simply backed away (he was confined in a trailer, with head out the window of the slant load). When he reached to touch the lead rope, (and did touch it), he got a click and an apple. Pretty soon he didn't care at all about reaching for the apple. And yes, get the Parelli video. Then train the tasks using the clicker and Parelli's cues. The clicker list can help you figure it out. There are several people doing the Parelli "levels" on the list. One of the more impressive success stories was a horse trained to walk thru smoke and firecrackers for the Sheriff's Search and Rescue. Apparently the Sheriff was so impressed they asked how the horse had been trained. Gail Russell Forestville CA [EMAIL PROTECTED] Clicker List Web Site : http://clickryder.cjb.net
