>>>I re-created the "tent" using a > turquoise and yellow tarp and the jump supports in the riding arena. > Blessi went on high alert when he saw this strange "thing" >>After about 8 minutes, Blessi > would approach the tent and touch it with his nose, >>The exercise involved a lot of treats but we were not > using the clicker. How could I have done the exercise differently?
Use the clicker. You can always start small. Say you have a big tent made from a tarp. Take the tarp, or a similar smaller object, and fold it up to a small size. There is more than the visual size that the horse needs to know about something. He also needs to smells it, and hears it; maybe even taste it or paw it. So start with the same fabric in a small size, and click / treat for targeting (or looking at it, depending on where you have to start for each individual horse). As the lesson(s) progress, the size of the object can be increased (unfolded), and put it different spots, up, down, eye level, on, under, above, etc. so the horse can view, smell, and hear it from different areas and positions. Why you would want to use the clicker? Because the sound hits the amygdala and is perceived and processed so much faster than a "good boy" is taken in and processed. Judy http://iceryder.net http://clickryder.com
