R.I.P. Jim Bob the Snowman |
Before the lesson I did 20 minutes of groundwork and used clicker training to reinforce the good behavior. I must say, she has been improving quite a bit! She used to not want to halt while I was leading her, but now she typically only takes one extra step before halting. Hopefully after several more ground work sessions we will consistently be halting right as I ask.
The moment of truth came when my trainer arrived and it was time to ride Ypke the Beast. She. Did. Awesome. This was one of those days where I wish someone had been recording.
She was consistently doing a western jog while maintaining collection (definitely not perfect collection, but this is a huge step for us). We were switching directions, doing small circles, and passing another horse without fussing! It truly is a wonderful feeling to be working in unison with a horse! With just slight calf pressure and a bit of a half halt, she would begin to round and I could feel a major difference. I didn't have to ask her to maintain collection either, she was just staying there by herself. This was done with a small amount of slack in the reins too.
Around halfway through the lesson, she got bored. She stopped and pawed (I had vivid flashbacks to THAT day), but there was no way I was letting her roll. She began to break gait several times and started to become lazy.
Luckily, we were able to end on a great note though. I was really amazed with how well we did! My equitation didn't suck, and Ypke and I were actually working with each other instead of against each other. Definitely a confidence building day!
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Staring off into the sunny hills |
Yay, sounds like a great lesson!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely was! :)
Deleteyou used clicker training! that's great! i've actually clicker trained my cat but haven't trained a horse to do anything... i'd love to see a post about your clicker training!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Clicker training had been a blessing for me, I've used it with three different horses (one that was spooky, one that was always grumpy, and then Ypke) so far. I have always gotten great results! I'm actually working on a clicker training post right now, keep an eye out for it. :)
DeleteMy sister and I use clicker training on our horses, too, and it works awesome. I would love to hear how you integrated it into your training. Our horses simply love it, and they are so enthusiastic about going out to work. I think that they don't even see it as work. I have also used it on my cat and dog.
ReplyDelete