Clickertraining für Pferde

Rope communication Through the lead rope (combined with my body language), I can ask Blondie to flex to the inside or to the outside, keep her head straight or drop it, take a step back or forward or engage in Spanish Walk. All with the same rope from the same base position. #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #clickertrainingpferde

Graya’s first series of alternating steps Still a little uncoordinated but she gets the idea.💡 
There is great reach and good balance already in there. In the following sessions we’ll try to get more of those 🤩 #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #clickertrainingpferde

Malou training week 14: Head lowering Head lowering is one of Alexandra Kurland’s Foundation lessons. It can be taught by lowering the target to the ground or with pressure and release of pressure. You can place your hand gently on the horse’s neck and remove it as soon as she drops her head even slightly, and adding a click and treat. Another way of teaching it, that becomes very handy when you start riding, is through a lesson that is called ‚Backing in a Square‘. It is a way to establish the rope cue for head lowering. In this lesson with Malou, I start head lowering with a target and then use a “New cue - Old cue” procedure to transfer stimulus control from the target to the lead rope. I have uploaded the entire training session on my Youtube channel https://youtu.be/FOYyjiefCHk If want to know more details about Malou’s training progression to become a riding horse (or how I restarted Blondie), you may want to subscribe to my new email series here: https://clickertrainingpferde.com/learn/​ Malou’s training is done together with @equitazioneinarmonia Thanks to Malou‘s owner @gymnastricks.hundefitness #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #clickertrainingpferde #equitazioneinarmonia

Spanish walk I like to teach Spanish Walk through leg lifts immediately followed by a forward cue. Ideally, I can cue each leg independently. In other words, I want to be able to cue e.g., ‘right leg’ followed by normal steps and then cue again ‘right leg’ followed by normal steps or alternating or any other sequence. I don’t want a chain of high steps that I can no longer control. With Spanish Walk, you want good stimulus control or things get quickly out of hand. I start by cueing e.g. the left front leg followed normal steps (left is easier for my horses). Then I do the same for the right leg. Then I may try to alternate right and left followed by normal steps. Until you can ask for multiple alternating steps. When your horse is offering Spanish Walk too eagerly, make sure you reinforce normal steps. You ned to be sure that you give clear cues for Spanish Walk and for normal walk. Do you know your cues? Can you communicate clearly which type of step you want? Make many pauses in “Grown-ups are talking”. That helps to keep the right type of energy and gives you the chance to check how your horse is standing. Is she standing square? Standing square helps to start well into the (any) new exercise. Graya prefers to lift her left leg but she knows both. What we hadn’t done yet was alternating for more than two steps. Given that the riding arena is covered in heavy snow, Spanish Walk is a fun lesson to do when there isn’t much space. #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #clickertrainingpferde

Did you see the impressive lift in that second step? I like to teach Spanish Walk from the leg lift. It creates a movement that starts from an upwards lift. The extension forward then follows the lift. The result is a high reaching forward leg that comes from a solid foundation. The horse learns to stay balanced on three legs before asking for a forward. From that balance you can ask a forward that just happens to occur when she has one leg in the air. The result is a nice curling up and then extending forward motion. #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #clickertrainingpferde

Malou training week 13: Beginnings of Hip Shoulder Shoulder (HSS) HSS is another key lesson of Alexandra Kurland that starts out as a safety lesson and later turns into a performance booster. In this session, I teach Malou the pattern. As we walk from the centre towards a cone, I prepare the turn by asking for a flexion. I asked her to turn around a cone, yielding her hips (H-ip of HSS) which stops her. Then I ask for a step back (first S-tep of HSS)and another step back (second S-tep of HSS). Note that depending on how much hip yield I ask, I get either engagement or disengagement. Asking for a slight yield of the hip maintaining forward, movement creates a stepping under of the inside leg, carrying her weight and creating “engagement”. Asking for more yield, creates a step outside of her centre of gravity and results in a stop, “disengaging” the hindquarters. We want both. The disengagement version of this lesson, stops a horse barging forward without escalating the tension. The important element here is that you release the pressure on the lead rope as soon as your horse offers you her hip (i.e. steps laterally). You can always ask again, should your horse continue running forward. With this sequence, you can handle a nervous horse safely and get her to calm down.But this needs to be practiced when your horse is calm, so you both know what to do when things get difficult. In the engagement version of this lesson, you can re-balance your horse to create more engagement in any lesson (which is mysteriously called half-halt in the equitation literature). Subscribe to the email series about starting a young horse (or re-start) under saddle with clicker training https://clickertrainingpferde.com/learn/ Malou’s training is done together with @equitazioneinarmonia #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #

Malou training week 13: Towards leading excellence and self carriage I just love these details that eventually lead to an exquisite communication between horse and handler - with or without a rope. Malou begins to respond to the weight shifts coming from the belly of rope. As this communication improves, it won’t be necessary anymore to slide up the lead rope with my hand. All that is required for Malou to respond is a change of my hand position which shifts the belly of the rope. That’s all that it takes to move her in any direction: forward, backward or into a lateral movement. Just magical. Malou’s training is done together with @equitazioneinarmonia #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #clickertrainingpferde #equitazioneinarmonia

Malou training week 11: The give One of the key lessons for me is the give. Asking for a give is similar to addressing someone and getting a reply. It’s the initiation of a conversation. If my horse can relax into my hand directly or through a lead rope or reins, then she is ready to answer to any cue I may give next without friction or tension. If on the other hand, there is no give, then my horse is not listening or ready and any response I ask next, is probably going to be tense. It’s a linchpin that directs the quality of interaction that follows. I begin asking for a give in a place where the horse is relaxed. With Malou it was in the paddock, with her friends nearby. I asked by gently touching her head with my hands, and sometimes also with my forehead as an anchor. As soon as she softens a bit at the jawline I take my hands away and click/ treat. I start the side that is easier, which typically is the hollow side, and only change side when the first works well. Next, I ask for the same flexion through the lead rope at a halt. And then I take it into movement. For some horses it may be easier to start in movement directly. In this video you see how I ask for a give on the right rein. That’s the more difficult side for her but it’s the most beneficial because she is stiffer on the right and she tends to throw her weight on the right shoulder. With a slight flexion, I can redistribute her weight to the left shoulder and thereby improve her balance. If she overflexes, I straighten my arm and ask her to straighten her neck. Then we can begin again. This lesson is crucial and is part of any activity I do with my horses: leading, riding but even in everyday tasks, e.g. grooming area when I ask for a front leg Malou’s training was done together with @equitazioneinarmonia Many thanks to @gymnastricks.hundefitness for your trust. #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer

Injections or dewormers are easy as long as you don’t try to hold or tie him. More often than not it is the restraint that is aversive, not the treatment. #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #clickertrainingpferde

Blondie beginnings of Spanish Walk Returning from Anja Beran’s workshop, I decided to teach Blondie the Spanish Walk. The exercise helps to lift the shoulders which is beneficial to her since she tends to throw her weight forward down. It is a bit tricky because she has been taught a leg lift in order to get to some sort of school halt and rearing (why???). She used to pull her front leg up whenever she got stuck, I didn’t want to bring this behaviour back. To avoid this, I immediately ask for forward after Blondie brings her front leg up. The focus is on step forward and less on up, which is why I click on the forward step instead of the lift. Note that these steps are the very beginning (Always remember the film the first trials 😉 they will become useful later on) #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #clickertrainingpferde

Malou training week 10: Feeding position Quarter horses are typically low in the front which puts additional weigh on their forehand, and even more with a rider. To avoid tripping and falling or lameness, we should pay attention to this in our training. An easy, effective and efficient way to address this, in part, is through the positioning of our hand as we feed. You will see in this clip that I continue working on flexions, encouraging Malou to step under with her inside hind leg which allows her to lift up in front. In addition, I am offering the treat, not where her mouth is, put a little bit higher up. She adjusts to this and lift herself to take the treat. But after taking the treat, her neck falls even further down. So much, that she has to take a step forward to avoid falling on her nose. Malou’s owner @gymnastricks.hundefitness will continue working on this, she will be able to keep a higher head neck position herself which improves her balance. With Blondie I have seen a lot of progress by feeding a little high than what she offered. Video helps the trainer to monitor feeding position because it is very easy to get into the habit of feeding where the mouth is instead of where we want it to be. Malou’s training is done together with @equitazioneinarmonia #animaltraining #classicaldressage #horse #pferd #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #clickerhorse #clickertrainer #positivereinforcement #clickerpferd #clickerpony #clickertrainedhorses #clickertrainingpferde #equitazioneinarmonia

Only the best for our super model 🥰🔥🦄 (a.k.a. George Clooney of Predarezzo)