The Lay Down
This never feels less special ❤️ I remember trying for months and months to get the lay down during the early years with Tao. It was my biggest dream. I kept asking the question and one day, he did it, but right up the other end of the arena. He got more and more comfortable being closer to me over time. It took so many little steps. Due to everything being instantaneous and at our fingertips now, we are conditioned to expect things to be immediate and get easily frustrated when they aren’t. But there is so much joy in celebrating each little step of progress, however small. Some of Tao’s tricks have taken years - like the classical bow. Spanish walk took around three months. It’s supposed to take time, especially when we are learning ourselves. Enjoy the process ❤️. The end goal feels sweeter when you know you’ve not compromised your relationship or rushed your horse. #horsetraining #horsemanship #liberty #libertytraining #laydown #horse #cutehorse #clickertraining
Merry Christmas from the Clicker Trainers 🥕
MERRY CHRISTMAS from the clicker trainers🎄Maja put together this awesome video showcasing some of the things that can be achieved with clicker training 🥕 None of these behaviours were trained using a whip or stick and the horses are free to leave and say no (but of course, they don’t want to). Their comfortable body language and happy expressions are really important to us ❤️❄️ Aren’t the horses (and mule!) awesome? ❤️
Hear Your Horse Whisper - science based information and education Gaia Horsemanship Dorothy Heffernan #horsemanship #horsetraining #horse #christmas #liberty #tackless #bridleless #clickertraining
Building Confidence with Clicker Training
How to Build Confidence with Clicker Training 🥕❤️
This was actually the same session 😂 I just put my elf outfit on for the ridden bit. No way was I setting all that up twice 😅. Of all the things I had set up from inflatable candy canes, to giant baubles and the agility arch (that he’s never seen) - he was only scared of the Christmas presents 🤣🙈
I always allow him the space and time to check anything he’s not sure about at his pace. Loose rope, calm talking and body language while rewarding any sign of confidence. The fear was short-lived. Tao built positive associations with the scary object and became confident with it. I really don’t want big reactions during training - even this snorting is a rare occurrence. It might be exciting to watch when horses go over threshold, but learning doesn’t happen when they’re in fight or flight and they will make negative associations with whatever the scary thing is as well as the handler and even the arena.
Here, Tao quickly realises that it’s very rewarding to engage with the Christmas decorations. Many positive associations made between things like this, me and the arena over the years have meant he wasn’t at all bothered by anything else and he actually finds it enriching.
He isn’t just a ‘safe’ and ‘confident’ horse. In fact, he was very much the opposite when I bought him and didn’t want to leave the safety of the herd. You can build a horses confidence with training and you don’t have to use flooding or excessive pressure until the horse shuts down. You can make desensitisation fun 🤩
#horsetraining #desensitisation #horsemanship #horsetrainer #liberty #bridleless #tackless #clickertraining #positivereinforcement
Why is he so dramatic 🤣 👑 He takes it very seriously when there is a target involved and kicked it clean out and of my hand 😅. #horse #horsetraining #horsemanship #liberty #libertytraining #clickertraining #positivereinforcement #cutehorse #christmas
The moment they join the dots and get 3 steps 💪🏻 the third step with the Spanish walk is always the hardest because they have to move their back legs too. I couldn’t get my camera on fast enough to get the first few but Melody had a lightbulb 💡 moment. Some lovely trot work at liberty too. Hard to believe that Melody wouldn’t trot in hand for years! It’s all about motivation 🥕 very proud 🥹 Gail is a wonderful owner and really puts the work in. #liberty #tricktraining #horsemanship #horsetraining #clickertraining #positivereinforcement
Clicker Training Demo
Come and learn how to read your horse’s body language and behaviour as well as how to start clicker training successfully to build communication, confidence and to improve your relationship. Learn how to teach your horse to be calm around food, how to use clicker training to teach new behaviours, build confidence with ‘scary’ objects and obstacles as well as how to teach tricks. Sunday at 1pm in the education arena at the Horsemanship Showcase - The Horsemanship Event of The Year This is Rai, a beautiful friesian mare whose owner, Sam Newman kindly offered her and her companion as my demo horses. She has been beautifully trained by Sam 🥕 and this will be her first show. Who’s coming to watch? 😍
Park at the Block
Last night ☔️. I wasn’t sure how Tao would be in the wind and rain as it was quite extreme - but I am determined to keep up his exercise. He was so chilled. I love that he tried to back up to reach me 😂 his ‘around’ voice cue is pretty solid so he understood to turn and then realised I was up on the wall. I should have given the ‘line up’ cue initially but assumed he had seen me (standing on the wall is the other cue for the same thing). Horses really are so intelligent and very capable of understanding cues without force as well as making decisions on their own. I want a horse who thinks for himself, not a robot. He knows there are no repercussions for not following my cues. Very proud of him ❤️ and how well he coped in trying conditions.
Sponsored by David Dyer Saddles
Change of Bend at Liberty
Very far from perfect. Just asking some questions and seeing what he says. Tao struggles a lot crossing his hind legs - always has. Really pleased with his effort here and calm response. This is very much a work in progress and the first time in many months I’ve asked the question. It’s a lot for them at liberty, real brain work as well as bodywork and I’m only asking for little bits as he’s still coming back into work. #liberty #libertytraining #horsemanship #horsetraining #clickertraining
Wait and Push
Love this happy video of Nikki and Pudz today 🤩 Starting to put together chains of behaviour. Wait, walk forwards & push 😂 Nikki is already preparing for next years client Halloween video. Again, it may seem like a pointless trick to some, but it’s cognitively enriching for Pudsy as well as being very useful to teach them to wait (at roads, the mounting block, on the yard, on the lorry, opening gates etc). The push is less useful, more fun 😂 Thanks for letting me share, Nikki. #clickertraining #liberty #libertytraining #horsemanship #horsetraining #horse
Happy Halloween 🎃
Happy Halloween! 👻 🎃 Imagine opening your door to Tao 😂.
This may seem like a ‘silly trick’ and some people might wonder what the benefit of teaching it is?
Firstly, it’s fun and cute! (No-one can disagree with this 😂).
Secondly, if we break it down, it’s not just one behaviour. It’s a chain. ‘Stand, wait, walk forward, pick up bucket, hold bucket, put bucket down’ - CLICK and reward. There are many useful and practical behaviours there that make more sense to a horse when you give them purpose and it makes it easier for them to generalise.
Thirdly, it’s enriching and confidence building for horses to do things like this and relationship building too. Tao really seems to enjoy this type of thing.
#halloweenvideo #horse #horsetraining #clickertraining #spooky #cleverhorse #funnyanimalvideo #horse
Lucy & Burley Archery
Lucy was told this couldn’t be done with positive reinforcement 💁♀️. It took time and hard work on Lucy’s part. We started in March. Burley is a very sensitive pony and can have big fear reactions so we knew it was a big ask, but Lucy also knew he would love horseback archery and I think she’s right. I can’t wait to see them proving everyone wrong! Good training (for the horse) should be boring - no big reactions, no drama. Thinly sliced in chunks they can cope with. This not only builds confidence, but the relationship too as they associate you with nice experiences. I absolutely love working on new things like this and having clients who put the work in and are willing to put their horse first, taking time to reach the end goal at the horse’s pace. Well worth the wait. Burley listens intently to Lucy’s ‘ready’ cue, which tells him what is about to happen, so it isn’t a shock. Love this partnership. A huge well done, Lucy. So happy for you, you deserve it and have worked really hard. (SD - systematic desensitisation. CC - counter conditioning) #horsebackarchery #horsemanship #horsetraining #clickertraining #kindtraining #evidencedbasedtraining #newforestpony #rewardbasedtraining
Bill Spanish Walk
Spanish horse or Welsh D? 🤔🤩 I just love Bill’s confidence and clear enjoyment of this movement 💥💪🏻 If Emma even vaguely makes a suggestion he gives a big YES. Such an impressive and expressive Spanish walk (especially compared to Tao’s 😂) but even more so when Bill has PSSM. Well done Emma and Bill. It’s been amazing to watch this develop. #spanishwalk #horsetraining #horsemanship #bitless #bitlessriding #joyinmovement #welshd
LIMA Instructor and Horse Trainer based in the UK using clicker training (positive reinforcement R+). Surrey, UK Instructor and trainer based in Surrey, UK.
