Compassionate Horse Click Public Page

Happy 4th of July! Celebrating with Eclipse CHC style! #4thofJuly

Teach your Horse to Love Going Forward with Enthusiasm! Adrienne Edwards, Mustang owner is asks how to help their horse enjoy moving forward without the use of pressure. Melissa Spell Deal, Compassionate Horse Click Founder and Coach explains & shares a short clip of a horse that is just starting to trot in an environment where she's been historically distracted and unresponsive. For a transcript of this video, email [email protected] or PM your email address to Melissa Spell Deal +R horse training tips!

Turnout Safely

Hershey’s post : The other day mom came out to teach ‘Lovely Loading’ at liberty from the CHC Course . While she was putting the camera on the tripod with her back turned to me , I thought I would save her the trouble of a training session, and just get on the trailer before she turned around ! You should have seen the look on her face !😳 ~ Shared by CHC Mastery Graduate Sharon Worona

Are you training -AT HOME ALONE, -IN A PASTURE or -BY Yourself???? Jen in this video does. Check out the amazing results she’s having with her young horse Koda on the trail! Jen started this boy who was a bit wild and wooly just over a year ago even on the ground, and he’s now becoming a calm and confident horse that enjoys trail riding - Using positive reinforcement -and our online program and coaching. You’ll see in the video that Koda’s First time out on the trail with another horse was super reinforcing experience for both Koda, the young horse who used to struggle to stay calm and now enjoys riding out and his owner. Jen Foust, has done all of his training HERSELF (it’s her first time starting a horse with +R and she’s trained everything from self-haltering and picking up feet, to starting under saddle and riding out on the trail, loading and more…) with ONLINE support from Melissa and the Compassionate Horse Style Online Coaching and Community! This handsome blue roan Arabian/Welsh cross recently went from starting as a bit of a wild young gelding (even on the ground) and being fearful under saddle including on the trail to… (DRUM ROLL) RIDING out in the woods first ALONE and now with another horse which was anticipated for this particular horse to be potentially more challenging. On this trail ride, he remained attentive and calm even when that horse passed, then left him and stayed behind, allowing the youngster (Koda) to be far in the lead. Meanwhile a bunch of dogs (which he used to be incredibly irritated by and sometimes aggressive towards before +R training) added to the challenge by running all around him during the ride. How did this positive transformation happen? Watch the short video and hear how Koda, this young previously untrained horse is doing on the trail after about a year and a half of having started him with Positive Reinforcement Training - online – in the Compassionate Horse Click program with Melissa Spell De

#CHCSophie Eats Quietly in Close Proximity to another Horse -Post 38 We’ve spent a lot of time gradually helping Sophie become more comfortable while eating first in the presence of humans and eventually near other horses. This is the first horse that she has been comfortable with eating in close proximity. She seems to have a strong affiliative bond with this horse which helps immensely and he is above her in the resource hierarchy of food. While both of these things are strong contributors, it’s not been an overnight success and we had to work our way in by feeding her a hundred feet away or so and gradually moving her closer. Before moving into the stocks, we fed on the other side of a wall between the stocks and Sophie. Then slowly we moved her food bowl closer and closer, eventually feeding her in the back edge of the stocks, then halfway to the place where you see her eating quietly now. Next step, try this with another horse when the behavior you see here is consistent. One more thing to note is that the sound of water on the roof used to set her off and she couldn’t eat if it was dripping so this is a big change for sweet Sophie! If you want to see more about how we trained Sophie to be comfy in the feeding stocks check out #CHCSophie #OTTB Post Post 33 Aggressive Behavior at Feeding Time: Steps & Progress . . . #horsebehavior #positivereinforcementtraining #weclick #foodagression

#CHCSophie Liberty Leading - Post 36 Do you own a horse that’s forward or has a lot of energy at liberty? Discovere how we can help these horses find slowing down, stopping and standing still to be equally reinforcing and vice versa in liberty leading. (Remember, they lead how they ride to a great degree so it’s important to have a clear language of mutual consent and understanding on the ground, first.) One of the paramount things to recognize is what the horse finds reinforcing and then balance the opposite behavior with something that they find valuable – without amping them up or causing excitement. Check out #OTTB, Sophie as she exerts impulse control of her own volition while liberty leading. This is a key factor to safety both on the ground and under saddle and it all starts here – at liberty – with her choices. We’d love to share more with you and have you join the growing movement of compassionate horse people who are committed to connecting with their horses in a gentle and soulful manner. Find your inner circle…positively reinforce yourself and your horse, Compassionate Horse Click Style…with one-one-one online coaching and consults, courses and community. . . . #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraininghorses #trainingwithtrust

#CHCSophie Post 35 - Alternate food/ treat ideas! The type of food reinforcers can make ALL the difference when training horses. Have you been looking for a few tips on alternatives to commercial cookies? Check out this video where we discuss: 🌟High fiber satiating food reinforcers 🌟 Layering your bucket or treat pouch 🌟 Using volume 🌟 Variability Drop a GIF if you’ve used sweet potatoes, we’d love to know. And, if you’d like to join a community of like-minded +R horse peeps and want to learn more about how to reinforce yourself and your horse and want us to reach out, let us know in the comments below. Happy Clicking with your horse! . . . #horsebehavior #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraininghorses #trainingwithtrust #thoroughbredrehab

#CHCSophie Post 34 The secret to self-bridling, self-haltering and having something easy to make into a game under saddle all starts with training a head down cue. Check out Sophie as she polishes her head down behavior and beings learning to stay. The stay is the first step in our Marvelous Mounting lessons in the Training Compassionate Horse Click Style online course for Positive Reinforcement Horse Trainers and those interested in building the relationship of a lifetime with their horses (using a gentle language of mutual consent and reward-based training methods). Love to see a video of your horse doing one of these things in the comments below! . . . #horsebehavior #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraininghorses #trainingwithtrust #thoroughbredrehab

Feeding time- progress is progress

#CHC Sophie - Post 32 Saddle pad at liberty

#CHCSophie #OTTB - Post 32 Re-Introducing the Saddle Pad at Liberty Conditioning Sophie’s acceptance of the saddle pad at liberty has progressed to a new context in challenging circumstances. In this video, we are able to touch her on a -crisp night, -in the dark, -away from our tacking area, -on her right side which was the most difficult, with speed and vigor. This is the first time in this particular context and she handles it like the ROCKSTAR she is! . . . #horsebehavior #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraininghorses #trainingwithtrust #thoroughbredrehab #saddlepad

#CHCSophie #OTTB Post Post 31 Liberty Leading with Target Sadly, fear of: 👎 whips and 👎 sticks can also cause horses to be fearful of #targets and often are associated with round pens as well. We’ve previously done liberty leading reliably in other contexts and also acclimated Sophie to the round pen on her own time. In addition, we’ve done liberty leading her without a target, tacking, picking up feed, grooming and more to help her find the round pen to have a more positive association. Now we are adding a target and gradually increasing the length. The rate of reinforcement is high with an *emphasis on downward transitions* and keeping her soft and calm in her own skin during this short session that ends with a jackpot. She’s also rewarded when she’s straight and soft and gives me plenty of safe space. Her default is to push into people with her shoulder to get food and there is no sign of it in this video. 🙌 Eventually, we’ll replace the target used in this video with a whip used as the target to help her become more resilient should she ever encounter one. ??What might I do differently in this session after watching the video? Probably not extended the target a second time and stayed with a lower criteria for the remainder of the session.?? . . #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraininghorses #trainingwithtrust #libertyleading #thoroughbredrehab

#CHCSophie #OTTB Post 30 Response to Body Work Update We’re finding that Sophie is relaxing more in her body work. She was really leaning into Lil and her hands before we started filming, muddy coat and all, lol. Seriously, she was so into it especially around the points of her hip in the direction of her tail. It was really surprising to see in comparison to her past behavior of being so protective of her hind end. Since this session she’s repeatedly embraced massage and bodywork in that area and is letting the work go deeper each time. In my humble opinion, the reason that she’s doing this is because of Lil’s energetic approach. I see horses resist body work sometimes and it’s often because the human is going too far, too fast for the horse. Lil essentially asks permission at each layer, ie, step, of approaching the horse and never goes further than the horse is comfortable. This is very much in line with the +R training Lil and I have been doing together over the past few years with the training horses, her horses and Compassionate Horse Click endeavors. Not to say that we never miss the mark and need to change our specific timing, presentation or approach but using the horse’s feedback as our guide, the intentions are to: 🐴 always honor the horse and have their consent. 🐴 do things with them, not to them. 🐴 go slow, to go faster and more effectively 🐴 make sure the horse finds whatever we are doing beneficial! All of this of course is based on the fact that the more comfy the horse is in their body, the better their capacity for learning. Stay tuned! PS every single video no matter how simple shows me something I’d like to see done differently. This one is no exception. Would prefer to see a flat halter used instead of the rope one. . . #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraininghorses #trainingwithtrust #equinebodywork #thoroughbredrehab

#CHCSophie #OTTB Post 29 - Creating Calm around the Food Helping horses have a default behavior of head straight and soft can go a long way towards giving them: -comfort when they are afraid -something to do when they are confused -encouraging impulse control -helping them like staying in a safe space/at a safe distance during training When you feed and what the horse is doing at the time they receive the reinforcer is important. Do you have a pushy horse? Or, do you just want to create more relaxation around food? If you’re interested in learning how to teach your horse this behavior and would like some online coaching or to know more about our online course and community, just drop a note in the comments and say, Yes Please. We’d love to know what you’re doing +R-wise with your OTTB - Leave a comment/ post a pic below. . . . #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #clickertraininghorses #trainingwithtru