Post by Calaminty Jane on Mar 12, 2011 9:18:47 GMT -5
Rewards-Carrots and Cookies
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Motivator and Reward
What do you think of as a reward for you? I like ice cream myself. But I think of that as just a treat. Not much of a motivator. I would like to have won the saddle that Dennis offered a while back for my hard work. That would have been a nice reward. That saddle was a real motivator. When I think about motivating my horse to do what I would like, it’s not hard to figure out the motivator. Dennis and my horses tell me….. pressure. And the reward …..the total release of pressure… rest.
What I have been thinking about is how can I use this “Concept” in different ways? I know I can put pressure on my horse… maybe even drive him forward… to get him to stop and look at me. Some folks use this same concept without realizing it. I heard a story the other day about a famous race horse that won his first 17 races. When he lost the 18th coming in second, his jockey couldn’t stop him from going to the winners circle. They said it took 5 men to remove him so the winner could come in. The race was a real motivator and the winners circle was the reward. If you watch someone train a horse to spin, many will work the horse in a very small circle… winding the circle down until they can stop the hind end and take that momentum into a spin. After the spin, the horse gets the rest/reward. Soon the horse can’t wait to spin. He begins to say “Can I spin now! Can I spin now! “Pretty soon, the circle isn't necessary. The horse would rather just get to the spin. Mac can be very claustrophobic. When I was trying to open a gate with him, I couldn’t get him close enough to even touch the gate. I took him a few feet away… made several tight and quick circles and then went to the gate to rest. We were still 5 ft from the gate. It took about 5-6 times and we were parked at the gate. Now the gate draws him like a magnet.
Natural horsemanship to me is understanding how horses learn and how to motivate them. When I have a problem now, I think about how I can use this concept. If the rest doesn’t seem to be working or the horses attitude is a little “ho hum” ….. maybe I need to “step up” the pressure/motivator. Ah! That’s how you get, as Dennis says “Sparkle”!! This seems to work for me as long as the horse has a thorough understanding of what I'm asking.
Ah Ha…. New thought! What is pressure??? When you teach your horse something new, how do you set things up for him so he can find it? When you ask your horse to go forward, how does he know that is what you want? The very first time he was asked to go forward with someone on his back, how did he know what to do?
When you first went to work, someone explained to you what the job was. They did this with words I assume. Once you knew the job, because you have a good work ethic and you wanted the please those around you and you have pride in everything you do, you did your very best. The only way you knew you were on track was because of the feedback you got, the pay check you got and the fact that you still have a job.
But why did you go to work in the first place? Pressure??? So what is pressure? Does it have to be something physical …? A touch???
I vividly remember watching a student with a clinician. She closed her eyes as she sat on her horse. She held the rein as he held the other end. With no visible movement, she felt the energy from him. That was a very emotional moment for many of us that were watching as we realized how much unnecessary pressure we were putting on our horses. What I learned in that moment is the most important reason I’ve had some success with my very introverted horse Jones. He would be described by most as dull, obstinate, unresponsive, heavy and stubborn and so on. When in fact he is super sensitive, easily scared, very slow to trust but has more try than any horse I have ever had. He is the type of horse that seems quiet and will temp someone to do more instead of offering the lightest of pressure that he needs to motivate him. I love the way I’ve learned to offer an opening and let him find it. When I can ask him to speed up and slow down by pretty much just thinking. But for sure, none of us started there. I guess the simplest way to describe my interpretation of the pressure I now put on my horse is to ask in the softest way I can and then try to get the same response with less next time. Ray Hunt would say.... "Good!" "Now, can you do half as much"
In re-reading these thoughts, they seem a little contradictory. Put more pressure on for motivation. Put less pressure on for refinement. How do I know how much and when to put pressure on??? What I try to do is to ask with the smallest amount I can. Just imagine it in my mind and if nothing happens, I add something. If I feel the slightest change in my horse or see acknowledgement.... a flick of the ear .... a shift of weight etc. I know that once he understands what I want... that will be the amount of pressure needed to get the job done. Once he tells me that he is aware that I'm asking for something, I should be able to direct him. He will probably do one of 3 things. Comply, ask a question or say "maybe later" LOL. If he asks a question, I will usually stop and start again with more clear direction. If he says maybe later, I will ask again with a little more pressure. If he reacts instead of responds, I know I did too much.
So to me, like everything with horses, it is a balance. Not too little (no response) Not too much (reaction or brace) When I get brace, I usually will hold and wait as I never want to release on a brace. Reading the horse comes with time. Because it is so easy to think a horse is refusing when, in fact, he is asking a question, I’m more apt to assume he needs better direction. Once you have established your leadership by moving his body parts, I really believe the horse will not say "no"...... he'll only say "I don't know."
Carol
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Motivator and Reward
What do you think of as a reward for you? I like ice cream myself. But I think of that as just a treat. Not much of a motivator. I would like to have won the saddle that Dennis offered a while back for my hard work. That would have been a nice reward. That saddle was a real motivator. When I think about motivating my horse to do what I would like, it’s not hard to figure out the motivator. Dennis and my horses tell me….. pressure. And the reward …..the total release of pressure… rest.
What I have been thinking about is how can I use this “Concept” in different ways? I know I can put pressure on my horse… maybe even drive him forward… to get him to stop and look at me. Some folks use this same concept without realizing it. I heard a story the other day about a famous race horse that won his first 17 races. When he lost the 18th coming in second, his jockey couldn’t stop him from going to the winners circle. They said it took 5 men to remove him so the winner could come in. The race was a real motivator and the winners circle was the reward. If you watch someone train a horse to spin, many will work the horse in a very small circle… winding the circle down until they can stop the hind end and take that momentum into a spin. After the spin, the horse gets the rest/reward. Soon the horse can’t wait to spin. He begins to say “Can I spin now! Can I spin now! “Pretty soon, the circle isn't necessary. The horse would rather just get to the spin. Mac can be very claustrophobic. When I was trying to open a gate with him, I couldn’t get him close enough to even touch the gate. I took him a few feet away… made several tight and quick circles and then went to the gate to rest. We were still 5 ft from the gate. It took about 5-6 times and we were parked at the gate. Now the gate draws him like a magnet.
Natural horsemanship to me is understanding how horses learn and how to motivate them. When I have a problem now, I think about how I can use this concept. If the rest doesn’t seem to be working or the horses attitude is a little “ho hum” ….. maybe I need to “step up” the pressure/motivator. Ah! That’s how you get, as Dennis says “Sparkle”!! This seems to work for me as long as the horse has a thorough understanding of what I'm asking.
Ah Ha…. New thought! What is pressure??? When you teach your horse something new, how do you set things up for him so he can find it? When you ask your horse to go forward, how does he know that is what you want? The very first time he was asked to go forward with someone on his back, how did he know what to do?
When you first went to work, someone explained to you what the job was. They did this with words I assume. Once you knew the job, because you have a good work ethic and you wanted the please those around you and you have pride in everything you do, you did your very best. The only way you knew you were on track was because of the feedback you got, the pay check you got and the fact that you still have a job.
But why did you go to work in the first place? Pressure??? So what is pressure? Does it have to be something physical …? A touch???
I vividly remember watching a student with a clinician. She closed her eyes as she sat on her horse. She held the rein as he held the other end. With no visible movement, she felt the energy from him. That was a very emotional moment for many of us that were watching as we realized how much unnecessary pressure we were putting on our horses. What I learned in that moment is the most important reason I’ve had some success with my very introverted horse Jones. He would be described by most as dull, obstinate, unresponsive, heavy and stubborn and so on. When in fact he is super sensitive, easily scared, very slow to trust but has more try than any horse I have ever had. He is the type of horse that seems quiet and will temp someone to do more instead of offering the lightest of pressure that he needs to motivate him. I love the way I’ve learned to offer an opening and let him find it. When I can ask him to speed up and slow down by pretty much just thinking. But for sure, none of us started there. I guess the simplest way to describe my interpretation of the pressure I now put on my horse is to ask in the softest way I can and then try to get the same response with less next time. Ray Hunt would say.... "Good!" "Now, can you do half as much"
In re-reading these thoughts, they seem a little contradictory. Put more pressure on for motivation. Put less pressure on for refinement. How do I know how much and when to put pressure on??? What I try to do is to ask with the smallest amount I can. Just imagine it in my mind and if nothing happens, I add something. If I feel the slightest change in my horse or see acknowledgement.... a flick of the ear .... a shift of weight etc. I know that once he understands what I want... that will be the amount of pressure needed to get the job done. Once he tells me that he is aware that I'm asking for something, I should be able to direct him. He will probably do one of 3 things. Comply, ask a question or say "maybe later" LOL. If he asks a question, I will usually stop and start again with more clear direction. If he says maybe later, I will ask again with a little more pressure. If he reacts instead of responds, I know I did too much.
So to me, like everything with horses, it is a balance. Not too little (no response) Not too much (reaction or brace) When I get brace, I usually will hold and wait as I never want to release on a brace. Reading the horse comes with time. Because it is so easy to think a horse is refusing when, in fact, he is asking a question, I’m more apt to assume he needs better direction. Once you have established your leadership by moving his body parts, I really believe the horse will not say "no"...... he'll only say "I don't know."
Carol