Post by Calaminty Jane on Jan 23, 2014 22:49:16 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 was 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. 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 “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."
Jan 1, 2011
I Want to Dance with My Horse
How can I help my horse be right all the time? When I look back these last 10 years with Mac, I realize that even when I was trying my best to be positive, I was making him feel wrong most of the time…. Simply because I spent most of our time together with him having to guess what I wanted. Instead of directing him, I spent my time correcting/punishing him. I’ll always be grateful that I had the opportunity to meet Ray Hunt. I was fortunate enough to have a couple of private conversations with Ray. The 2 things I took away from those meetings were the beginning of understanding how hard I was making things for my horse. The first thing he said was….. most people tell their horse “I have something I’d like you to do. I’m going to give you a little information. You have to guess the rest… and… If you get it wrong I’m going to punish you”. Of course, I didn’t think that was true. I never hit my horse. Oh sure I had to correct him or encourage him now and again. So I asked Ray “What’s the difference between correction and punishment?” His answer” Correction is when they think it….. Punishment is when you allowed the step”. If you spent time with Ray at a clinic, you would be hard pressed to count the times he said “You’re late! You’re late!” Here is where I started to become aware of what my horse was thinking. I began to realize that he was always asking questions which, of course, I had been ignoring all this time. Should I slow down, should I turn, go faster??? He would guess. If he guessed right …. I would ignore it. If he would guess wrong, according to Ray, I would punish him by saying with my reins.... no not that. But again... he would have to try another guess. Horses that seem really reactive to your legs and reins are the over achievers. They desperately want to do what you want because they don't want to be punished by an abrupt correction. When they sense you are about to ask for something, they quickly throw out an answer. Preparation and very clear direction is the answer. I now try to be with my horse in a way that he doesn’t have to ask so many questions because I am riding with him … not just sitting. When he does have to ask a question, I try my best to answer in that next stride. I realize that someone fairly new to horses will read this and think “This is kind of out there”. I believe being with a horse in this way is no different than two people who dance very well together. We all dance with our horses…some people just dance a little better.
Do You Have the Right Horse?
My thoughts:
It’s too bad there isn’t a mandatory course on how to get the right horse for you. Most of the folks I have met with horses in the past 10 years had problems with their horses. I believe very strongly that “Horses Teach People and only then can People Teach Horses.” 99% of the horses that have problems did not get a good foundation. To me a good foundation gives the horse the information he needs to survive in our world. He has not been scared. He has learned to respond with respect without fear. Most horses are started by people who don’t have a clue of how horses learn and what motivates them.
This is where all the evergreen horses come from. 12 years old and rides like a 2 year old with baggage. That leaves the horse with nothing solid to fall back on when he gets into trouble.
Your horse should be able to fill in for you while you learn. That means you need a horse that has done what you want to do many times successfully.
If you have never ridden or haven’t ridden for a long time, you need that older horse that can forgive your mistakes without getting upset. His confidence will give you confidence. You’re a decent rider and decide to learn to jump. Again you need a horse that can help you learn. You want to trail ride. Until you know what to do to keep your horse out of trouble an older experienced horse is the answer. You will know when you have out grown that horse. If you have a serious problem with your horse, I believe the best thing you can do is find a horse that fills your present needs and let this other horse go to someone with more experience so you can both have a chance at success.
A lot of us keep the horses we get because .....I don’t want to give up on them.....We can learn together......I promised him a forever home.....I never sell a horse.....I love him. It took me a long time to understand that we may be doing the horse a disservice because he needs something we don’t have to give him. I think the mental well being of a horse is far more important than his physical well being. I feel when someone is willing to give up a horse that they have come to love... shows that love by giving them the best chance to be all that they can be. I believe you do it for them....not to them.
So what do I want to do with my horse? Do I have the right horse to do this? Up until this year, I had 4 horses. I had my liberty horse, my clinic horse, my driving horse and my trail horse. I realize that most of us can only have one horse. We all want the horse that can do it all but is that realistic? So what do I want to do with my horse the most? I need to find that horse that can do what ever that is. Getting a horse and hoping to make it what you want is somewhat like marrying someone and trying to chance him later. Maybe the best chance of success is to find a horse that’s pretty much what you want and then try to fine tune things.
We are in this to have fun …. Right!!! and don't forget..... Be Safe!
Carol
Always think about what you want..... not want you don't want.
Don’t try to break a habit...... just create a new one.