Chewie has been in heat for the past several days. What this means is that she is quite interested in flirting with the gelding in the next pasture. And, she is not overly interested in training games or enrichment games. She’s still happy to eat her breakfast when I visit in the morning, and we’ve […]
Chewie and I have both been traveling recently! I just returned from a wonderful three days in Chicago for this year’s ClickerExpo conference. My Friday morning lecture at ClickerExpo! The weekend was filled with lots of learning, as well as opportunities to catch up with old friends and meet many new friends. I felt honored […]
We’ve been playing with mats! I have structured these sessions so that they are exploratory in nature. I don’t have a concrete goal in mind, other than to provide an interesting, enriching experience while allowing Chewie to interact with something new. Chewie steps on the mats while sniffing them. Here’s how the session works. I […]
Earlier this year, I read Rachaël Draaisma’s book “Scentwork for Horses.” One exercise Rachaël includes in the book is creating a comfort map. A comfort map depicts where your horse is happy, as well as which places cause tension that may impact your horse’s comfort and ability to learn. I thought it would be fun […]
Chewie is more settled in at the new barn. She seems more confident about her surroundings and about interacting with me. Whether we are training or just hanging out, I want my interactions with Chewie to be based in positive reinforcement. Since her arrival, I have been exploring what Chewie likes. Or, in other words, […]
Chewie is now in a pasture with a white donkey named Blanca, and an older appaloosa mare, Allie. After the move, Chewie decided quickly that Allie was most definitely her long-lost best friend. We’ve been having some bitterly cold weather here in north Texas. I’ve been checking on Chewie a couple of times a day, […]
