Comments on: ORCA: Part 1. Steve Martin http://stalecheerios.com/blog/horse-training/orca-part-1-steve-martin/ a serial for positive animal training Sun, 20 May 2012 03:33:35 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: An Elephant Never Forgets (Ever?) | Stale Cheerios http://stalecheerios.com/blog/horse-training/orca-part-1-steve-martin/comment-page-1/#comment-6889 An Elephant Never Forgets (Ever?) | Stale Cheerios Sun, 17 Oct 2010 03:15:08 +0000 http://stalecheerios.com/blog/?p=241#comment-6889 [...] Many times when a horse, dog or other pet won’t follow a cue or command, the trainer grumbles that the animal has “forgotten” the command. I know I’ve done this too before! It’s easier to blame the animal for forgetting, then to see if there’s possibly something else going on. Rather than labeling an animal as stubborn or forgetful, take the time to reevaluate your training program. As bird trainer Steve Martin says, we must take responsibility for our animal’s behavior! [...] [...] Many times when a horse, dog or other pet won’t follow a cue or command, the trainer grumbles that the animal has “forgotten” the command. I know I’ve done this too before! It’s easier to blame the animal for forgetting, then to see if there’s possibly something else going on. Rather than labeling an animal as stubborn or forgetful, take the time to reevaluate your training program. As bird trainer Steve Martin says, we must take responsibility for our animal’s behavior! [...]

]]> By: Mary H. http://stalecheerios.com/blog/horse-training/orca-part-1-steve-martin/comment-page-1/#comment-85 Mary H. Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:19:54 +0000 http://stalecheerios.com/blog/?p=241#comment-85 Really good points, Dolores. I think the halter is an important tool for training. And used right, it's a great tool for communicating to the horse what we want, where he should go, and how he should carry himself. And I think most clicker trainers make great use of halters. My problem with halters starts when people start using them as a crutch. That is, when people use the halter to manipulate and control the horse, rather than actually spending the time to teach the horse. I have not seen the Why Would You Leave Me DVD yet. It's one of the next ones on my list to buy. I'll let you know what I think of it when I get to watch it! I think liberty work, online work and riding are all important for a horse's training. We should be careful not to over emphasize one piece and instead focus on using all three to develop the horse. I think this balance ends up being slightly different for each horse. But, if the rider finds a good balance of all three, I think the liberty work benefits the online and riding work, and vise versa. Mary Really good points, Dolores.

I think the halter is an important tool for training. And used right, it’s a great tool for communicating to the horse what we want, where he should go, and how he should carry himself. And I think most clicker trainers make great use of halters.

My problem with halters starts when people start using them as a crutch. That is, when people use the halter to manipulate and control the horse, rather than actually spending the time to teach the horse.

I have not seen the Why Would You Leave Me DVD yet. It’s one of the next ones on my list to buy. I’ll let you know what I think of it when I get to watch it!

I think liberty work, online work and riding are all important for a horse’s training. We should be careful not to over emphasize one piece and instead focus on using all three to develop the horse. I think this balance ends up being slightly different for each horse. But, if the rider finds a good balance of all three, I think the liberty work benefits the online and riding work, and vise versa.

Mary

]]> By: Dolores Arste http://stalecheerios.com/blog/horse-training/orca-part-1-steve-martin/comment-page-1/#comment-84 Dolores Arste Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:09:54 +0000 http://stalecheerios.com/blog/?p=241#comment-84 It's important not to put too much emphasis on Liberty work if your goal is to ride your horse. The horse needs to learn how to keep you safe. He also needs to learn the best way to carry you to stay sound. I love liberty work. We don't put halters on to trap the horse. On the contrary, we use them as communication tools to help the horse shape himself in an ideal way. Alexandra Kurland's Why Would You Leave Me is on perfect example of this concept. It stars my Morgan Harvey who is an expert at teaching this concept to potential horse trainers and riders. When you ride, you are a team. I believe a more appropriate way to look at the halter/bridle work is in the framework of Mimicry. I good rider will by shaping herself, then allow the horse to shape himself via mimicry or as we say "Get the horse hooked on balance" It’s important not to put too much emphasis on Liberty work if your goal is to ride your horse. The horse needs to learn how to keep you safe. He also needs to learn the best way to carry you to stay sound.

I love liberty work. We don’t put halters on to trap the horse. On the contrary, we use them as communication tools to help the horse shape himself in an ideal way.

Alexandra Kurland’s Why Would You Leave Me is on perfect example of this concept. It stars my Morgan Harvey who is an expert at teaching this concept to potential horse trainers and riders.

When you ride, you are a team. I believe a more appropriate way to look at the halter/bridle work is in the framework of Mimicry.
I good rider will by shaping herself, then allow the horse to shape himself via mimicry or as we say “Get the horse hooked on balance”

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