Two short video clips today of Tex, the pony who I recently started riding. The first is a clip of him getting his ears scratched. He was absolutely LOVING this! I wish I had the camera zoomed in a bit more, it was pure bliss on his face. However, you’ll get the idea. I think [...]
Tex Moves Forward
Tex is moving forward under saddle. At least, that’s the goal! Recently, I posted a bit of video footage from Tex’s second ride. He’s had about half a dozen rides now, most about 10-15 minutes long. We’ve been playing around with stop and go, as well as steering. I want Tex to be really confident [...]
Tex’s Second Ride
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we’ve started riding Tex, one of the ponies at the rescue. This is pretty exciting because it is a huge milestone in his training. So far, I’m happy to report, he’s been brave and confident and taken everything completely in stride. Here’s a short clip from Wednesday (his second [...]
A new year and three new horses
A (slightly belated) happy new year! I must admit, I got quite busy with finals and then the holidays during December and, as a result, neglected my duties to this blog. But it’s a new year and I plan to get back to a fairly regular posting schedule. We’ve been busy at the rescue with [...]
Introducing Sebastian to a Saddle Pad (video)
This is the first of several posts on introducing a young horse to a saddle. Sebastian and I have been playing a lot with saddle blankets, cinches, bareback pads and saddles over the past month. He’s done great and accepted all of this in stride. In fact, the first time I saddled him, he stood [...]
How long does it take to train a horse?
Question: How long does it take to train a horse? Answer: As long as it takes. This is a follow up post to my previous post, In a Whisper or In a Shout? Training under Time Restraints, which discussed training unhandled colts in 2 1/2 hours. Do you remember the story of the tortoise and [...]
In a Whisper or In a Shout? Training under Time Constraints
Recently I watched a documentary film called In A Whisper. It’s a DVD of a colt starting challenge that was held in Fort Worth in 2002. The three trainers in the competition, Craig Cameron, Pat Parelli and Josh Lyons, each had 2 1/2 hours to start a two year old colt. The horses had very [...]
What’s the best way to train an animal?
Stale Cheerios will help you learn new knowledge and techniques to take your training skills to the next level. So stick around, your animals will be grateful!
I'm a graduate student studying the science of behavior and training. On this blog I share stories of my animal training adventures, as well as tips, techniques and tricks to help you improve your training. Although most of this blog centers around training rescue horses, the ideas discussed apply equally to all species. The other animals I work with, including dogs and rats, also appear occasionally on the blog.
Mary Hunter
cheeriotrainer@gmail.com
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