Gracie is an older grey mare who lives at the rescue. No one knows her exact age, but she’s probably around 18. Gracie was rescued in 2007 from a feed lot in Nevada where she was on her way to the slaughter house. When Gracie was rescued, she was absolutely terrified of people. She was [...]
Sheriff the Shy (but curious!) Donkey
Sheriff the donkey was recently rescued and already has a new home! However, he is staying at the rescue for a short while until he can go to his new home. He is curious and interested in people, but can still be a bit shy and skeptical, especially when being approached. Once you get close, [...]
Boomer’s First Session with Halter Training
Boomer is one of the few horses left at the rescue who isn’t halter trained. I started working with him yesterday and he’s doing great so far! Boomer was pretty hesitant and skeptical about people, so I started with him using the CAT procedure. Prior to yesterday he would sometimes let us touch him on [...]
Training a 35 Pound Rodent? Oh My!
I’ve started volunteering at the Heard Museum with ORCA (a lab in UNT’s behavior analysis department that focuses on animal training). One of the species we worked with on my first trip to the Heard was the Patagonian cavy, a 35 pound South American rodent. I’ll admit, before going out there, I really had no [...]
Waterhole Ritual 2: Saying Hello
I’ve been discussing Carolyn Resnick’s 7 waterhole Rituals. (Read more about Carolyn here.) The second ritual, Saying Hello, deals with how we approach and greet our horses, especially at the beginning of the relationship. Many people are incredibly unobservant of their horse’s body language. They barge in with halter and lead, get the horse, and then [...]
Waterhole Ritual 1: Sharing Territory
Sharing Territory: When we sit in one spot, we become a curiosity. I’ve recently watched Carolyn Resnick’s DVD, “An Introduction to the Waterhole Rituals,” which discusses the 7 rituals she uses to develop a relationship and begin training a horse. The first two rituals focus on establishing a bond with the horse and are invaluable [...]
Some Recent Photos of Shiloh
Shiloh is a young dun QH gelding who I’ve been playing with at the rescue where I volunteer. He spent 90 days at the beginning of this year with a local trainer who mainly uses the Parelli program. He is curious, but shy, and prior to training, he was incredibly skeptical of people. The trainer [...]
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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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