Tex the pony and I have been working on getting really, really good at backing up. This is one skill we’ve really been focusing on for the past several clicker training sessions. Backing up is good for Tex for two reasons. (Actually, there are probably a lot more reasons!) 1. Tex is quickly becoming a [...]
Hempfling Discusses Backing a Horse
Thanks for the comments on yesterday’s post. Today is my first day of classes. I’ll make it a goal this semester to write more about what I’m learning at school. I enjoy writing about what I’m learning (whether it’s in the classroom or the barn). I think writing helps me think back through things, organize [...]
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 [...]
Tex Practices Being Brave
The weather was perfect this weekend for playing with the ponies at the rescue. I spent quite a bit of time on Saturday working with Tex, one of our two year old ponies. He’s friendly and halter-broke, but really hasn’t had a whole lot of training. Tex was absolutely TERRIFIED of people when we first [...]
The Worming Adventure Continues
I wrote recently about our success worming 40 of the 41 rescue horses in a single day. The final mare, Daisy, refused the flavored wormer that we had mixed in with some tasty senior feed. Smart girl! She knew that something was amiss. So, Dawn and I returned to the other property last Friday with [...]
Horse Swap!
We swapped around a bunch of the horses at the rescue almost two weeks ago. We currently have about 30 horses on a friend’s 25 acres (plus use of the pasture next to it, which is 35 acres). These are many of the Iowa horses that we are currently available for adoption, plus some of [...]
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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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