Many positive trainers are fond of of saying that an animal can be taught to do anything it is physically and mentally capable of doing. Behaviors are often taught through shaping–using successive approximations towards a final goal. (For instance, a trainer could teach a horse to put it’s nose in a trailer, then put two […]
Training Stories and Tips RSS feed for this section
Dogs, horses, and rats. Birds, goldfish, cats. Dolphins, raccoons, and elephants. What animals can’t we train? In this section you’ll find lots of great training stories and tips. You will also get to meet many of the wonderful animals that I get to train. I hope that you’ll enjoy reading about my adventures (and misadventures) and that these articles and tales can provide you with insight that will help you with your own animals.
Can you unsaddle your horse while cantering over jumps?
This is an incredibly impressive video. Watch the Metropolitan Mounted Police perform at the London International Horse of the Year Show in 2006. See three horses jumping in sync over a jump, horses jumping through fiery obstacles, riders taking on and off their jackets while jumping, and at the end, even taking off their saddles while […]
Overcoming Fear and the Power of Cues
This post is part of a series of several posts on cues. I recently watched one of Alexandra Kurland’s DVDs, Overcoming Fear and the Power of Cues. It was a fascinating look at positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, desensitization, fear and cues. Learn more about the DVD or purchase it on Alexandra’s website. Horseflix subscribers can […]
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 […]
Summer Camp Time!
I’ll be working this summer at Camp Summit, a camp in North Texas for children and adults with disabilities. I’ll be running the riding program, and will have 4 horses and 2 miniature horses to play with for the summer. The camp is pretty awesome, they have horses, a ropes challenge course, swimming, fishing, arts […]
Laurie Luck’s Smart Dog Blog
I’ve found a new blog that I really like. It’s the blog of Laurie Luck, a Certified Pet Dog Trainer and Karen Pryor Certified Training Partner. She also has a M.A. in psychology and is the Vice President of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. She’s recently blogged about two topics that are near […]