Something Clicked!

Two days of clicker play with Cricket and I'm wondering why I never stuck with this before.

I started with targeting a small plastic cone and also introduced standing on a mat.  Cricket picked up targeting after a few clicks.  Almost like, "Hey! I remember this!"  The mat took her a moment but it wasn't long before she was doing something with it.

I did four short sessions on Friday and four sessions yesterday.  By the time we were done last night, she had just about figured out the idea was to put both feet on the mat.  In clicking her for duration, I started to select for a "pretty girl pose" - eyes forward, chin slightly tucked.  I can't get her ears forward because she ends up standing sideways to me and one ear is always on me!  Eventually we'll get it.

This is the beginning of a major change.  I need to process some more before I post.

Behavior as Information

It has, to be quite honest, been too bloody hot to do anything with the horses.  Even thinking about going outside makes me break out in a clammy sweat.

We have had record heat this summer.  With actual temperatures hovering between 98-105 degrees and humidity enough to create heat indices of 108-112, it really is too hot.

So I've been reading and thinking.

I started Mark Rashid's Whole Heart, Whole Horse.  I was browsing somewhere and a description for this book popped up.  Something about it intrigued me and I wanted to read more.  Mark Rashid is easy to read and he has a talent for telling stories and weaving lessons into the stories.

He has a chapter entitled, "Information" and in it he says the following:

A lot of folks look at unwanted behavior . . . as bad behavior.  But if we understand that horses can't separate the way they feel from the way they act, then we can start to see that unwanted behavior isn't bad behavior at all.  More times than not, it's just the horse expressing the way he feels at that particular moment in time.  He's just giving us information, that's all.  How we perceive that information dictates how we respond to it.

I don't know, but there's something about that passage that creates a paradigm shift in how I view everything my horses do.

My Precious Ponies

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my horses?

Almost from the moment I laid eyes on her, Cricket has held my heart and soul.  Bleu is softly stealing her way in and claiming her own space.

Friday was one of those days in which I was simply in awe of the spirit and heart of both my girls.

Whenever my brother and his family come to town, there is always a pilgrimage to the barn to see Cricket.  It's a highlight of the visit and one of the few things that is always on the agenda when they are in town.  Which is once or twice a year.

I was a little nervous about this visit.  Cricket has been just a little off, mentally rather than physically, and Bleu is as yet untested, at least in my experience.  I decided to let my sister-in-law cruise around the arena on Bleu while I led the kids around on Cricket.  With a little coaching, I felt Candace would be safe with Bleu and Cricket is generally well behaved when I have the lead line.

Both my girls just blew me away!  Bleu and Candace walked all over the arena, relaxed and calm.  Cricket took her job of carrying Jacob and Sarah with absolute care.  Bleu was confident and at ease; Cricket was motivated and interested.  Wow!

The kids even took turns leading Cricket around, putting her through her paces of crossing the tarp, pushing the ball and standing on the pedestal.  Cricket acted like she's been doing this her whole life.  She was simply amazing.

My sister joined us.  Jenn wants to ride but she's quite anxious about being on a horse.  She carefully climbed on Bleu and I led her around, giving her soft instructions to relax her knees and shoulders.  Bleu walked with calm, cadenced steps, giving Jenn the chance to relax and become comfortable.

I was so unbelievably pleased with Bleu's attitude of calm and Cricket's attitude of tolerance.  I spent the day just grinning every time I thought about it.

Step By Step

Every goal can be broken into mini goals. Mini goals should never be too difficult or too long. You don’t want to be overwhelmed by them.

Ask yourself: “What steps do I need to take to achieve my goal?"

- Goal Setting Course, Step 6

I've been a bit remiss in following my goal setting journey.  No worries, getting back on track.

So this is the step that answers a lot of questions about the first step, setting the goal.  The goal, the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow, is achieved step by step.  Putting one foot in front of the other, doing one thing at a time.

My monthly goals will count as my mini-goals.  The actual things I need to do to progress me towards the ultimate goal of becoming excellent in my horsemanship.

I have pulled out my nice notebook.  I've not quite gotten to the stage of writing down on paper.  Things have been busy and topsy-turvy the last few days.  Things should be better this coming week.

More Natural than Natural Horsemanship?

Late last night I finished reading Karen Pryor's newest book, Reaching the Animal Mind.  I bought it as part of my renewed interest in clicker training.  I thought it would be a fun read and get me psyched up to fool around with CT and Cricket.

Boy howdy was I wrong!

If you've ever been even remotely curious about clicker training, read this book.

It starts out very anecdotal - Karen tells stories of her various experiences with clicker trained animals, weaving through out the stories the benefits of clicker training over conventional or traditional methods.

And just when you think this is a cute book about some cute animals, she introduces the science that simply blows your mind.

Clicker training accesses the deep, primitive structures of the brain: the amygdala, or "reptilian brain" and the hypothalamus, part of our emotional center.  Learning in these two structures is different than the more evolved cerebral cortex.  Clicker training taps into the more immediate, permanent learning of the amygdala and the hypothalamus.

Could it be that clicker training is more natural than even natural horsemanship?

I wish I could explain it as eloquently as Karen laid it all out in her book.  I simply cannot recommend this book enough.

I understand, now, the light in Cricket's eyes when I pull out the clicker and the treats.  It's not the food (read the book and you'll understand why!).  It's something so much more than that.  I cannot wait to get this started again!