This is the last blog in a six part series on teaching your horse to cooperate and participate in hoof handling. Tip 11: Building duration on hoof stands plus some troubleshooting tips I use my hoof stand for all four positions: front feet sole up in cradle, front feet extended on post, hind feet flexed (sole up) in cradle, and hind feet flexed forward sole down on stand. When I […]
This is the fifth blog in a six part series on teaching your horse to cooperate and participate in hoof handling. Tip 9: Prepare and train for farrier visits If you hire someone else to trim or shoe your horse, you’ll need to teach your horse the behaviors he needs for your farrier. In most cases, these will be variations on the behaviors you have already trained, but you will […]
This is the fourth blog in a six part series on teaching your horse to cooperate and participate in hoof handling. Tip 7: Take breaks This is the simplest tip, but probably one of the most important because I find it’s easy to become too goal oriented when working on hoof handling. There is often a sense of urgency, especially if the horse’s feet are in need of attention. But […]
This is the third blog in a six part series on teaching your horse to cooperate and participate in hoof handling. Tip 5: Teach the horse to let you move her leg/foot Once the horse accepts hand contact on her leg and I can hold her foot up briefly, it’s time to work on teaching her to hold it up for longer periods of time (duration) and to stay relaxed […]
This is the second blog in a six part series on teaching your horse to cooperate and participate in hoof handling. The next two tips are most useful when the horse has learned to lift the foot up and when you are just building duration, or when there is some extra behavior happening between the click and treat. In both cases, I am focusing on building a clean behavior chain […]
Being able to safely handle and take care of our horse’s feet is an essential part of good horsemanship. But it’s not always easy. Horses usually have a natural reluctance to allow their feet to be handled and restrained and can show their anxiety by moving around or kicking out. Or, the horse may have learned the opposite approach, which is to pretend he is made of concrete and keep […]
On July 29, 2018, I clicked on the “publish” button for my book, Teaching Horses with Positive Reinforcement. Then I went and hid under the bed. Well, not really – although I might have been tempted to do the adult equivalent. While I was relieved to be done, I was not sure how the book would be received. That was a year ago. Since then, the book has been selling […]
I’ve just finished reading the book, Animal Behavior, by Keller and Marian Breland. The book was originally published in 1966 and was written as a “supplemental text to promote closer understanding and cooperation between those in the fields of psychology and biology, especially college and high school teachers.” The book was well received in some circles and an updated version was planned, but when the revisions were lost in a […]
Ken Ramirez has been a professional animal trainer for almost 40 years. I am constantly amazed at the scope of his work. He has trained more species for more different applications and in more environments than anyone else I have met. He currently works as the Executive Vice President and Chief Training Officer for Karen Pryor Clicker Training and does consulting work for other organizations. At this conference, he talked […]
Barbara Heidenreich is an animal training and behavior consultant specializing in avian, exotic and zoo animal training. She travels and teaches all over the world and has been involved in many fascinating training projects. In past conferences, she has talked about her work as a consultant within the zoo and exotic animal community. At this conference she shared the work she has done with orangutans in Borneo. Orangutans have become […]
