More Piglet work with the lead rein and it is getting easier to take hold of the rein with a pattern of fake rub, real rub, hold rope click, click, click, treat.
In recent years Caroline has been engaging with her horse using clicker training and although Tigerlily is now thirteen, she is keen to find out if she might accept her first rider. Today she asked me to go and assess her.
I'm frequently told by lots of people along the training spectrum, many of whom have never taken the time to actually come and see what I do, that you cannot or should not combine clicker training with IH. All I can say is that for me it works and I have now been doing it for years. The combination of positive reinforcement with gentle and subtle negative reinforcement works very well. I take the trouble to have very little contrast between the two. No-one who leads or rides their horse can do it entirely with positive reinforcement, there is always the pressure of the rope, the hand and the leg, to come here, or go there.
"I was really happy with the session today. As you say, we covered quite a lot of stuff and I was pleased with how well TigerLily responded to the volume of tasks for the day. I normally only train her for about 20 mins at a time, so it was a long session and it was good to see that she stayed engaged and didn't get fed up. I think she rather liked all the attention in fact and still was keen to engage once she had been turned loose.
"I can't wait til our next session! Many thanks for a great afternoon and helpful insight and direction." CW
