Ghastly weather so an ideal day to start on Banksy's bridle work. Like many horses with aurol plaques, he is extremely sensitive around his ears, and finds it very hard to tolerate anything coming into contact with them. It's an ideal place for clicker training coupled with a very clear, set procedure, which he can predict and trust. The first step is to establish an association between a click and a treat, and then a series of single clicks and then three clicks and a treat. The single, un-treated clicks, encourage patience and stillness, where the three clicks tells him that he has done his job and can expect a treat.
The next step is to ask him to tolerate having his ears folded forwards in three stages. I use a flat hand lengthways along the back of his ear so that the whole of his ear is covered by my hand. The intention is to 'post' his ear through the gap between the brow band and the crown piece without touching him with the leatherwork at all. I made a start on this with a bridle with no bit and will continue work with him in this way every day this week.
