Re: Pony prices and training..tap,tap,tap

[Chris Paus <paus@micoks.net>]

This is precisely why instead of using the "tapping" method to get Star
past scarey stuff, I used the "comfort zone" theory. I let HIM decide when
he was willing to go forward adn face the monster. He could make the
decision from teh point at which he felt comfortable.

It has worked every time. The first time we crossed a creek, it took 20
minutes. I let him have his comfort zone and decide when to cross. The next
time it happend muc sooner. Now he is a creek crossing champ. Same with
bridges, big round  hay bales covered in white plastic, and horse eating
monsters.

chris paus & star

At 07:49 PM 1/15/98 -0600, Lynette Helgeson wrote:
>
>
>KIMBERLY PRICE wrote:
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>> You wrote:
>> I borrowed from John Lyons' trailer loadingmethods to get him to go by
>> cows. When he stops, I tap him gently with thedressage whip--tap, tap,
>> tap--until he moves just one foot. Then I stop. Thentap, tap, tap
>> again, until he takes another step. As long as he takes a step
>> forward, he gets rewarded by having the tapping stop. Seems to work.
>>
>> The worst he does is a 180 degree spin in a millisecond. Once, up in
>> the mountains, he got me off when he saw some deer. Another time, I was
>> hangingoff the edge and simply willed myself back into the saddle.
>
>I would guess that the reason he is doing the 180 degree spin is tokeep you
>from tap, tap, tapping. That is the problem with John Lyons
>and Pat Paretti, etc. methods. They work wonderfully on stock horses
>but not always on Arabians.
>
>I have trained many different breeds of horses and it took me awhile
>to realize that when you train an Arabian you are working with a
>totally different animal. And this is a prime example of that. The
>very best way to train an Arabian to not be spooky is for you to
>gain his trust. If he trusts that you will not let any horse eating
>monsters get him and he will go anywhere for you.
>In fact the Arabian is such a loyal horse that if he trust you he will
>go where even the calmest horse will fear to tread.
>
>For example, your Arabian is coming up to something that scares
>him, his instinct tells him to run. You hold him to face it and start
>tapping him, he is trained to move away from pressure so he moves
>forward, still scared but feeling trapped, like he has no choice. He is
>not learning to trust you, you are forcing him towards it, so he is
>mistrusting you. You are forcing him into a situation that he does
>not like. So next time instead of giving you a chance to tap him
>towards something that scares him he is just going to wheel and run.
>Now stock horses are not always that quick thinking and they will
>not always look for another way out of something, but an Arabian
>always will look for another way. When training an Arabian you always have
>to be
>out thinking the horse. If something is not working, don't keep
>doing it because it worked for someone else. Put yourself in your
>horse's place and see it through his eyes.
>
>If anyone is interested in more details on the ways that I use to gain
>an Arabians trust. E-mail me.
>
>Lynette Helgeson
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