7 day program in line-driving - video every day, I hope

[studiowvw]

Diesel has not had a lot of handling and is reactive so it is easy to influence him. I've also made lots of mistakes!

Besides, horses are different and there is no one "right way".

I learned different things from every mini I had - I had and sold at least 5 until I got one I liked - Lacey - she's a keeper. Now I am learning from Diesel, although I only got he and Mustang as a winter project.

Don't worry about your mistakes - just go try another tactic until you start to get some wins.

Start with something small and something you know you can likely win. It's all about improving your relationship with him.

You need to develop his learning ability, and your teaching ability.

If you screw up, take a break and start over.

You will learn more if you can work through it. Horse training is a big-time learning experience!

Many horses grow up desensitized to what we do. This can be both good and bad!

If he is over-desensitized to you, you may have to sensitize him.

If you ask several times and get no response, go ahead and be "more motivating".

Ask politely each time, become more insistent, and then if you get nothing, be more motivating. Yes, you are in charge. (What does a boss horse do? Bite, kick, drive & herd, protect, share food, lead to interesting places.)

You just have to make his life more interesting.

That could mean use a firmer feel, or surprise him with something, or use a whip or the rope to disturb the air around him.

If disturbing the air around him doesn't get him going, let the whip or rope smack him. Next time he will get out of the way.

***When changing his pattern of "I don't wanna!!!" it could be a rodeo, so take your time and be careful!***

You can also use treats to become more motivating.

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I will send you a private message with some ideas.

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If you want some great ideas on what horses really want out of life, and how you can use that to develop a great training relationship, start reading Carolyn Resnick's blog (you can Google her).

She calls her methods the foundation of all equestrian pursuits. Sometimes a bit fluffy and emotional for me, but she's got it nailed.

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PS I did Day 6 today, in spite of it being about the last thing I wanted to do today

Freezing weather, too many things to do, not getting my other work done, etc., etc.

I might not get it edited until tomorrow.

 

[Renolizzie]

Well, Seven, as a newbie, I know I'm not getting right a bunch of the time. Fortunately, I have taken the time to step back, keep reading and talking to people and observing my little guy.

It's been some time and certainly some effort but today, he walked up behind me when I turned my attention to the goats and very politely stood there like "Hey, you want to pet me don't you?" How sweet. So I did pet him! Slowing down and relaxing is really working with him. I may do some stuff wrong but there are things I am getting right

I love that little guy and I am very hopeful that we will have a long time together and will be a great driving team some day. Right now we are at least an okay driving team.

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

Hi seven...just want to offer a couple of words of encouragement here. I really like (and appreciate!!) what studioww is doing on this thtead and support her techniques whole-heartedly. Think about what she's saying and watch what she's doing....and remember how she stresses that we need to learn how each horse learns.

Please don't give up....seven's pic in your Christmas card has that golden halo of mist around it...I thought he was lucky! He can teach you so much!

I'll give you my example. I brought Casper home the very end of April. He's my first mini and is very very different from Arabians!! He is a conondrum....excellent ground manners...IF I don't scare him. I've had to

learn that he "zones out" when he is afraid and isn't CAPABLE of hearing what I'm trying to teach him in that moment. He is very senitive to body language and hyper-sensitive to mental energy. I cannot be distracted or irritated AT ALL when I'm working with him or he will only remember scared. He's very concerned about being whacked, he's made that very clear. He has not much confidence yet isn't spooky. His spook is a jump and a turn to face the scary thing...unless it's a person. If he feels trapped and has no escape, he will tremble violently, zone out, and twirl to keep his head away from me. Some would misinterpret this as threatening to kick, would get more into his space, whack his behind and make it worse. I've had to spend the last 8 months learning to refine EVERYTHING I do with him and gaining his trust. I've had to assess my every action to be sure I wasn't being too strong (energy-wise) for him. I have, at times, wondered if he's developmentally delayed because I just haven't been able to make a connection with him. If I tried to make eye contact I'd lose him. So I've taken it in small steps. Offered him a variety of experiences to see what he likes. I lavish EXCESSIVE amounts of praise on him if he makes even the tiniest effort to give me what I've asked for. I've learned to observe him while I'm working with him without being obvious. I've had to learn to be patient, and that some days I have to accept a good whoa 3 minutes into a work is all that we'll accomplish today...and quit. I've learned to work on his learning curve and not insist on my training curve.

I'm very fortunate he's not a client horse...they'd be screaming "there's no progress"...and to the untrained eye there isn't. However, using this thread, and studioww's videos that have reinforced my confidence (THANK YOU!!) I've also been able to stat long-lining Casper this week. I keep in mind HIS needs, remember that slower is faster in his case, and keep his formal lessons short.

Yes, until recently I've thought he might better elsewhere, that I needed a "sharper tack" as it were, however...he's no danger to myself or others when we're working, so I've reassessed ME, made changes to my training techniques, and we're making better progress.

So keep learning, asking questions and be willing to try different things. You'll become a better horsewoman, and seven will be secure in you.

Hope this all makes sense, kinda hard to communicate clearly using the phone! LOL I wish you luck and will follow you with interest...Julie

 

[studiowvw]

Thanks, Julie, for the post - well said, and I'm glad you're liking the videos.

I think the biggest deal is your mental attitude when you go interact with your horse.

They can feel your mental energy - critical, loving, fearful, tentative, angry, irritated. Best thing to do is treat your horse time as something needing a positive, friendly, interested and happy mindset.

Don't be critical of his or your mistakes, just take a break and try again.

You are hunting or waiting for that tiniest moment of acceptance - then accept it - with release, reward, praise, love!!!

As you progress, you can look for more before rewarding.

You will see in Day 6 here that I am irritated and cranky and cold. The last thing I wanted to do yesterday was be out there doing Day 6!

You will see that although my irritation was not directed at him, it carried over to him. He was much more concerned about the dog activity, his head was higher, he was not paying attention to me. It took more insistence to get him to go forward.

So I had 3 choices - either quit altogether and try another day - or think "Diesel, you're a pain in the AAA today! Get going!" - or say, "Ok, we're not so hot today, we will just get done what we can get done and quit."

In the end, we had some acceptance of the surcingle, good work on the steering training and the circle, some good 2-reining when he got going, one whoa that I screwed up by being too abrupt (oh well!), and one better whoa where he stopped straight.

Until now, the whoa has meant stop with me, or stop and come to me. Now we are developing a stop without coming back to me. I need to be softer in presenting it to him, probably pulsing my fingers so that he doesn't suddenly run into the block.

We also went for a walk down the road afterwards.

Not sure if I will get Day 7 today - we are having a snowstorm and unless it clears up, I'm not playing!!!

However, on Day 7, I'm going to put the surcingle on him, take him for a walk down the road with it on, then come back and maybe try running the lines through the lower rings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vh7_Th5RgI

 

[happy appy]

lol I just have to say, that poodle is hilarious! I like watching the improvement every day! good job!

 

[Renolizzie]

Looks a lot like my house. Two dogs and a cat helping!

 

[lucky seven]

Thanks for sharing your training tips, and your pets for helping!

 

[Sandee]

Quick start for in-line driving.......bring 2 horses in from a field with 16-18" of snow. They work really easy this way. LOL Only thing is I'm about dead from trying to walk trhu that much snow....seems their weight (although a bit more than mine) is distributed on 4 feet so they don't sink as far as I do on only 2.

 

[studiowvw]

LOL - sounds like too much work!

Maggie is the poodle - she was a nutbar on that cold day!

Here is Day 7 - Couple of days off as we had some snow and I had to get some stuff done. Anyways, it was mild today and Diesel was by the house, so I called him and he came.

I decided to walk down the road and return line-driving, with the lines through the side rings. We got a great stop towards the end.

He is getting a little mouthy about the treats. I might start tossing them into a bucket instead of feeding by hand. He sure knows what pocket they're in!

As usual we ended with a walk down the road (no pressure to perform!) From now on he will wear the surcingle on walks.

So sorry about the camera angle. I couldn't use the usual chair because of the ice. Guess I need to get a tripod.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IExLzpUp4uI

 

[Small_Stars]

We just got minis and I'm trying to work with the youngest on driving. I've never taught a horse to drive and it's been nerve wracking and I can tell I was asking for too much too soon. I LOVE your videos! It really helps to see steps in video rather than read it since I'm a visual learner. Thank you for the encouragement too for those of us that have screwed up more than once.

 

[Small_Stars]

I'm wondering, I noticed your pony is very quiet and waits for you to tell him to go before moving ahead. How would you approach the situation with a pony that is far more jazzed and likes to go, go, go? My little driving hopeful is constantly moving and on lead, is almost always in a trot, even if it's just in place. Our hardest obstacle has been teaching WHOA and that whoa means don't move till I tell you to move.

 

[QHPkaren]

Small Stars I have one just like yours! It is very frustrating at times for sure!

 

[Small_Stars]

I took my one out today and we did nothing but work on not running circles around me. LOL

 

[QHPkaren]

I have started to take mine to the arena first - lunge him a bit and then try to work. It's like he has to get that Fire out of his system first. My little Tyson will be 4 this coming year. I have been just blaming it on his age but ...... not sure now. LOL

 

[Small_Stars]

LOL I keep thinking mine acts that way because she's about 2 1/2. I think it's just her temperament. She's a tad more ornery and likes to challenge authority. She's a pill sometimes.

 

[QHPkaren]

I am also a newbie to Minis and Driving..... always been a full size horse person so it has been an adjustment !

I have truly appreciated the videos, it makes much more sense ~ seeing instead of reading.

So far i havent found anybody else in my area with minis - that would be a fun 'play date' to learn from someone experienced.

 

[studiowvw]

Thanks for watching and liking the videos

I have made plenty of mistakes myself and every horse is a different experience.

Diesel is actually quite reactive and my personal aim with him was not to do anything during the 5 - 12 minute training sessions to cause him to feel he couldn't stand still.

I can give you some thoughts on the go-go-go thing:

1. too much food? too much grain? too much energy food?

2. Maybe your energy is creating energy in them. Try to be very very relaxed and see if that makes a difference, even for just a moment in your horse. If it does, then you know it's you causing the activity. Figure out how to cause relaxation instead.

3. Be aware of everything they are doing. Softly and politely remind them over and over to look at you and wait for direction. No yanking, pulling or tense energy on your part. You just softly (with the lead) influence them to bring their attention back to you. (You will also have to have relaxation and a good mindset in yourself.)

4. Training in the past may have meant too much pressure to them, so they now react with evasions (running, dancing, unable to stand still.) You can't really train them if their heads are buzzing.

5. Play first (at liberty?) then do some training. Or let the horse do something it wants to do (e.g. eat grass on the lawn for a while) and then get it to do something you want to do.

Or go for a mile walk down the road (no pressure except that they are going with you, stopping with you and going ahead with you when you do) and when you get back, do a couple of minutes of training. You can increase the time of training. 10 or 12 minutes is a long enough session for actual training. Then hang out again, no pressure, for a while afterwards. So you are increasing the time spent in their company, while keeping actual training to something short and sweet.

6. Teach them that IT IS THEIR JOB to stand on a mat, or in a marked circle, or in a box marked by 4 logs on the ground. Have them get on the mat or in the marked area. When they leave, return them to the "safe spot". Do that as often as it takes. Treats could help, but are not necessary to teach this.

7. Is your handling soft and quiet enough that the horse isn't stressed? We humans can use far too much grip and pressure. This can cause brace and agitation, or alternatively, cause them to shut down.

You'll have to experiment to see what works for you. That's the creative part of horse training

 

[Small_Stars]

I'll try some of your suggestions. Thanks! This companion pony of ours, the one that gives me fits, she is partially blind in one side and so that tends to make her freak a lot when something suddenly comes into view from that side. Add to that that she is VERY attached to our other pony and all she cares about is getting back to the barn ASAP. We went for a walk yesterday down the road and Ugh. LOL She did "ok" on the way away from the barn, but as soon as we turned to head back home it was like walking a Pit Bull with her pulling on me every step of the way. I tried just stopping and relaxing for a bit and you could tell her mind was back in the yard and not where we were at and she was super jumpy. I tried not to pull on her a lot, but she sort of did that all on her own regardless of whether I had no slack in the rope or a ton of slack. If you gave her 10' she'd take 10' and keep pulling and a couple times when I circled her around to bring her back to what we were doing or just turned and went the opposite direction she'd pin her ears and buck a little. I ignored that and just kept walking. All in all, we probably made 3 trips up and down this 1/8 of a mile. I think it mostly stems from her being insecure because of her eye and she uses the other pony for confidence that she lacks, but gets aggravated if you take that security away from her.

I am also a newbie to Minis and Driving..... always been a full size horse person so it has been an adjustment !

I have truly appreciated the videos, it makes much more sense ~ seeing instead of reading.

So far i havent found anybody else in my area with minis - that would be a fun 'play date' to learn from someone experienced.

I know how you feel. Have had the full size horses all my life and have broke several to saddle and trained several, but honestly, the minis are a breed all their own sometimes. LOL

 

[QHPkaren]

I think i will be trying a whole new approach with my guy as i am not sure what happened with him before i got him. He is like 'off to the races' once i open the gate to leave the pasture. So that makes me 'ready' to get ahold of him once i open it - no relaxing until after the lunging or a really long walk. Just like Small Stars described.

SO..... anybody near me interested in a little fun group ? I envy those of you that have small groups of driving minis out on a nice afternoon trail/road trip.

 

[Small_Stars]

Let me know what your new approach is and if it works. I'd be interested in knowing!