Crimson Rose Training Journal

[Amyln29]

That’s a great idea..we walk through woods too and if I take them to any trails about 30 minutes from here in the mountains we have potential of running into black bears

I’m going to look them up on that website. Did you have some made for minis or is it kind of one size fits all? They definitely look cute on

 

[HersheyMint]

Bliss' very first ribbons from The Online Miniature Horse Show

Congratulations!

 

[HersheyMint]

Today we went back to our positive reinforcement focused training. I had taken a break from it to review for a few weeks and to work on feet handling, cleaning out, and rasping, but now is time to get back to more fun low stress behaviors! Bliss and I had an excellent session working on calm default/treat manners on both sides, then we worked on targeting, leading with her following my body cues, and stopping with body cues. She did very well and stayed relaxed almost the entire time. I could definitely tell that she was actively thinking about staying calm and working through what I was asking of her. I am proud of her, and ready to start working on more behaviors and cues for future horse agility training. I then took out Ella for a good brush and a walk, and snapped this super cute picture of her mane being blown in the wind.

What a great day and also a great pic

 

[Crimson Rose]

That’s a great idea..we walk through woods too and if I take them to any trails about 30 minutes from here in the mountains we have potential of running into black bears

Oh my goodness! You definitely need some!

 

[Crimson Rose]

Congratulations!

Thank you so much! I think that they are adorable

 

[Crimson Rose]

I’m going to look them up on that website. Did you have some made for minis or is it kind of one size fits all? They definitely look cute on

They make each set custom, and make miniature sizes of everything. They also host giveaways quite often from their FB page. That is how I got my first set.

 

[Crimson Rose]

Suncrest Dinero's Bright Blessing (Bliss)' March photos for her online halter classes

 

[Amyln29]

Suncrest Dinero's Bright Blessing (Bliss)' March photos for her online halter classes

So cute! I need to watch some videos on how to pick their head up and have them extend their neck My daughter needs to do online halter classes with ours!

 

[Crimson Rose]

So cute! I need to watch some videos on how to pick their head up and have them extend their neck My daughter needs to do online halter classes with ours!

I just use a detangler spray bottle to get her attention

 

[Crimson Rose]

Bliss and I had a fun day today with our positive reinforcement training session. We reviewed calm default/treat manners, leading and halting with just body cues, targeting, and then started the beginnings of head down with the target to help shape the behavior. Bliss stayed very calm and focused the entire time, I was so proud of her focus for an almost yearling. We then enjoyed a grazing walk in the sunshine.

 

[Crimson Rose]

I just love that my ponies both always are ready to train or go on walks by standing at the gate and then self halter. Gone are the days of my youth of catching my horses on twenty acres to go on a ride. LOL! Today I just reviewed behaviors with Bliss, just adding a little difficulty to a few of them. She did very well, and is improving in each session this week. I then took both Bliss and Ella on short walks. It is starting to get pretty hot, and I need to get used to it slowly.

 

[Crimson Rose]

My son playing with Bliss and her new jolly ball

 

[MaryFlora]

Wonderful photo. A child and a pony just enjoying each other.

 

[Crimson Rose]

Wonderful photo. A child and a pony just enjoying each other.

Thank you!

 

[Crimson Rose]

I haven’t been doing much training lately, just lots of long walks, with some review tossed in. We have been really enjoying the spring weather!

 

[Edelweiss]

Wow! You have grass! And Ella looks really improved! She has put on a lot of weight since you got her.

 

[Crimson Rose]

Yes! We have grass in the back where I want to build my next pasture. Ella still has a ways to go, but looks much better.

 

[Crimson Rose]

Bliss and I started back on our positive reinforcement foundations training. Today we worked on targeting at head level, then slowly worked on targeting all the way to the ground to build the start of her head down behavior. She did really well and stayed focused the whole time. She did some exploratory behaviors, but didn’t get frustrated when she didn’t have the right answer. We also reviewed standing still while tied, standing still beside me, walking and halting calmly off my body cues, and treat manners. Afterwards we went on a walk all the way around our property.

 

[Crimson Rose]

Our training session today was full of distractions, and I almost didn’t train today at all, but I am glad that I did! First I woke up with a headache, and it has been crazy windy today due to storms blowing in, and I have just been feeling tired today in general especially after I cleaned out the pasture. I decided to get Bliss out for a quick session, and right in the middle of it, a large dump truck with gravel and a tractor comes to our neighbors across the road to work on her driveway. Bliss was on alert, but stayed pretty focused and calm the whole time. I was so proud of her! We worked on review, and also the beginnings of coming forward to touch the target and then backing up by my body signals only to get her treat. This helps created another safety for giving food as a reward, and also the start of backing up off body cues for liberty training and also following the target at liberty.

 

[Crimson Rose]

After three days of almost constant rain, and a busy weekend, I started off today by cleaning the pasture the best I could, and then groomed Bliss at liberty. I got a ton of hair and mud off her, then gave her a little trim. I wanted to clip her this spring, but our insects are so bad already due to our mild winter, and I won’t be showing her off property, so I decided to let her keep her extra protection. I then took her out for training, and we had an excellent review of all behaviors previously taught, and then worked on backing off my body cues with just a little pressure on the lead as a start cue. I cue her with the lead, then let go of the pressure and she continues to follow me back until I click and reward her. She did excellent and we worked up to five steps of backing. We then went on a walk around the property, and I then got Ella out for a nice long grazing walk. While walking Ella on the edge of our woods I noticed that we had some blackberries ready to pick, so Ella and I went to the house to get my son, and the three of us ended Ella’s walk by picking blackberries together.