Nov-April Update

I’m not the most consistent blogger, but here is what we’ve been up to:

First update: I've become a Qualified Instructor for Connection Training. This means that for the next year I'm going to be working with other horses and people so that I can become better at what I do and actually share that knowledge. Positive Reinforcement is growing and the word needs to get out there.

Second Update: Aslan is doing great. As of November I had completely weaned myself from using a carrot stick for mild pressure, but from the photographs it looks like I'm a traditional trainer sometimes. Oops. But anyway, we have achieved walk, trot and canter all with just a target and it is a lot stronger than it used to be.

His canter is coming along nicely. He really struggled with the transition and I had to completely re-arrange the way I approached training to help him. We both love the ground work and riding is acceptable. Unfortunately acceptable doesn't fully motivate him to move at a walk sometimes, let alone a canter. I would ask and most of the time he'd just trot faster. Plus we've struggled for ages with "go forward" and I could not figure out why he would be good and then regress, with no veterinary issues. Then I finally found the key. Ground work is his reward. All of a sudden he was offering me canter transitions left right and center. Then I blew his mind by not getting off immediately after every canter and asking for a few more things. Either way, he's WAY more forward and cooperative. It's a work in progress!

I've also been working on his attitude when he's not hungry, as well as phasing out the click and getting duration. These are our weak areas and I'm trying hard to better them.

Third update is that I'm organizing a clinic with Shawna Karrasch for August! This is going to be loads of fun! I'll post the sign up forms once I've confirmed we have a cook to make us lunch and dinner.