The Power of Positive Horse Training

Sarah Blanchard

Description

"This book is a welcome addition to the literature in the field of horse training and should be in the library of any serious, caring horseperson."
--Gincy Self Bucklin

Author of What Your Horse Wants You to Know and How Your Horse Wants You to Ride: Starting Out, Starting Over

With unique insight based on years of experience, author Sarah Blanchard describes horse training based on positive motivation and cooperation instead of subservience and domination. The Power of Positive Horse Training: Saying Yes to Your Horse helps you understand your horse's agenda and explains rewards-based training. It goes beyond theory and:
* Helps trainers and riders create a logical, consistent system of requests, responses, and rewards
* Teaches communication skills and methods that build respect and a rewarding relationship
* Describes nine specific, progressive exercises designed to improve communication and cooperation between horse and rider
* Explains how to use positive training techniques to solve six common behavioral problems


This book helps you forge a bond of understanding and trust with your horse that leads to enhanced responsiveness and teamwork. . . . and make riding a pure joy.
Acknowledgments.

Preface.

Part I: The Nature of Positive Training.

1. Why Do Horses (Usually) Do What We Tell Them?

2. What Horses Really Want Us to Know.

3. Portrait of the Trainer as a Wise Old Mare.

4. Setting and Meeting Your Training Goals.

5. Rehabilitating the Problem Horse.

Part II: Progressive Exercises.

6. Discovering Trust, Respect, and Reward through Touch.

7. Developing the Habits of Please and Thank You.

8. Essential Warm-Up Stretches for Your Horse.

9. Finding Your Balance in the Saddle, I.

10. Finding Your Balance in the Saddle, II.

11. Go, Stop, Engage.

12. Squares, Octagons, Circles.

13. Lateral Yeswork, Not Guesswork.

14. Overhead and Underfoot: Combat Training.

15. Using Positive Training to Find Solutions to Six Common Problems.

Epilogue.

Glossary.

References.

Index.

Sujets

• Animal Sports
• Sports
• Equestrian
• Recreation
• Sport équestre
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 20 août 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470250334
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

T HE P OWER OF P OSITIVE H ORSE T RAINING
Also by Sarah Blanchard from Howell Book House:
Carriage Driving: A Logical Approach Through Dressage Training (with Heike Bean)
T HE P OWER OF P OSITIVE H ORSE T RAINING
Saying Yes to Your Horse
Sarah Blanchard
Copyright 2005 by Sarah Blanchard. All rights reserved.
Howell Book House
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, [phone], fax [phone], E-mail: http://www.wiley.com/go/permission .
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Blanchard, Sarah.
The power of positive horse training : saying yes to your horse / Sarah Blanchard.-1st ed. p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-7819-9 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 0-7645-7819-7 (pbk.)
1. Horses-Training. 2. Human-animal communication. I. Title.
SF287.B596 2005
636.1 0835-dc22
2004025768
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Book design by Lissa Auciello-Brogan
Cover design by Jose Almaguer
Book production by Wiley Publishing, Inc. Composition Services
C ONTENTS
Foreword by Gincy Self Bucklin
Acknowledgments
Preface
Part I The Nature of Positive Training

1 Why Do Horses (Usually) Do What We Tell Them?
Every Teacher Is a Learner, Every Learner Is a Teacher
Patterns of Learning
Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
So Which Works Better, Positive or Negative Reinforcement?
Punishment
Extinction
Time and Memory
Combining the Learning Patterns
Trust, Respect, and Confidence
The Horse s Hierarchy of Needs

2 What Horses Really Want Us to Know
Physiological Needs
Move Freely
Eat Frequently
Seek Physical Comfort and Avoid Physical Discomfort
Keep the Gene Pool Alive
Safety and Security Needs
Stay with the Herd
Obey the Leader
If the Leader Fails to Lead, Someone Else Must Step In
Respond to a Threat before You Get Hurt
Self-Esteem and Learning Needs
Satisfy Your Curiosity
Learn through Play
Get Stronger and You May Move Up in the Hierarchy
Gender Influences
The Herd s Social Hierarchy
Personality Types
Friendly or Standoffish
Energetic or Phlegmatic
Curious or Fearful
Dominant or Submissive
What s the Best Personality?

3 Portrait of the Trainer as a Wise Old Mare
How to Be a Wise old Mare
The Twelve Principles of Positive Horse Training
Never Punish Fear
Say Thank You
Say Please
Use Good Stress, Not Distress
Leave Your Personal Baggage at Home
Understand That Your Natural Aids Are Your Most Important Communication Tools
Encourage Your Horse s Curiosity and Sense of Play
Keep the Lines of Communication Clear
Plan Your Ride and Ride Your Plan
Keep Your Horse and Yourself Safe from True Danger
Create Simulated Danger That You Can Control
Understand Your Horse s Comfort Zones
The Seven Key Concepts of Positive Horse Training
The Comfort Zone
The Learning Zone
The Reward Cycle
The Rewards Toolbox
Combat Training
Trust Builders
Trust Busters
Who Can Be an Effective (Human) Trainer?
The Nature of Rewards
Primary Rewards
Secondary Rewards
The Six Most Important Rewards in Your Toolbox
What Is Not a Reward?
Make the Connection to Time, Place, and Behavior

4 Setting and Meeting Your Training Goals
The Five Principles of Setting Goals
Where to Train
First, Master the Basics
Round Pen Work
Longeing
Longeing Equipment
Sliding Sidereins
The Longe Whip
Basic Training on the Longe
Developing Balance at the Canter on the Longe
The Importance of Cross-Training

5 Rehabilitating the Problem Horse
Developing Trust in Fearful Horses
Handling the Spoiled Horse
Part II Progressive Exercises

6 Discovering Trust, Respect, and Reward through Touch
The Purpose of These Exercises
What s in the Rewards Toolbox?
What Do You Need?
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Step Four

7 Developing the Habits of Please and Thank You
The Purpose of These Exercises
What s in the Rewards Toolbox?
What Do You Need?
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Step Four
Step Five
Step Six

8 Essential Warm-Up Stretches for Your Horse
The Purpose of These Exercises
What s in the Rewards Toolbox?
What Do You Need?
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Step Four
Step Five

9 Finding Your Balance in the Saddle, I
The Purpose of These Exercises
What s in the Rewards Toolbox?
What Do You Need?
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Step Four
Step Five

10 Finding Your Balance in the Saddle, II
The Purpose of These Exercises
What s in the Rewards Toolbox?
What Do You Need?
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Step Four

11 Go, Stop, Engage
The Purpose of These Exercises
What s in the Rewards Toolbox?
What Do You Need?
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Step Four

12 Squares, Octagons, Circles
The Purpose of These Exercises
What s in the Rewards Toolbox?
What Do You Need?
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Step Four
Step Five

13 Lateral Yeswork, Not Guesswork
The Purpose of These Exercises
What s in the Rewards Toolbox?
What Do You Need?
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Step Four
Step Five

14 Overhead and Underfoot: Combat Training
The Purpose of These Exercises
What s in the Rewards Toolbox?
What Do You Need?
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Walking Over Obstacles and Surfaces
Stepping Around and Through Things
Walking Under Things

15 Using Positive Training to Find Solutions to Six Common Problems
The Purpose of These Exercises
1. Poor Manners During Saddling
The Cause
The Solution
2. Difficulty Bridling
The Cause
The Solution
3. Refusing to Stand Tied
The Cause
The Solution
4. Refusing to Load in a Trailer
The Cause
The Solution
Leading Your Horse in Versus Self-Loading
The Gotta-Get-Him-in-Now Solution
Problems Traveling in the Trailer
5. Spookiness
The Cause
The Solution
6. The Barn-Sour Horse
The Cause
The Solution
Epilogue
Glossary
References
Index
F OREWORD
We all, over the years, develop our personal philosophies about the areas that are important in our lives. If you are a horseman, you have a philosophy about working with horses that arises from trial and error and learning from others, both human and equine. One of life s joys is to meet someone who shares your beliefs, so that your conversation is one of support and agreement and is uplifting for both. Sarah Blanchard is a writer who agrees with one of my most basic philosophies and has the knowledge and skill to expand upon it and make it more accessible to others.
Like so many horsemen of my age, I grew up in the old tradition of the master-slave relationship with the horse. Don t be a passenger! and Don t let him get away with that! were phrases that typify the attitude we were supposed to have. That, and the belief that the faster you could train a horse, the better trainer you were.
Over the years I found these ways of thinking more and more unsatisfactory, but it wasn t until I retired from active teaching that I really found the time to devote to following my instincts. Since that time I have been involved in long discussions on the Internet, delved into many books, attended clinics, and generally tried to increase my knowledge of what has come to b