jessplum wrote:
hi there
ok, just read and read and read. i have been starting rear with Bandi. i have no real direction as to what type to start with, but at the moment Bandi is just offering little more than a small lift off the ground. we are only less than a week into this, so we are at the very beginning.
i started to get rear off the pedistal. i noticed that if i made the pedistal smaller and he got a little confused with where to put his legs, he would give a little hop type rear. so i rewarded this and noticed that he especially did this from the off side leg lifting to pedistal first. so i started to work on this. even just a lift from the shulders upwards was rewarded.
he picked it up quickly. and so i added a cue, made sure that he understands the difference between pedistal and rear, and then i have moved him to a special little log for rear. he offeres so many of the little rears, but none are really collected or of any substancial size, but they are what he is offering. so now i am looking for advice on how to improve the rear, or i would assume the we might start with levade.
this is the first video. this was our first day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzSYw2VdISY it is not much really, but the next one is loading. i will post it soon.
Timing is crucial. Also allowing the horse a fair amount of time to develop the body condition (muscle and sinew development) to improve.
The goal should be to hit the precise moment, that instant, when he is in or nearest the form you wish. Think of it as being "in-frame," and hit that with a click and treat.
I try to enable the horse to be doing what I wish and still able to accept the treat.
Say I want the to tuck their chin in. At first they will lose the position at the sound of the click, but I treat anyway. Soon I move on to treating when they are in form, and clicking in the same instant if possible.
I think many others do this as well and thus can rather quickly get duration ... that is the holding of a behavior form for longer time.
It helps if play and fun are part of it, of course.
Donald