The Art of Natural Dressage

Juan and Roses DH Dakota and Pal's Sire.



Fire of Ginger Dakota's Dam.





Little Gypsy Dancer Pal Dam.

Pal in the summer of his weanling year.








Pal in the winter of his weanling year.

Sailor is out of Stormy and is half brother to Ragdoll the mare that was bred to Pal. Note this is the same horse in all photos. He was born Sorrel, turned buckskin, turned a rose grey and finished out a fleabitten grey! Funny how they change so much from when they were born. Sailor was my next teacher. Saddly he has now died a few months ago.

Dakota as a weanling at my house. And he has never left!There is also some picture of him when he was just days old floating around somewhere! Maybe I should find and post them!

The Christmas parade in Potosi, Missouri. Dakota and dad getting Sailor ready in the back ground.



The Country Days parade in Farmington, Missouri. From left to right: Sailor,my dad Raymond, me and Dakota!

Rosie a full sister to Pal. She was the second horse I trained to ride. She is now owned by my cousin Megan who lives right down the road so i get to see her when I want!

Just for Laugh's!

Thunder is another horse I had for 4 years and but saddly had to sell for financial reasons. But he is as far as I know with the same person who bought him. I still also get to see him and ride him and she takes really good care of him.

Thunder at 5 months.



Thunder not long before he was sold.

Dakota and me training a few years back!This was way before NHE and AND!




I hope you all like and comment about the pictures! Now if I could only get up some videos!!!!!!

You do so much alrady with your horse! Congratulations!



Have you read the stickies in the groudnwork section? All of them? There you will find most of your answers, but this question, we can start a discussion about. Hopefully others will chime in and offer some support and direction as well.

In the two horses I a mpresently working, the one thing that will squash any playfulness, very quickly, is telling them they MUST do something.

By using enough pressure to make your horse bite at the pressure point, you know you are causing pain? In causing pain, you are certainly showing your horse that you can make him do something (and he will learn this way), but you are not showing him that you can be his friend. A friend who would not hurt him, ever. The kind of freindship a horse looks for, is a wound tightly around a feeling of security. They must feel secure that you will always be predictable, and that you will never hurt them, or make them do something that they do not understand. I'm not saying you should never use pressure, but that pressure should never be more than the horse can understand and is willing to accept happily.

That sense of trust and security is build up slowly. Horses have long memories and it takes time to convince them that you won't be unpredictable.

When you ask your horse a question, you have to phrase it in a way that they can understand and react in a way you hope they will. The stickies in the ground work will help you with that.

Also, any time you make your horse do something that they haven't agreed to do...like you ask for a bow, the horse does not do it, so you use the hobbles...no matter how gently you have done it, you have still stated to the horse that you are a boss and he is just an employee. There aren't many employees that wish to play with their bosses! You and your horse have to be on common ground...at the same level in the friendship...then you can expect perhaps some playfulness.

But you can't expect so much too quickly! It is our goal oriented nature and our expectations that drive us to make our horses do things rather than finding ways to teach them. When we make them do things, rather then slowing down and changing how we approach our training - challenging ourselves to figure how to help them find a movmement, then playfulness is subdue along with thier own inner personality. They need an atmosphere of patience (and good timing on rewards!) and acceptance to find that playfulness.

Work on some of the ideas in the stickies! It will help! I promise!

As for bowing without the hobbles, that will come with the playfulness. When a hose knows that he may be rewarded for offering things without being asked, then they begin to explore the possibilities on thier own. For now, because he has be taught that you will lift the foot for him, he has no need at all to do it himself.

Then there is the "lightbulb moment" you are asking about. Your best bet is to go back to the targeting...so good thinking there! You are right! Choosing a behavior like targeting works because the horse is seeking the answer on his own. You cannot make him do it. It is in these moments of freely seeking an answer that they can best have that lightbulb moment. If you only pair a click with something you have made the horse do, then they will tend to be very slow in picking up on the significance of the click.

I do hope this helps. You have a wonderful horse to work with, and you have a kind heart...so I just know you will get it all sorted out! Keep trying! You will fine it!

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Ah, ok...you are close. But do you know that you were rewarding your horse for looking away? The behavior that is occuring the second you click the clicker, is what you are rewarding your horse for.

Charging the clicker is just click, feed, click, feed, click, feed...with no real pause or requirement of any beahavior from the horse.

However, if you charge the clicker with a behavior involved, then you have to be sure of what you are clicking for. You don't want to click to CAUSE him to look back at you. Instead, you want to wait UNTIL he looks back at you on his own (or just starts to look back at you or maybe just flicks an ear back at you without turning his head), THEN click and reward!

Read up a little, if you can, on the very basics of clicker training. Know that you really can't do anything wrong with a clicker, but you'll progress much, much faster if you have a clear idea of what you're clicking for.

You're on the right track!!! Keep up the awesome work!

First to ansewr Karen. Thanks for offering your advice. But a few things: (But do you know that you were rewarding your horse for looking away? The behavior that is occuring the second you click the clicker, is what you are rewarding your horse for).
Well the thing I was trying to teach him was when he lost interest and he started to walk away and check the other bucket for grain I would start clicking and hold out my hand with the grain. At first he totally ignored me and the clicking sound and I would keep clicking and would call his name for him to see that I was going to give him the grain I had in my hand. Then when he would turn his head I would start clicking nothing! So I would again have to call his name and get his attention. After three sessions of waiting until he lost interest until I started Clicking he finally got to to where when he walked away to check the bucket as soon as he heard me start clicking he finally would turn and come and get the grain I had in my hand! he had now made the link to the Clicking sound and getting his grain.


(Charging the clicker is just click, feed, click, feed, click, feed...with no real pause or requirement of any beahavior from the horse.)
Karen I did read that in fact that is how you "Charge" the Clicker but I tried that and he still did nothing when I would click. I would go out their and stand away from him a few feet and click and he just ignored me. He only knew that sometimes I would give him some grain right away and sometimes I would wait awhile before he got the grain. He had no interest when he heard the clicking sound. He didn't care about it because he didn't know that the clickeing sound meant I was going to give him some grain. So I had to Modify to fit my situation and how I thought Dakota would figure it out and he did my idea worked! I wish I had video taped my sessions so you could see his reacting and how I taught him that when he head me clicking he got grain. I have been trying to get my sister to bring me her camera so I can start getting my sessions taped.



Today went super good! i repeated the "Chargeing" the clicker exercises again. Dakota finally got the idea behind the link to the clicking and getting his grain!When he would turn his head i would start clicking and give him the grain! Sometimes when i would not click he would get frustrated and would check the ther bucket for grain or he would completly turn his side to me and when he would do this i would start clicking and when he heard the clicking he would put his ears forward and look at me looking for the grain.Anyway today I knew he has now made the link to the clicking sound and getting the food!He did really good so i went ahead and gave him the rest of his food!
After Pal and Dakota ws done eating their grain I went back and got some more grain and worked Pal for awhile. He did really good today! When we was playing in the round pen during the start of Pals AND journey he was feeling frisky jumping up and bucking and when he would look at me i would throw the lead rope at him and he would rear or later instead of rearing would offer a Jambette! So since that time our training has been working mostly on the rear and jambette and laying down Cues, Boundaries, and rules for the Rear and Jamette. So today that's what we worked on (focused on). But during our training Pal and me ended up working on the Jambette mostly since that was what Pal was offering and trying hard to earn a C/T for. He did so very, very good! I first starting asking for the Rear but he didn't rreally want to Rear so instead offered the Jambette! In the process of taping his neck in the throat latch area and telling him to "move over" he would instead of moving over he would instead turn his head to away a bit and doing a Perfect Jambette! Holding his leg away up for many seconds at a time!Bingo! I had something working for me! So I repeated this. I would tap is neck and say "Up". and he would offer and do the perfect Jambette! By the end of the training session I would tap his neck and say up and he would do the perfect jambette1 Wee Hee! He even offered the Nuno Spanish Canter. I think though that I missed the click on that one. Aut Oh!!! dakota wa there and was trying to earn some grain also. And when I looked back he had his leg up in a big Jambette and had just land forward on his left leg! Wee Hee!!! So I have to expermint with getting him to do this more often and get it on Cue. I figured once he was doing the Jambette I would Cluck for the cue to see if he will keep the jambette but hope forward in the canter! At least I know he will do it! And will offer it. pus that is a hard movement for them to figure out how to do so really good! I was totally excited!!! Today I think he now has down the Jambette fully down or at least almost fully established! Well see what happens tomorrow. I am also planning on adding the Cordeo now.

Now getting back to Dakota! After working with Pal I focused on Dakota. By now having three daily sessions with "Charging the Clicker. I could tell Dakota now has made the link to the Clicker and grain. So now i focused on Clicking for looking at me. And when I would call him and as he came to me i would start Clicking! When he heard me clicking as he came towards me he was excited! I would walk off and call him and when he finally startedto me I would start clicking and give him some grain I repeated this about 3 times total before he understood and was staying right by me while we walked down around the pen. I would click when his throatlatch was by my shopulder. Again about three times repeating this and and he walked happyly with his throatlash by my shoulder! We did this at the trot also. Again same thing about three Clicks and he would stay with his throatlatch by my shoulder at the walk and trot! I tried to also try to walk down the fence and see if he would offer or get a Jambette or somewhat of a spanish walk. He tried though he would walk then stop and paw the ground. After he kept p[awing I decided I would worry about that later for now. And be happy he was doing so good with walking and trotting by me. So tomorrow I will work on trying to get him to pick his foot up bu him self! Or see what he offers!

http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll19 ... s%20Album/

It's a Filly. She has to hind socks and one front left half sock.No white on her head. She also seems to bare markings to a dum or grullo (primitive markings). She has the stripes on her front legs (if you look close you can see them) and seems to even exhibit a dorsal stripe and wither markings? Hum wonder where these came from? Has anybody else's bay foal had similar marking's? I'm pretty sure she will end up being a beautiful dark maghongy bay! She just as friendly as she can be. She leaves her mom and comes over and sticks her butt to you to be scratched. I've handled her every day but I am going to wait until she eats grain to Clicker Train her to lead and tie. For right now though I can touch her everywhere and pick feet up. And she has no issues with humans. I have a big ball in there and she already rubs and pushes on it. I hope to get her really brave and playfull. But we have many days to go so no hurries! Melissa

She is very beautiful. Isn't it such a special event! Did you see the birth?
I'll just repost the pic I included earlier

of my Maximus straight after his birth. It is his mothers first look at her first foal. I have pictures of the whole birth is anyone is interested.

What is your new baby's name? If she has any white hairs in her eyebrows she will probably be grey.

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To err is human. To forgive, equine.