Magic and I are having fun together playing at liberty in the woods. The connection and bonding comes through the power of positive reinforcement. Sometimes Magic and I go to a place together where there is just love and play forgetting we are different species.
With clicker training behaviors are taught step by step until the horse understands how to put all the component parts together and own the movement. In this video clip Magic is showing off his beloved Spanish Walk with joy and exuberance. This movement was initially taught marking and rewarding each piece of improvement.
Teaching our horses to do abdominal crunches and back lifts on their own improves how they carry themselves in movement. In this video clip Magic is learning how to engage his full body while doing leg flexions at a stand still.
This video clip shows a young horse having her second trailer loading session using operant conditioning. We are clicking and reinforcing movement into the trailer, and for calmness and relaxation. We are also starting to work on 'unpoisoning' the lead rope in connection with the trailer. Her owner was thrilled with her horse's progress so miraculously unfolding step by step, click by click.