Hi,
I am delighted that you are interested in this email series on:
Starting a young horse (or re-starting) under saddle with clicker training.
In the coming weeks/months, I’ll send you more information about the programme I did with Malou, a 4-year old Quarter Horse mare, that came to us in summer 2024 for a period of 3.5 months with the aim to start her under saddle.
Malou’s owner is a professional clicker trainer for dogs with a special interest in balance and fitness. She prepared Malou very well for learning in a new environment.
I will also share the work I did with my own Quarter Horse mare Blondie to re-start her under saddle. Blondie, unfortunately, has had a bad start and was worried and defensive about any handling. Blondie is now transforming into a beautiful and confident riding horse
If you want a sneak preview into that work, I suggest you listen to the three episodes of the Equiosity podcast of Alexandra Kurland and Dominique Day, where Carmen Heritier, Malou’s owner, and I talk about the experience with Malou and compare that to Blondie.
Part 1 (52 min)
Part 2 (55 min)
Part 3 (45 min)
In the course of the following emails, I may also share some experiences with my other two horses representing a similar scenario: re-starting a “cross-over” horse versus starting a young horse.
My Arab-cross Asfaloth came to me as a 10-year old reining horse and I re-started him with clicker training. He was an angry fellow at the start, who didn’t want anyone near his face. He is now a sweet, beautiful clicker super star 🌟
And, of course, my PRE mare Graya. I bought Graya as a 2 year old filly directly from the breeder. She did not have any profund negative experiences in her life, similar to Malou. As a 3-year old, I had the opportunity to send her to Anja Beran for 3.5 months who started her under saddle.
I will develop these stories a further in the coming emails.
That’s it for now.
More to come 🤩
Michaela