Hi,
In this email, I set the scene for this series and outline what I plan to develop over the coming weeks and months.
Since you subscribed to this list, it’s probably safe to assume that you are either already a clicker trainer or at least sympathetic to clicker training. Therefore, I presume you already know the basics of its application (If not, don’t worry, I got you. Start reading here and subscribe to the Cone circle series at the end of that article on page 3.)
You may not have delved into Classical dressage yet. I will make an argument for learning about Classical dressage for the benefit of your horse.
Note that there is a difference between “Modern dressage” which focuses on winning ribbons at shows (not our objective) and “Classical dressage” which aims at improving balance and consequently soundness of our horses, which definitely is something we want.
We will be talking about (future) riding horses, therefore we need to explore how to prepare them and ensure that riding is beneficial or at the very least not unpleasant or damaging for our horses.
To achieve this, we need to consider not only positive reinforcement training but also balance. And Classical Dressage provides a treasure trove of knowledge about balance.
In more practical terms, I will share my experience with the four horses I introduced earlier. Three of them are my personal horses, and one, “Malou”, came to us for training. Asfaloth and Blondie are representing the “Re-starters”. They were both already ridden when I got them, but I wanted to retrain many of the elements that you develop with a youngster.
Asfaloth was my first horse and I was a novice clicker trainer and did mistakes. (He still turned out great!) Thankfully, I was more experienced with Blondie, as she gave me quite some challenges. More about that in future emails.
Graya and Malou, on the other hand, came “from the field” and were started with a good clicker training foundation. They are a lot easier and progress much faster because you don’t need to overcome previous negative experiences. They both went to a trainer different from their owner for starting under saddle and benefitted from this experience. Which is not a given.
The progression of lessons is similar for all horses but the required steps for each lesson differs.
In this series I will share the lessons we did with Malou while she was with us over summer 2024. In a nutshell, she learned the clicker training foundation and more advanced lessons developed by Alexandra Kurland.
We also used lessons from a more conventional progression but within the framework of clicker training. We introduced her to lunging and carrying a rider. We transferred the cues from the ground person to the rider and by the end of her time with us, she could be ridden in the arena by her owner in walk and trot. It was a very pleasant experience for everyone.
I will contrast that with Blondie’s development. It took me years before I could achieve the same outcome. Blondie had major issues with leading, the saddle, and relaxing under the rider.
I will share what I found to be the key points for these horses, how I solved them and elaborate when it’s most helpful to ask for help.
Kind regards,
Michaela