I broke this topic into two parts because my original post was so long that even I got bored halfway through. But the following is the practical example of "eventer79 forcing herself to manage her expectations so her horse doesn't dread work," as applied to the Training Of Trot Poles. My number one goal: to recognize & reward the incremental steps of progress.
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| Ribbon earned |
Session 1
On the first attempt at trotting four poles, 5' apart, Echo trots the first
two, then neatly canters through the second two, without touching any of
them. I say
Good boy, great job going over them, but how about a little slower?
On the third or fourth attempt, he trots all four. It's a little rushy, it's flat, & he clipped the last two. I say
GOOD
BOY! You honestly looked for the right answer every time & you
successfully trotted the trot poles! You're a winner!!
Long rein, we walk, we quit.
Session 2
Today, he starts out taking the poles hell-for-leather, grabbing the bit for a run
because it's a pretty day & he feels good. I say
I DIDN'T ASK FOR THAT, WHOA! Thank you. Now, about these poles, I just want you to trot softly.
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| We alternated with this similar exercise, apparently far more exciting |
We scale back, approaching at a relaxed walk, halting immediately before
& immediately after the poles. The third or fourth attempt, he
trots through on a very soft contact, then picks up an exquisitely balanced,
very slow canter after the last pole. I let him have four soft strides,
then sit up & ask for a down transition with my body. He
obliges like a pro. I say
Great job staying soft in the bridle
& not rushing. Even though I didn't ask for canter, thanks for being
polite, willing, & obedient.
The next
attempt, he trots through on a soft contact & after the poles,
when I sit up, he immediately hesitates for a breath to see if I
want him to stop. He is still flat-ish through the poles & the
rhythm speeds up a bit to allow him to keep his balance. I say
GOOD BOY! Great job staying soft & listening, while trotting all the poles! You're a winner!
Long rein, we walk, we quit.
Session 3
He trots through the poles on the first try, but rushes quite a bit,
clunking the last two pretty hard & bracing through his
topline. However, he does stay in trot after the poles. I say
Good job trotting! How about thinking relaxing thoughts.
The
next approach, I do a half-halt through his body a few steps out, then
think the most yoga-breathing, stretchy, lifting, slow thoughts I can
think of. Ears focused on the puzzle like mini-homing beacons, Echo
trots through a little slower, feeling a little less like he's rushing
out from under me, with only a light toe-tap behind. I say
Great job! Enjoy this mini-stretch break on loose rein for an excellent effort.
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| He quickly learned to love the stretchies |
After the stretch break, one more attempt. This time I let him approach from a trot from father out (
I had been just asking for trot ~4 strides out until now).
I focus on staying super soft on the reins & quiet with my body.
He trots through, stays soft in the bridle, & while he is still
somewhat flat, his rhythm has almost no appreciable change, even though I
feel him want to go. He cocks an ear back at me & wags
his head after the poles, his way of letting out youthful energy when he
knows he is not supposed to speed up. I say
GOOD BOY OMG GREAT JOB! Excellent work trotting & waiting! You're an amazing winner!!!!
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| Of course I winner |
Long rein, we walk, we quit.
That's where we are now. We don't have
sproing,
BUT we have:
- a rhythm that's about the same as our approach,
- trot
with a soft contact,
- ability to transition down to walk or balanced
halt afterwards, &
- we don't brace our back & sewing-machine our legs through puzzle as fast as possible.
Even more importantly, I'm not pulling on his face, I'm not shutting him down, I'm not fighting with him. He's not hearing, "
No, that's garbage!"
Obviously, he can't understand my sentences, but I'm rewarding each time some aspect, any aspect, improves. From his perspective, he is being:
- encouraged to try different solutions,
- rewarded with happy voice & rests, &
- given an
end to demands...
...
when he finds a solution that was better than previous
efforts. This motivates him to hunt for Better with every request,
because he knows it is the gateway to pleasant things.
Better. That is the brick upon which we must build our staircases to success.
Not
Perfect. Perfect is a mirage, tempting us into quixotic quests, in
the course of which we trample the blossomings of Better into
oblivion. And like all mirages, we discover that the dogged &
inflexible insistence upon what we THINK should happen only leads us in
fruitless circles or worse, dead-ends, chasing something that doesn't even exist (
wait, this metaphor is sounding suspiciously similar to dressage tests...but I digress).
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| Resist the temptation |
What
did your student do Better today? Have you remembered to give him a
sticker for his efforts? Even if he didn't get the right answer to the
original question, award him with partial credit for getting it wrong
differently than he did last time.
I figure at the very least, this will dissuade him from plotting my demise next time he sees me.
Everybody wins.
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| Ok, human, I let u live another day |
I couldn't stop giggling. Neither could Trainer Neighbour. Echo's little ears were flicking around going, What? I trotted your trotty poles, that's what they are for, right??! If you want to see the whole "course," as demonstrated by sloowww baby horse, while humans cruelly laugh at him:
