Tag: target training

Horse Soccer

Horse Soccer Step 1

Wiley is learning to play Horse Soccer. I will eventually shape this behavior into something cool, but it starts out pretty slow. I first taught Wiley how to touch the ball using the command “touch” and rewarding him with a carrot. Next he had to move the ball to get a reward. Finally, he had to move the ball several times to get a reward. In the clip below, Wiley had been playing this game for a couple of days. I was trying to see how many pushes I could get Wiley to complete before he got a reward. Keeping  in mind Wiley is only 2, so his attention span isn’t great yet, I think he did a pretty good job. Try and count for yourself.

Horse Soccer Step 2

After Wiley was fully capable of pushing the ball around the arena, I started shaping what kind of pushes I wanted. In the clip below, Wiley is learning to push the ball to me. I only reward him when the ball is close enough for me to touch. This is day 2 of this training. He’s doing pretty well.

When Wiley gets confident with this skill, I will continue to shape the behavior. Eventually it will be a fun trick, but I am in no hurry to get it trained.

DelMarHorseGirl.com

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Free Jump Training – Step 1

My previous horse Tucson was trained to jump entire courses of up to 8 jumps without a rider. Wiley is going to attempt to learn the same trick. It starts out simple with training the horse to walk over a pole or cavalleti on the command “jump.” In the first video, it is is clear that Wiley is getting the idea behind the command.

Continue reading “Free Jump Training – Step 1” →

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Saddle Up time – Step 1

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Wiley investigates the saddle

Exploring The Saddle and Pad

I gave Wiley plenty of time to get comfortable with the tack before putting it on his back.  A few carrots placed strategically around the saddle and pad ensured some good interaction. After a lot of sniffing, Wiley was comfortable with the smell and sound each item made.  Now he is ready to try a western saddle on for the first time. He has worn a surcingle before, so he is used to the feel of the girth. I didn’t expect fireworks.

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I’m A Big Horse Now

I placed the saddle pad on Wiley’s back and rewarded him for standing quietly. I repeated the process a few times until I could toss it up there from either side with no issues. Time to move to the saddle. I gently put the saddle on his back and again rewarded him. I removed it and put it back on a few times until he was completely comfortable with the process. The cinch was easy since Wiley was used to the surcingle.  Now he is all tacked up and ready for his first lunging session!  

I have previously worked Wiley with  various things tied to his surcingle to get him used to movement and noise on his back (from ropes to my windbreaker).  He did respond to some of the items – a buck or two and even reaching around to bite them, but he is pretty used to “stuff” by now.  It is time to see if all the prep paid off. And….Wiley was picture perfect for the walk, trot and canter in both directions. What a good boy! I will continue this work for a few sessions. I like to keep the first few sessions really short. I want Wiley to know that I will take the saddle off his back before he gets the idea to take it off himself! 

Since Wiley is only 2, I won’t be riding him anytime soon, but I may back him for a few days to get him used to the idea before he gets too big. He is already at least 16.1 and growing!

DelMarHorseGirl.com

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