Star, a difficult loader, recently suffered yet another bad
experience in an attempt to be loaded onto a trailer by a handler
working alone (both were injured in the process, the handler with a
concussion and lacerated finger). A day after the incident, the
assistance of a vet was called to tranquilize him and after 5 doses, a
vet and her assistants were also unable to get him loaded. Not only
would he not get on, or at this point, get anywhere near the trailer
without a fight, he's learned he can rear, strike, buck and haul back
when asked to do something he doesn't want to do. To sum it up Star
needs desensitizing to the trailer to overcome his fear before success
with training to load and actual loading can be achieved.
So,
the following, which only took a few short sessions over a period of
three days,( many thanks to Parelli, Anderson, Tom Dorrance and Ray hunt
for the tools and knowledge) is how i approached Stars problem with
people and trailers.
We parked the trailer in the arena. I
did groundwork exercises away from the trailer and when he was ready,
let him rest near the trailer. His owner and I set his am and pm grain
on the trailer, sometimes standing with him, sometimes leaving him
alone. He was more apt to relax and eat when no humans were around.
After
a few sessions of doing groundwork to get his attention and his
respect, and letting him understand that the trailer was where I'd let
him catch his breath, It wasn't long before he'd take me to
the trailer when he wanted to rest. I stood on the trailer and he was
comfortable to stand quietly with his head and neck in the trailer.
Before he even thought of leaving I would back him off and put him to
work, then repeat., He got the idea very quickly that backing away was
not going to take him where he wanted to be. By this time i was able to
move and jiggle things on the trailer, myself included, and desensitized
him to pressure from behind with the stick and string. Even with dogs
barking, cats running around, heavy equipment with air brakes coming up
and down the drive, he eventually was willing to stand quietly with a
relaxed attitude and ignore distractions. At no time did i pull him to
try to get him on the trailer as these sessions were focused on getting a
relaxed response rather than a fearful response when a human interacted
with him at the trailer. Their were times when he got cranky, and
disrespectful, but were short lived. At no time did i get mean, yell or
frustrated with his behavior, I simply redirected the behavior, moved
his feet, smiled and gave lots of praise and encouragement when he got
the answer right. All in all, we were just playing a game with a goal
in mind and having fun.
Since we were expecting a
professional handler who used natural methods, to finish the job and get
him loaded, my sessions were done at this point. The owner continued to
feed him on the trailer, but I told her not to do any work around the
trailer and to only lunge him away from it, as if this person showed up,
we didn't want to do anything inconsistent or interfere with his
methods to get Star to load.
To find out what happened next and the outcome, read the note titled "Good Boy, Star"
Apr 23, 2012
Good Boy, Star!
Ok, well, the trainer
never got in touch with the owner, but she did arrange with another to
bring a trailer today to see if he could get him loaded. I had not
worked with Star for the last week but went today to help my friend and
review some groundwork to prep him for the load.
To coin Clinton Anderson, the horse doesn't really have issues with the trailer, he has general handling issues due to lack of respect that just happens to show up at the trailer. The baggage Star brings to the trailer is not being properly trained to stand tied (yield to pressure), hauling back and backing away, rearing and bucking to scare the handler when he doesn't want to do something or is challenged to push further, fear of whips, ignoring handlers requests to whoa, changing gait and direction whenever he wants to, pushing into handler's space, or pushing past handlers through narrow spaces.
The focus is to get star to use the thinking side of his brain, rather than the reactive side, and me being consistent in what im asking and being particular at the right time and for the horse to ask, "how can i get them to stop so i can get my air back?" Bribing or rewarding with treats is counter productive in this case and also one must be careful to not inadvertently reward undesirable behavior by not being aware of your body language and actions. Horses are great people trainers!
Here's the rundown of exercises I did with Star that would also help him with handling and respect issues in general if kept up on a consistent basis:
Liberty work- direct which direction I want him to go, turn and face me on whoa giving me both his eyes, not just one. Make transitions, walk trot walk, don't change gait or direction unless I ask. Stop, back up, come to me, join up.
Online - lunge in circles around me while I remain in neutral position keeping my feet still and without him changing gait or direction. When that's good, get him to slow to a walk on the circle by bending and looking at his hindquarters. Speed up with minimal cueing- point and look at the direction i want him to go. (circle game, and "dont make me pick up the stick")
Stop and face me, change direction. Turn on the haunches right and left at the walk and trot. (lunging for respect stage 2)
Touch it game-- also online, using driving and porcupine game to yield to pressure and desensitize to stick and string.
Find object /target and direct him toward it with the stick to block and guide his body in the direction I want. I focus my vision on the object and drive him to it using pressure from my body position or stick, not necessarily touching him unless redirecting.
If he backs away from object, i use gentle pressure with the stick moving the air or touching him behind with it to encourage him forward to the object. when he touches it with his nose, I rub his hindquarters with the stick and praise then we go to the next object. This helps desensitize his fear of driving pressure of a whip or person behind him.This exercise helps with trailer loading, where backing up is not the answer, but touching an object like a trailer or on the trailer is.This driving game also gives him a purpose, a goal, and somewhere to go and helps him to use the thinking side of his brain.
Yield to pressure at the poll- teach him to lower his head when asked or when feeling pressure at the poll. This helps with tying, leading, etc. Also teaches them not to panic when feeling pressure from the halter or being tied. When they learn to give, they learn that they can reward themselves by lowering their head or standing still to get the release. Star needs lots of work at this as well as suppling exercises from side to side.
All this took an hour or so and star was doing wonderful. I would have liked to end the session by looping the rope around the pipe gate and letting him stand as a reward. The trailer showed up so that was the end of our session. I left as there were many bystanders by this time and one was ready with treats. I left hoping for the best. Yes, star did load and didn't seem to take that long as he was at the new barn, relaxed and happy as a clam when I got there.
I have to say that I've worked with Star in the past, and even loaded him in 20 30 minutes using same techniques, exercises--well he actually loaded himself, so it helps that what ive been doing with him is review and we've had a relationship based on trust and respect. He still needs consistent work with a focused handler to really get him reliably loaded onto a trailer anytime anywhere.
To coin Clinton Anderson, the horse doesn't really have issues with the trailer, he has general handling issues due to lack of respect that just happens to show up at the trailer. The baggage Star brings to the trailer is not being properly trained to stand tied (yield to pressure), hauling back and backing away, rearing and bucking to scare the handler when he doesn't want to do something or is challenged to push further, fear of whips, ignoring handlers requests to whoa, changing gait and direction whenever he wants to, pushing into handler's space, or pushing past handlers through narrow spaces.
The focus is to get star to use the thinking side of his brain, rather than the reactive side, and me being consistent in what im asking and being particular at the right time and for the horse to ask, "how can i get them to stop so i can get my air back?" Bribing or rewarding with treats is counter productive in this case and also one must be careful to not inadvertently reward undesirable behavior by not being aware of your body language and actions. Horses are great people trainers!
Here's the rundown of exercises I did with Star that would also help him with handling and respect issues in general if kept up on a consistent basis:
Liberty work- direct which direction I want him to go, turn and face me on whoa giving me both his eyes, not just one. Make transitions, walk trot walk, don't change gait or direction unless I ask. Stop, back up, come to me, join up.
Online - lunge in circles around me while I remain in neutral position keeping my feet still and without him changing gait or direction. When that's good, get him to slow to a walk on the circle by bending and looking at his hindquarters. Speed up with minimal cueing- point and look at the direction i want him to go. (circle game, and "dont make me pick up the stick")
Stop and face me, change direction. Turn on the haunches right and left at the walk and trot. (lunging for respect stage 2)
Touch it game-- also online, using driving and porcupine game to yield to pressure and desensitize to stick and string.
Find object /target and direct him toward it with the stick to block and guide his body in the direction I want. I focus my vision on the object and drive him to it using pressure from my body position or stick, not necessarily touching him unless redirecting.
If he backs away from object, i use gentle pressure with the stick moving the air or touching him behind with it to encourage him forward to the object. when he touches it with his nose, I rub his hindquarters with the stick and praise then we go to the next object. This helps desensitize his fear of driving pressure of a whip or person behind him.This exercise helps with trailer loading, where backing up is not the answer, but touching an object like a trailer or on the trailer is.This driving game also gives him a purpose, a goal, and somewhere to go and helps him to use the thinking side of his brain.
Yield to pressure at the poll- teach him to lower his head when asked or when feeling pressure at the poll. This helps with tying, leading, etc. Also teaches them not to panic when feeling pressure from the halter or being tied. When they learn to give, they learn that they can reward themselves by lowering their head or standing still to get the release. Star needs lots of work at this as well as suppling exercises from side to side.
All this took an hour or so and star was doing wonderful. I would have liked to end the session by looping the rope around the pipe gate and letting him stand as a reward. The trailer showed up so that was the end of our session. I left as there were many bystanders by this time and one was ready with treats. I left hoping for the best. Yes, star did load and didn't seem to take that long as he was at the new barn, relaxed and happy as a clam when I got there.
I have to say that I've worked with Star in the past, and even loaded him in 20 30 minutes using same techniques, exercises--well he actually loaded himself, so it helps that what ive been doing with him is review and we've had a relationship based on trust and respect. He still needs consistent work with a focused handler to really get him reliably loaded onto a trailer anytime anywhere.
Feb 14, 2012
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