|
From Whispering to Listening.
As a
founding member of Click-EFFECT the Educational Foundation for Equine
Clicker Trainers, the focus at the Zen Horsemanship Center is
"Clicker
Training and ......."
The "and"
might be Pat Parelli (PNH), Clinton Anderson, John Lyons, Classical
Dressage or Western Reining. It might be a discipline or a method that you
already know or if you don't know I'll teach you how I work. I teach people
how to add the incredible power of the Clicker to what they already know.
Or, to use the Clicker to learn what they don't know and teach it to the
horse.
|
The Clicker
is a Marker. It acts as a highlighter clarifying the exact moment that the
horse has done the exact right thing.
I teach
people to become selective sifters. I teach people to "notice" By
focusing on noticing what's good and what you'd like to have, a person's whole
out look can change. We begin to see the beauty and incredible
"try" that is inherent in the horse.
Once
you have opened the Pandora's box of communication, it’s like when Helen Keller
learned to sign. Do you remember the movie? They want to know everything -
now!
|
|
|
They
want you to talk to them all the time. In fact, we are talking to them all
the time we are within their site. But, most people do not notice when the
horse talks. The horses, however, always notice. |
Clinton's clear concise training
methods pair beautifully with the Clicker. When watching Clinton on
Video or on RFD-TV, listen for Clinton's marker "there" or "there
you go" |
So, you
will come to know that every minute that you are within site of your horse,
you are training. That's what clicker training is all about - noticing.
Clicker
training teaches people to look for what's being done right, when its being
done right. It changes us from being reactive to pro-active teachers and
riders. Clicker training improves focus and observation and mechanical
skills.
Clicker
training is fun; I hope that folks will be laughing from the start. When
was the last time you watched anyone teach a riding lesson or train a horse
and just laugh because they were having so much fun. No special tools are
required. And, you can use the tools you are already comfortable with.
I,
personally, prefer a plain web halter. This halter is my litmus test. If I
think I can't ask and get a response with the plain halter, then perhaps I've
left a hole somewhere in my training or perhaps in my understanding of what
it is I am trying to teach.
At a
clicker hour, day or weekend, we'll work with people and with horses at the
stage that they are. We aim for small improvements on the day and big changes
in thought and how we look at the horse and what we see. We'll learn that
the laws of learning are always in affect. Whether we choose to acknowledge
it or not, if we are within site of the horse we are training him or he is training
us. We can't stop the tide, so we might as well harness the power and use
it to help us and help the horse. We'll learn that motivators and rewards
can change over time and even from minute to minute. We'll learn how to
determine what is reinforcing and what is motivating at that moment. And, we'll
learn how to create a plan that you can take home to use and re-use.
| 
