Teaching a Horse to Lie Down

My column this month for the online magazine Going Gaited took place in the form of a viewer workshop. A wonderful woman and her equally wonderful Rocky Mountain mare participated in a month long project designed to teach her gorgeous mare to lie down on cue. I hope you enjoy their journey as much as I did! Read all about it here:

A Declaration of Equine Rights

Just for fun, lets play the “What if a spaceship landed in your backyard” game. Out of the spaceship floated a little green alien. It said, “I am a peaceful visitor to your planet and I want to know about this creature called ‘horse.’”

What would this green visitor glean from its experience with you?

I happened to observe a training scenario with a fancy, well-bred young horse, with a knowledgeable, experienced trainer and loving horse owner. The horse was a lovely blank slate with groundwork in place and a handful of rides under saddle.

Three Cheers!

Yay! Did you know Steffen Peters Clicked His Way to Victory at the Rolex World Cup Finals? That’s right, this Olympic competitor is using clicker training! Yay! This article is a must read from the Animal Training Examiner by Eve Alexander.