Contents:

New DVD! Overcoming Fear and the Power of Cues

Christmas Gifts

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New DVD! Overcoming Fear and the Power of Cues

by Alexandra Kurland

copyright 2007

To order the new DVD go to the video section of the book store.

It's done! Hurray! I just finished the newest DVD in the lesson series. Every November I start a DVD project with the intention of getting it done quickly so it will be ready for Christmas. I always think, this one won't take that long. I'll have it ready in time to be my holiday gift to the clicker community. You'd think I'd learn. When I looked at the original footage for this DVD, I thought it would be a very straight forward, easy project. I'd have it done in record time. Well obviously, I didn't make my intended deadlines. It's ready, maybe, in time to be a stocking stuffer for a few of you, but in general I'm going to think of it more as a post Holiday, New Year's treat.

So what is in this DVD that took so long to produce? The title is: "Overcoming Fear and the Power of Cues". For those of you who are anxiously waiting for the riding DVDs, let me say this one inches us a step closer. We're not yet riding on this DVD, but it does at least involve a saddle!

The lesson focuses on a seven year old Icelandic mare I met this past summer. She had had a riding accident that left her deeply afraid of saddles. Her current owners had purchased her knowing she had the problem. They'd introduced her to the clicker and were making headway using targeting, but it could still take forty minutes or more of patient work to get the saddle on her.

While I was staying with them, we brought Muska out to see what more could be done. Her lesson turned into a fascinating session, and for once everything worked: we had the camera running; we didn't run out of battery; the rain clouds that were threatening to open up held off until we were done; and, best of all, Muska cooperated by giving us some great footage.

So the DVD focuses on what is really a very common situation. You have a horse that is afraid of ________. You fill in the blank. In this case it was saddles, but it could also have been clippers, or shots, or plastic tarps, etc. The question is what do you do about it?

The lesson begins with a review of head lowering. I showed Muska that she could control the saddle by dropping her head. Click and treat. So what we gave her was a way to signal to us when she was comfortable with each small step in the training. We transformed the saddle from an object that sent her scooting off, into a cue to stand quietly and drop her head. We took an object she was afraid of and let it become a cue for a behavior that leads to a calm, relaxed mental state. Very neat. In the DVD you get to watch how quickly an action evolves into a cue, and how you can then use that cue to change a horse's response to something it was previously afraid of.

The lesson itself is a very simple one, or at least it looks simple until you try it. In the first part of the DVD I'm working Muska. In the second half I turn her over to her owner As always we learn so much watching someone else putting the pieces together. And we learn that details matter. I am always so appreciative of the people who participate in these DVDs because I know how much others learn from watching them. It's so much easier to see all the little pieces that matter when someone is learning them step-by-step. You get to see Muska's concerns reawaken when the pieces aren't flowing together smoothly. And then you see her relax again as Nick masters each stage of the lesson.

One of the things that I highlight in this DVD is Muska's body language. She's so expressive. She shows us her worry, her concern. And we can see how little things - moving through steps too fast, getting the hand in the treat pocket before the click, etc. - effect her. All those little details matter so much to the horses. We may not be aware of them, but they certainly are!

This will be a very useful lesson for those of you who are struggling a bit with your horses. Watching Muska may help you to see all the places where you may be rushing through things, jumping steps a bit, or just not reading your horse well enough. This DVD contains the answer to many of the why-is-my-horse-so-frustrated-with-me? posts.

To help train your eye to the little details that are so important I made extensive use of freeze frames. When I want you to see some detail in the handling, or Muska's body language, I freeze the video at that spot. That's what took so long in the production. It's a very labor intensive, time consuming process, but it is well worth it. I think you'll find that this is a wonderful DVD to learn from. You'll see details in the handling and in Muska's reactions that I know will transfer directly to your own horses.

So what's on this DVD?
* a reminder yet again of the power of the foundation lessons.
* the importance of mechanical skills and good timing.
* the chunking down of lessons into small steps, and the teaching process for learning that fundamental skill.
* the reading of body language - so important.
* the power of cues - their use in changing a horse's reaction to something it was previously afraid of.

This last is the real take away of this DVD. But I don't want to be one of those reviewers who gives away a movie's ending before you've had a chance to see it, so I won't say anything more about that now.

And as always, there's a treat at the end of the DVD, but I absolutely won't say what is in that. I have to save something as a surprise.

If you want to order the DVD, it is listed in the video section of my web site. It is not yet in the shopping cart system, but I have instructions in the web site for how to order it. It is two hours long, and it is $29.95.

Enjoy!

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Alexandra Kurland
theclickercenter.com

To order the new DVD go to the video section of the book store.

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Christmas Gifts

by Alexandra Kurland

theclickercenter.com

Merry Christmas Everyone

Christmas gifts. My favorite Christmas gifts don't come wrapped up in shiny paper anymore. They come from my horses, from the gifts they give me not just on Christmas day, but every day. I was going to add - every day I am with them, because there are so many days during they year when I am traveling and do not get to spend time with them. But really they give me gifts every day.

Last night when I got to the barn, I turned the Iceys out in the indoor arena. They don't get much play time together in the winter. We had snow last week which meant they could go out together in the paddock, but over the weekend we had heavy rains that washed away much of the snow leaving ice in its wake. The paddock is closed again to protect it for summer grazing. And the Iceys are back to their limited play time. I had no sooner gotten them both in the arena when someone else came over with a horse. So the Iceys had to come out. Grumble, grumble. It is hard having to share!

By the time that horse had left, Magnat was letting me know it was his turn for attention, so he went out in the arena and the Iceys went back outside to their pens. But Sindri was so clearly wanting to play. He wanted to ride. I promised him we would, but first I had stalls to clean, mashes to make, water buckets to fill. He had to wait.

I finished the evening chores, brought Magnat in, gave Robin his turn, played with him. He's so much fun. Christmas eve is one of my favorite times at the barn. It's so quiet. By this time of the night all the other boarders have gone home. There is no one else around, no other horses to interrupt our fun. Robin and I could play at liberty without thinking about the clock or making room for other horses.

By the time we were done, it was almost eight-thirty, time to put horses away and finish the barn chores, but I hadn't yet done anything with Peregrine, and I had promised Sindri I would work with him. You can't break your promises to your horses, especially not on Christmas Eve. So I brought Sindri in, saddled him up, and took him into the arena.

Christmas Gifts

It was just a ride. I didn't do anything special. We worked a bit on shoulder-in to haunches-in transitions and then picked up a tolt - made all the softer by the lateral work. The gift was that feeling Sindri always gives me of wanting to be with me more than anything else. He will leave other horses, he will leave grass, to come be with me. What better gift could he give me than that?

Peregrine had his turn as well. His is the place of privilege. I always save his sessions for the end of the evening. The chores are all done except for the final passing out of the evening hay and the mashes. My attention is all on him. As we rode, I thanked him for that best of all Christmas gifts - that he is still here with me.

Merry Christmas Everyone and the Best of All New Years

Alexandra Kurland
theclickercenter.com