The Air Flexions - Clicker Training Rein Aids at Liberty

Many trainers teach these movements with a whip and bit or halter and make their cues lighter as the horse starts to get the picture. We have taught them at liberty from the start. The horses were not first taught with restraining devices and we never used stress to get forward movement. All the movement came out of targeting. Halfpass, and shoulder-in are easy to teach with this same method but are not covered in this video.

The horses you see in this video are extreme rescue cases.

While even 100 years ago it would likely have been very difficult to train a horse with food rewards because food was scarce, today we live in a time with modern luxuries - horses are trained in enclosed spaces, the footing is designed specifically for riding, and if your horse escapes you don't have to worry that the neighbor is going to steal him, leaving you horseless at the hand of vandals. A broken leg doesn't mean the difference between destitution and success, let alone the difference between life or death. Horses have been bred to excel in this modern situation. How many Warmbloods do you know who move beautifully in a nice, level arena but who would bow a tendon if taken out cross country? Because this is the world horses were bred to live in, this is their "natural" environment, in effect. Thus, what is natural and appropriate for a modern horse is different from what is natural and appropriate for his ancestors, just as what is natural for a domesticated dog like a Pug or Shitzsu is different from what is natural for a wolf.

Working for food puts some of the game back in eating. Modern horses have food put in front of them 2-4 times a day like clock work. Their lives are very controlled and uninteresting. For wild animals, food is an exploratory process with new possibilities - both good and bad - every day. Though horses are very domesticated at this point, they still have a searching instinct and curiosity. Clicker training, particularly when used with a variety of food rewards, allows the horse some of that scavenging instinct, where more effort, more curiosity, more motivation pays off. There aren't many areas of a modern horse's life where it can be truly said that more effort equals more reward. Usually, more effort means quicker cessation of an irritant. Clicker training is enjoyable for your horse primarily because it is a game that plays on his food-searching instinct and brings some cause and effect into his otherwise redundant life.

Category:

Pets & Animals

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• air flexions
• liberty
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• free+leading
• at+liberty
• bridleless
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• force-free
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• clicker+training
• clicker
• training
• horse+training
• natural
• horsemanship
• steering
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• how+to
• teach
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• steered
• reins
• aids
• rein
• ponypros
• pony+pros
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• pony
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• horse
• equine
• air+flexions

[myprophet1]

Luv your description! My gld. is turning 18 this spring (arab). He never showed any real interest at liberty, he would just walk away, the treats changed everything. He has always needed to see why he had to learn, how it would be applied. Now he can't wait to try new things and is even making up his own tricks for treats. It is also a great way make those 10 min. at night count. I get to praise him so much he's getting a fat head, lol!

[welcometopemberley]

Aww, fun story! Thanks for sharing

[VickiJoe777]

Very interesting, Love to learn new things. Thank you for sharing!

[welcometopemberley]

Thanks, it was really interesting. We have not done a lot more with it but it has us thinking about how horses learn.

[d1fairy]

hi love what you are doing..who is this craig stevens fellow...? you are a very clever young lady and it's nice to see you doing clicker work

[welcometopemberley]

p.s. If you Google National School of Academic Equitation his website will show up :)

[abirdslife]

Another great video to learn from, thanks for sharing !!

[welcometopemberley]

Thanks! Craig Stevens is a French classical dressage instructor. He's awesome. He doesn't clicker train but his dressage instruction is invaluable. He doesn't use increasing pressure and is all about taking care of the horse's balance.

[horsepaintings]

xcellent work!

[welcometopemberley]

Thanks! No, I don't think I've seen Magic Hands. Which dvd is it on? We are familiar with teaching horses to target with various body parts. It's super fun and useful. I need to do more with it.