Conditioned Relaxation
I am changing the beginning sequence of training by inserting conditioned relaxation earlier than ever.
Objective: The animal will stand in a relaxed posture waiting for the trainer.
The Set-Up: You are working through a panel with the horse (even a tame one) because they may get extremely frustrated and you have to wait it out.
Prerequisite Training: The horse has learned to take hay relaxed and understands the bridge.
Protocol: Free-shape the horse into a posture where its neck is straight in line with its body and the head is as low as the withers (or the nose is less than 3 feet off the ground). You can shape either element first. Be careful not to reinforce wiggly food searching. As things improve start to only reinforce longer displays of this posture. The goal is to have a horse who will stand in a very relaxed posture waiting for food or direction from the trainer. When the horse is showing the correct response 90% of the time, start using a request such as “Wait” or “Easy” to cue the horse. Consistently pair the cue with the opportunity to be reinforced for the patiently waiting behavior.
Give the horse a time-out if it is the least bit aggressive, being sure to leave no food to reinforce the horse’s bad behavior. Be very black and white about the issue and accept no food aggressive behavior. Come back in 10 seconds and start over fresh with no hard feelings. Wait for ears to be forward before you start. You may have to leave 30 times, but the horse wants you to stay and play.
After the behavior is acquired, the animal should be able to stand next to you without a panel between and go into the relaxed posture on request. Return to this activity frequently and use it to maintain a calm training environment. You may extend or deepen the relaxation by using additional markers such as sighs, licking/chewing, or slow blinks. Reward the descent into relaxation and keep it on stimulus control so it will be available when you need it. The more you do this, the better things will go.
What ifs: What if the horse doesn’t lower it’s head? Feed it lower than you are asking it to have its head.
I started training the newbies to get their heads down and relax yesterday. Billy and Maribel got the idea right away. Sally pokes her head down when she sees I am holding some hay. Rusty has his nose about 3 feet off the ground looking like he wonders why I don't like him. After I talk to him for a few moments, he lowers his head to where he knows I will be handing him some hay. Today I tried making conditioned relaxation a competitive sport. I would take a handful and look around; the horse with the lowest nose and most relaxed posture got the hay. Pretty soon Billy and Maribel were just keeping their noses on the ground.
I changed the name of the mare and foal to Halley and Stardust. Halley has a comet streaking up her face.
Conditioned Relaxation
Objective: The animal will stand in a relaxed posture waiting for the trainer.
The Set-Up: You are working through a panel with the horse (even a tame one) because they may get extremely frustrated and you have to wait it out.
Prerequisite Training: The horse has learned to take hay relaxed and understands the bridge.
Protocol: Free-shape the horse into a posture where its neck is straight in line with its body and the head is as low as the withers (or the nose is less than 3 feet off the ground). You can shape either element first. Be careful not to reinforce wiggly food searching. As things improve start to only reinforce longer displays of this posture. The goal is to have a horse who will stand in a very relaxed posture waiting for food or direction from the trainer. When the horse is showing the correct response 90% of the time, start using a request such as “Wait” or “Easy” to cue the horse. Consistently pair the cue with the opportunity to be reinforced for the patiently waiting behavior.
Give the horse a time-out if it is the least bit aggressive, being sure to leave no food to reinforce the horse’s bad behavior. Be very black and white about the issue and accept no food aggressive behavior. Come back in 10 seconds and start over fresh with no hard feelings. Wait for ears to be forward before you start. You may have to leave 30 times, but the horse wants you to stay and play.
After the behavior is acquired, the animal should be able to stand next to you without a panel between and go into the relaxed posture on request. Return to this activity frequently and use it to maintain a calm training environment. You may extend or deepen the relaxation by using additional markers such as sighs, licking/chewing, or slow blinks. Reward the descent into relaxation and keep it on stimulus control so it will be available when you need it. The more you do this, the better things will go.
What ifs: What if the horse doesn’t lower it’s head? Feed it lower than you are asking it to have its head.
I started training the newbies to get their heads down and relax yesterday. Billy and Maribel got the idea right away. Sally pokes her head down when she sees I am holding some hay. Rusty has his nose about 3 feet off the ground looking like he wonders why I don't like him. After I talk to him for a few moments, he lowers his head to where he knows I will be handing him some hay. Today I tried making conditioned relaxation a competitive sport. I would take a handful and look around; the horse with the lowest nose and most relaxed posture got the hay. Pretty soon Billy and Maribel were just keeping their noses on the ground.
I changed the name of the mare and foal to Halley and Stardust. Halley has a comet streaking up her face.
Comments