Introducing Rossi to the dummy rider

In this lesson, Jenni introduced Rossi to the dummy rider as part of their preparation for riding and they both did a stellar job!
We start introducing the strange object by moving away from the horse while holding it, and rewarding their curiosity when they come closer to investigate.
We then bring in the cone to begin titrating the mounting process. We use the cone as both a start signal, as well as an easier option that the horse can use to earn the food if they can't say yes to the main question yet.
We gradually step up the difficulty of the question, depending on the horse's level of confidence. At any point, if Rossi had moved his feet away from the cone or left to graze, we would have stepped down the requirements until he showed connection, curiosity, and confidence in the activity again.
This is a really fun exercise that allows us to practice our awareness and timing as well as increase our horse's resilience to strange objects around and on top of their body.
If you'd like to see the next step of this exercise, go check out my February Training Demo in my Online Classroom: www.zanetageorgiades.com/membership
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Music by Poddington Bear
Licensed under: CC BY-NC
Music promoted by Free Music Archive
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