Thanks for this video! I’m going to work on that tomorrow! I’m so happy to find someone who uses treats for rewards. I use that for my guy. He would give a mountain lion a ride for a cookie. I love it because it seems like it’s the one thing they truly love. Food is a real reward. I’m pretty sure my horse could go his whole life without me giving him a pat on the forehead, but without a cookie??? No. Impossible. I’ve been working on liberty stuff. It’s so cool. Looking forward to looking at more of your techniques.
It’s super fun to do! I don’t use positive reinforcement nearly as much as I used to, but I’m starting to get back to it for some winter groundwork and it’s been a lot of fun 😁
What a beautiful boy! I appreciate your calm clear concise instruction. Thank you so much, as my one gelding is 22 I’d like to do more ground and liberty with him as well as it benefiting our 5 year old!
THIS IS AWESOME! I’m just starting to work with my horse on R+ and I can’t wait to do this with him. I tried teaching it with negative reinforcement and he hates participating so this will be a game changer. Thank you!
No problem!! I hope my process makes sense. Just remember that what works for one horse might not work for another - there is no one way to teach any behaviour using +R! It might involve some brain storming and problem solving 🥰
Do you still like your choice in cues? I wondered what you do to cue an away motion to avoid crowding. Just curious as I begin to teach side passing to my own horse
I'm not a professional so don't really feel comfortable offering concrete advice, but what I will say is that I made sure that he had solid "manners" (there's a video documenting me teaching it in my +R playlist) so that he knows that he gets the reward when he's out of my space. Having that means that I haven't really had a huge issue with crowding when he does other cues, because he knows that he has to keep his head cantered in the middle of his chest to get the reward. Good luck!
@ thanks! Someone had recommended a stick/whip straight up as the cue… but what am I going to do with a stick when I ride or something else? No judgement for other folks but I don’t plan on using one when I ride. On the ground, I will sometimes use my hand out to tell him to keep his distance and so I’m trying to find a cue that won’t be confusing for him, and that I can be consistent with. It’s helpful to see how people like their cues later on to see if that still works for them. Some podcast I heard (I can’t remember who) taught the lay down cue by tapping their abdomen… then when they rode, the horse laid down since their leg was in the same spot. I think it was your video with the target that inspired me to make one a while back! We love it! Do you have a halt cue you like? Mine responds to whoa just fine but a gesture cue would be nice too.
@@LitterBoxCleaner I use vocal cues for speed directions. I should clarify that I do/have done +R stuff for groundwork, but when it comes to ridden work I ride traditionally (-R), but do so with no gadgets, escalating pressure, etc. For Merlin and I, +R just doesn't work for under saddle stuff. I keep a very distinct line between what I use +R for and what I use -R for so that he doesn't get confused, and it works really well for us :) It's a tool in my toolbox, but not the entire toolbox, if that makes sense.
@ totally makes sense. I’m very similar. My only ridden R+ is petting them. Sometimes I’ll get off as a bigger reward but I haven’t found a good way to treat from their back. I did try having a feed pan out that I’d drop a treat into and that didn’t work. Maybe for a different horse. The timing was too difficult. I am going to try my target when I restart my rescue gelding under saddle. He needed so much physical rehab that it hasn’t been a priority. The target was SO helpful keeping him aligned when we do ground work. He had some muscle atrophy on one side and I think having a way to guide him without pulling made a huge difference! It’s 90% improved! So, thanks again for the inspo!
@ totally makes sense. I’m very similar. My only ridden R+ is petting them. Sometimes I’ll get off as a bigger reward but I haven’t found a good way to treat from their back. I did try having a feed pan out that I’d drop a treat into and that didn’t work. Maybe for a different horse. The timing was too difficult. I am going to try my target when I restart my rescue gelding under saddle. He needed so much physical rehab that it hasn’t been a priority. The target was SO helpful keeping him aligned when we do ground work. He had some muscle atrophy on one side and I think having a way to guide him without pulling made a huge difference! It’s 90% improved! So, thanks again for the inspo!
Thank you so much, that’s really nice of you to say! Though I’m not a professional trainer, I appreciate when people find my videos helpful. A quick disclaimer is that I don’t use solely +R in ridden work, more like negative reinforcement/pressure and release with a cookie on top, so I haven’t transferred the cue to under saddle work. Additionally, he’s too young at the moment (only recently turned 4) for me to really contemplate doing sidepasses under saddle anyway. 🥰
this might be a little late, but what i have seen others do is, they create a verbal cue and train the horse to respond to that and then use that to see ow the horse responds to that under saddle. when the horse is responding well to the verbal cue under saddle they start incorporating leg aids or physical cues in addition to the verbal cue. and ofc lots of treats xD
Hi, this is the 1st video from you ive seen and i found your way of hip targeting really helpful, as i have tried other ways and not been sucessful,so thankyou very much! By the way, what do you reinforce with? I have a new forest mare who quickly puts on weight...
Thank you for checking out my video! I have a lot of other +R-related content that you might enjoy - and I’m always making more! There’s a playlist on my channel if you want to check it out. Something I’ve learned since incorporating +R into my training is that there isn’t just one way of trying to teach a horse how to do something - there are many ways, and this way of teaching hip targeting is just one. I’m really glad that you found it helpful! As for the reinforcer, I use plain alfalfa pellets in small handfuls. Normally 3-5 pellets per click. If they do a particularly good effort, I praise verbally and give them a slightly bigger handful. I’ve heard that Timothy pellets are slightly lower in sugar/less fattening, so that might be an option for your New Forest (side note- they are the CUTEST ponies ever) if they are very well-to-do. They are also slightly lower value than tastier treats, so can help your horse from becoming over stimulated.
Thanks for this video! I’m going to work on that tomorrow! I’m so happy to find someone who uses treats for rewards. I use that for my guy. He would give a mountain lion a ride for a cookie. I love it because it seems like it’s the one thing they truly love. Food is a real reward. I’m pretty sure my horse could go his whole life without me giving him a pat on the forehead, but without a cookie??? No. Impossible. I’ve been working on liberty stuff. It’s so cool. Looking forward to looking at more of your techniques.
It’s super fun to do! I don’t use positive reinforcement nearly as much as I used to, but I’m starting to get back to it for some winter groundwork and it’s been a lot of fun 😁
Your Merlin is just my my gelding, Rebel. I'll be working on this with him soon - excited!
Ouuuu what an awesome name!! I love it! Best of luck with him ☺️
This deserves more views.
Thank you - that is so kind 🥹♥️
What a beautiful boy! I appreciate your calm clear concise instruction. Thank you so much, as my one gelding is 22 I’d like to do more ground and liberty with him as well as it benefiting our 5 year old!
Somehow I missed this comment until now! Sorry about that. Thank you so much for your kindness! ☺️
Thankyou❤
THIS IS AWESOME! I’m just starting to work with my horse on R+ and I can’t wait to do this with him. I tried teaching it with negative reinforcement and he hates participating so this will be a game changer. Thank you!
No problem!! I hope my process makes sense. Just remember that what works for one horse might not work for another - there is no one way to teach any behaviour using +R! It might involve some brain storming and problem solving 🥰
This video is super well done! You deserve more recognition, well done!
Thank you so much, that means a lot! 🥹 You are so sweet! This is one of the videos that I'm most proud of so far, it took awhile to make
I love this!!! Thank you so much!
Do you teach them to side pass away or is it always side passing towards?
I taught him to side pass towards me, but I’m sure you could easily teach it moving away :)
Do you still like your choice in cues? I wondered what you do to cue an away motion to avoid crowding. Just curious as I begin to teach side passing to my own horse
I'm not a professional so don't really feel comfortable offering concrete advice, but what I will say is that I made sure that he had solid "manners" (there's a video documenting me teaching it in my +R playlist) so that he knows that he gets the reward when he's out of my space. Having that means that I haven't really had a huge issue with crowding when he does other cues, because he knows that he has to keep his head cantered in the middle of his chest to get the reward. Good luck!
@ thanks! Someone had recommended a stick/whip straight up as the cue… but what am I going to do with a stick when I ride or something else? No judgement for other folks but I don’t plan on using one when I ride. On the ground, I will sometimes use my hand out to tell him to keep his distance and so I’m trying to find a cue that won’t be confusing for him, and that I can be consistent with. It’s helpful to see how people like their cues later on to see if that still works for them. Some podcast I heard (I can’t remember who) taught the lay down cue by tapping their abdomen… then when they rode, the horse laid down since their leg was in the same spot. I think it was your video with the target that inspired me to make one a while back! We love it! Do you have a halt cue you like? Mine responds to whoa just fine but a gesture cue would be nice too.
@@LitterBoxCleaner I use vocal cues for speed directions. I should clarify that I do/have done +R stuff for groundwork, but when it comes to ridden work I ride traditionally (-R), but do so with no gadgets, escalating pressure, etc. For Merlin and I, +R just doesn't work for under saddle stuff. I keep a very distinct line between what I use +R for and what I use -R for so that he doesn't get confused, and it works really well for us :) It's a tool in my toolbox, but not the entire toolbox, if that makes sense.
@ totally makes sense. I’m very similar. My only ridden R+ is petting them. Sometimes I’ll get off as a bigger reward but I haven’t found a good way to treat from their back. I did try having a feed pan out that I’d drop a treat into and that didn’t work. Maybe for a different horse. The timing was too difficult. I am going to try my target when I restart my rescue gelding under saddle. He needed so much physical rehab that it hasn’t been a priority. The target was SO helpful keeping him aligned when we do ground work. He had some muscle atrophy on one side and I think having a way to guide him without pulling made a huge difference! It’s 90% improved! So, thanks again for the inspo!
@ totally makes sense. I’m very similar. My only ridden R+ is petting them. Sometimes I’ll get off as a bigger reward but I haven’t found a good way to treat from their back. I did try having a feed pan out that I’d drop a treat into and that didn’t work. Maybe for a different horse. The timing was too difficult. I am going to try my target when I restart my rescue gelding under saddle. He needed so much physical rehab that it hasn’t been a priority. The target was SO helpful keeping him aligned when we do ground work. He had some muscle atrophy on one side and I think having a way to guide him without pulling made a huge difference! It’s 90% improved! So, thanks again for the inspo!
After just one video you’re now on my list of favourite trainers! I’m curious, how did you transfer the sidepass cues to the saddle?
Thank you so much, that’s really nice of you to say! Though I’m not a professional trainer, I appreciate when people find my videos helpful. A quick disclaimer is that I don’t use solely +R in ridden work, more like negative reinforcement/pressure and release with a cookie on top, so I haven’t transferred the cue to under saddle work. Additionally, he’s too young at the moment (only recently turned 4) for me to really contemplate doing sidepasses under saddle anyway. 🥰
this might be a little late, but what i have seen others do is, they create a verbal cue and train the horse to respond to that and then use that to see ow the horse responds to that under saddle. when the horse is responding well to the verbal cue under saddle they start incorporating leg aids or physical cues in addition to the verbal cue. and ofc lots of treats xD
❤❤❤
Hi, this is the 1st video from you ive seen and i found your way of hip targeting really helpful, as i have tried other ways and not been sucessful,so thankyou very much! By the way, what do you reinforce with? I have a new forest mare who quickly puts on weight...
Thank you for checking out my video! I have a lot of other +R-related content that you might enjoy - and I’m always making more! There’s a playlist on my channel if you want to check it out.
Something I’ve learned since incorporating +R into my training is that there isn’t just one way of trying to teach a horse how to do something - there are many ways, and this way of teaching hip targeting is just one. I’m really glad that you found it helpful!
As for the reinforcer, I use plain alfalfa pellets in small handfuls. Normally 3-5 pellets per click. If they do a particularly good effort, I praise verbally and give them a slightly bigger handful. I’ve heard that Timothy pellets are slightly lower in sugar/less fattening, so that might be an option for your New Forest (side note- they are the CUTEST ponies ever) if they are very well-to-do. They are also slightly lower value than tastier treats, so can help your horse from becoming over stimulated.
@@KaitehhEquestrian Thanks for the quick feedback! Also its great to see the close connection you already have with Merlin🤗