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Training
~ Approach & Retreat
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This is a technique used to introduce new situations or stimulus to a horse. The main point to remember with this method is that you don’t go for everything all at once, this is a building block method of introducing something to the horse. Approach or gradually introduce new stimulus to the horse in small steps and retreat or remove the stimulus before it becomes unpleasant, keep working until you get to your goal. Be patient, depending on what you are trying to do, this may take some time – 20 minutes, 2 hours, 3 days, 2 weeks, etc. You need to make sure that this is a good experience for the horse. And most importantly, reward the horse for appropriate behavior By gradually introducing stimulus or a tool to the horse you not only get the horse to respond the way you want, but you can predict what the outcome of a situation will be. Instead of just flopping a saddle pad on a green horse, a better method would be:
Throw the pad on the horse’s back. Take it off, and throw it back on. REWARD for appropriate behavior.
This process may take 10 minutes on one horse and 4 days on another. Don't give yourself a time limit. Take what the horse will give and work with it. If everything goes well, you have introduced something new to your horse with minimal risk for failure at each step in the process. You can do this with fly spray, plastic bags, flags, balloons, or just about anything. We have a young horse that was ear twitched by the previous owner in order to get a saddle on. As you can probably guess, this horse wouldn’t allow anyone to touch her ears for fear that they would get twitched again. This was kind of important because we figured that someday we would want to put a bridle on this horse.
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There is some risk involved in horse training for both you and the horse. Horses can cause serious injury. Be sensible and don’t attempt anything that is outside your comfort level. This information is intended to illustrate how we apply our training techniques, you are responsible for using this information wisely. If you don’t feel comfortable with your abilities or an exercise, don’t do it! Seek advice or assistance from a professional horse trainer. Stay on the "high side of trouble". Natural Horse Supply Training Information, (c) 1999 Natural Horse Supply. All rights reserved. Duplication of any material prohibited without express written permission. This prohibition is not intended to extend to personal non-commercial use, including sharing with others for safety and learning purposes, provided this copyright notice is attached and you have written permission. E-mail to submit comments or request reproduction permission. Last updated: July 17, 2003 |
Show
the horse the pad, let him smell it.. REWARD for appropriate behavior.
Touch
the horse with the pad on the side, legs, back, and belly. REWARD for appropriate
behavior. When the horse is calm and can stand still, move on to the
next step.
Place
the saddle pad on the horse. Move it around the horses back. REWARD for appropriate
behavior. When the horse is calm and can stand still, move on to the next
step.
The
approach & retreat method worked very well in this instance. We started
by rubbing her head. When we were able to do this reliably, we worked up to
rubbing the base of her ear using a stroking motion. It’s important not
to move fast with your hands here. After we were comfortable with the base of
her ear we tried a long slow stroking motion on the entire ear. At first the
horse would quickly move it’s head away. After a while the horse tolerated
this contact. The next step was to introduce my thumb on the inside of her ear.
Again, the horse would quickly move it’s head away. Eventually, we have
gotten to the point where the horse likes to have it’s ears rubbed.