Posts Tagged ‘trick horse
Jump into Spring Contest
I was recently honored as the second place winner of The Horse Studio, Jump into Spring Writing Contest. The topic to be written about was “When did you fall in love with horses?”. Below is my entry:
2006 Kissing Minnow
My Little Chincoteague Pony
I’ve been involved with horses since the day I was born, but I didn’t really fall in love with them until I was 18 and Chincoteague Minnow came into my life. He was a short, rotund Chincoteague pony that started his life as a wild pony on Assateague Island. I didn’t know much about him except for the fact that an owner in his past had neglected him and his care for several months, and I quickly found that he had deep trust issues as well as a nasty buck.
For two years Minnow and I battled to gain an understanding of each other. He constantly ran away with me and wanted nothing to do with me. He ignored scary situations and refused to confront anything he felt threatened by. But I loved him anyway and I refused to give up on him.
2007 Me and Minnow
It wasn’t until a simple book came into my life that things began to change. Trickonometry by Carole Fletcher was a book that detailed a multitude of tricks to teach your horse. As I taught Minnow his very first trick, to give me a kiss, something began to happen. Minnow began to light up as he discovered what it meant to learn. We flew through the book as he learned to play fetch, shake hands, and even bow. Minnow and I were now communicating and understanding each other.
A year passed and I could barely recognize him as the pony that had appeared in my life 3 years earlier. He was bright eyed and excited for my daily visits to see him. He no longer ran away with me and most importantly we were a team. Minnow had showed me how to teach him and in doing so we opened up a whole door to the world of horse training. And I loved him more every day.
Minnow is now an accomplished trick pony as well as an exceptional riding pony. As he now enters into the retirement phase of his life we enjoy spending time together even more. I have him to thank for my love of horses, although I can be sure that I will never love another horse the way I love him.
Excitingly my prize is an Imagine A Horse DVD, Using Treats as a Training Tool. I can’t wait for it to arrive – as I have actually been dying to see the video. I will be sure to post a full review on it after I watch it.
If you would like to read the rest of the winning entries click here.
Boomerang is a Painting Pony
There are three Trick Ponies of Chincoteague, but up until now there were only two PAINTING PONIES. I am now pleased to announce the addition of our third painting pony, Chesapeake Boomerang aka Boomer.
Boomer came to live with me in August of 2008, and he began his official painting training in September of 2009. Now to elaborate on this, Boomer was introduced to the easel, paints, and various equipment it takes to make a painting pretty much the day he arrived to live with me. With months of watching Chincoteague Minnow paint, and then watching his older brother, Chesapeake Lightning, go through the learning – Boomer had many many months of being acclimated to the painting environment.
Boomer learned to play fetch and pick up objects in his mouth, he learned to target and stand stationary in different spots. I then introduced him to holding a brush in his mouth in September of 2009. Then winter hit, and none of the ponies painted for months.
Fast forward to April 19, 2010, and I finally was able to break out the easel and paints again. Boomer stood overlooking his stall as Minnow and then Blitz created some fabulous works of art. So naturally when it was his turn to come out of his stall, Boomer went to investigate the painting supplies and find out how he could get some treats too. 10 Minutes later and Boomer was making marks happily on the canvas. I think he was proud of himself. Its hard to be the youngest, and most often the last in line to learn something.
Hopefully by next weekend we will have some great new paintings by Boomerang available in the shop.
New Paintings by the Boys
Things have been crazy busy around here, but the boys and I finally found time to create some new paintings. And with that I have exciting news as well, Chesapeake Boomerang has learned to paint! He now joins his brothers as the third painting Chincoteague Pony, but more on that later. For now I give you Chincoteague Minnow’s and Chesapeake Lightning’s newest creations from on April 19, 2010! We started experimenting with new paintbrushes and I think the results are fantastic. These paintings are very different from anything the boys have painted before. So if you see one that catches your fancy be sure to snatch it up, remember these are one-of-a-kind original paintings and no two will ever be the same. To see all of the available paintings visit our online shop HERE.
"Yellow Buttercup" by Chincoteague Minnow
"April Raindrops" by Chincoteague Minnow
"Swoosh" by Chesapeake Lightning
"Spring Mix" by Chincoteague Minnow
"Dancing with the Wind" by Chesapeake Lightning
So what do you think? Have a favorite? Do you like the new effects with our new brushes? We’d love to hear your feedback!
Dachshund Training Class #4
We only have two classes left in our 6 week session! Its gone by so fast.
We arrived at class a little early this week and were excited to meet another Dachshund. The woman who owned him apparently owns several Doxies that she shows and competes in various events. She told us about scent trials that sound just up the Dachshund’s Alley. Apparently they release a rabbit into a pen and let it travel a path (leaving behind its scent) then remove the rabbit and let each dog be released to follow the scent. I think the fastest time might win. She told me next week she’d bring me more information on it, and I’m excited to maybe try it with Ammo – I certainly know he has the nose for it!
This week at class we worked on hand targeting, something that I even do with the ponies. With the ponies I use a target stick to guide them to where I want them to be (works wonderfully for teaching self loading on a trailer). With the dogs we used out hand as a target and asked the dogs to touch their noses to our hand. The dachshund had a little confusion since I had taught him to give me a high-five – but eventually he caught on that this was something different.
We then worked on leave it. A command to ask your dog to leave something alone when you ask. I also use this technique with the ponies when I want them not to be grabby with food. With the ponies I stand infront of them with a big juicy apple, everytime they grab at it I snatch it away. If they offer me something else, a head turn, etc., then I will click and reward them with something different right under their mouth. This teaches them that they can only take something when I offer it to them, grabbing will get them nothing. With the dog we kept treats in a closed hands and put it within smelling level for the dog, as long as they were sniffing it and trying to get at it they got nothing, but if they looked or moved away they were rewarded with a different treat.
Next up was the stay command. Fortunately Ammo already knows this command (but shh! I didn’t tell anyone – made him look super advanced haha). With this command we want the dog to sit and not move (or stay in whatever position we put them in). We began by asking our dogs to sit, saying stay, stepping back one step that forward into our dog, clicking and rewarding. The important thing with stay is that to release your dog you should always return to them (rather than recalling them), because otherwise the dog will get confused and think they are being rewarded for a recall and not staying put. I was very impressed with the dachshund when he performed his stay amid the other dogs playing with squeaky toys. He was able to hold his position throughout all of it. What a smart boy.
Later we worked on recalls, this time off leash. Our instructor held our dogs while we stepped away and recalled our dogs. The recall has always been difficult for Ammo, but I have been practicing A LOT! It paid off because as soon as I stepped away from him Ammo’s eyes were glued on me, his recall was phenomenal too. Eventually we added a sit to the recall so that soon our dogs will associate the recall with a sit too. Ammo picked up that step pretty quickly too. Our instructor also mentioned jackpot treats. This is about giving your dog several pieces of food for a job well done when they do a command exceptionally well. I use this when I train the ponies too, giving them either a “special” treat or several treats when they do something I really like. Minnow especially is really in tune to jackpots, its part of the reason he can master a trick in mere minutes. One jackpot for a really good effort and you can see the light bulb going off in his head.
Overall I was very pleased with Ammo’s progress in class, he’s really starting to master a lot of the skills we are learning. The hardest part is for me to keep being consistent with him. But the more we practice the more it becomes second nature to me and Ammo.
Dachshund Training Class #3
I’m a little behind on my training class updates, but better late than never! Last Thursday was a pretty good session for the Dachshund. He’s really starting to association the DTCCC with something positive and he knows exactly what happens when we go there….he gets lots of treats!
(** Enjoy the photos of Ammo’s Easter Celebration scattered throughout this post)
We started off class with a recap of previously learned skills so that our classmates and instructor could see our progress. Ammo was pretty in tune, although as he’s getting more comfortable in this new place he has a renewed interest in the other dogs and people. Mainly he thinks everyone should be paying attention to him and gets a little jealous when the other dogs get treats and he doesn’t, his discontent is displayed by short playful barks/moans. That’s a Dachshund for you!
Ammo has mastered the sit and down with flying colors, and for those skills he’s at the top of his class (I have to say I’m a little bit surprised). His come has improved greatly as I’ve been recalling him randomly at the farm and am overjoyed when he now comes bounding to me every time. Carrying treats with me 24/7 has a lot to do with that, he knows his effort will be rewarded. I’ve also been rewarding him for just checking in with me. So if he opts to run up to me at the farm and make eye contact I reward him. I also try not to ever call him to do something. For example I never call him and pick him up and put him in the car, because I realized early on he would come when I called but immediately backed away after getting his treat – for fear of being snatched up. After 3 weeks of only calling an rewarding him (and just going to get him if I need him for something) he is now no longer backing away after I reward him.
His focus has improved, although he does still get distracted and his concentration breaks. During class we worked on a wait command – which required us to walk our dogs up to a gait opening ask our dogs to wait by placing a “stop” hand in front of them, then allowing ourselves to step through the opening. If the dog moves to follow we make a move towards them to get them to back up and ask them to wait again. Ammo picked this drill up pretty quickly as we have worked on stay (which is similar) before. Although with wait the difference is it doesn’t matter if your dog moves a little or gets out of place, you just want them to stay in the general area that they are. For example crossing a street, you might pause at the curb and ask them to wait until you say its ok to proceed.
We’ve been working on wait since last week and Ammo is doing pretty well with this one too. We also practiced more loose leash walking (or heeling) in class. Ammo had been doing exceptionally well with this at home and work, but when he was asked to do so solo in front of the class he had a little trouble. Walking to the front of the class meant new smells and he had a little distraction problem, and although he did walk pretty well next to me his nose was to the ground most of the time. I had a hard time getting him to check in with me. But that’s ok, the rest of the class had distraction problems too, and that’s why we are going to these classes – so Ammo can learn to focus in any situation. We’re getting there but he still has a long way to go.
I’m thrilled with his improvements, but I also know I have to keep it up. Training him isn’t just going to class once a week, its the constant work I do with him every time we interact. I admit its hard to think about training ALL the time, the classes are really about training me – and making me think about every interaction I have with Ammo as a learning experience for him.
All that we have learned can definitely be applied to the horse training too. Every interaction I have with the ponies is a learning experience for them as well. And reinforcing the behaviors I want them to learn ALL the time – not just when I feel like it – will solidify the them. And if that means I have to carry treats around with me everywhere, than that’s what it means. I’ve actually taken to wearing two treat belts while at the farm, one for the ponies and one for the dog. They’re weighing me down!
Hopefully I’ll be back later this week with a Training Class #4 update. We’re in the home stretch now!
