Groundwork/tricks advice.....

Oberon

Oberon

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The winter fields have closed for a month for fencing repairs and The Tank is having to stay in.

I took him into the lunging pen today to stretch his legs (he'd been out at liberty in the sand paddock twice already) and I experienced the most wonderful thing.

The Tank trotted and cantered round when I raised my arms.
He stopped when I put my arms down.
He kicked out when I made an aggressive stance to him.
He followed me around.
He played 'chase' with me.

We've always had a good relationship (I got him as a feral 2 year old and did everything with him myself, from putting on a headcollar to riding endurance) but even so it was amazing how switched on he was :D.

A livery who was watching said she could see he was loving it :).

So much of my focus has been on Obi in his last years, The Tank has been relegated to 'turn out/bring in' and nothing else :o

I really want to build on this and maybe teach him a few tricks?

Where do I start?
 
A good place to start is to play a bit with targeting.

Get a post-it at the end of a stick and have your horse touch it with his nose. Start by being pretty obvious (right on his face) and then increase the level of difficulty. Always reward with a carrot or something he likes.

Targeting is a great way to teach tricks. I taught my old horse to come, stay, rear, kneel down, lye down and other cool stuff with targeting.
 
Download clicker training the young colt or you can buy in paperback Leslie pavich or something like that, she also does you tube vids, really fun, ben loves it.
So glad you've got the tank, nd that you had a good old bonding session today xx
 
I've been using clicker training/targeting (not as advanced as SCMSL though) and what is interesting is watching my pony think.

She "gets" the idea that she has to do something, and you can almost see the gears grinding as she works out what it is she has to do.

It's been great, gives a different perspective. It's very easy to get into the habit of thinking for your horse/pony and constantly using pressure/release.

An absolute Godsend with a feral 4yo in a field with no help and no facilities.
 
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