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This isn't a one day thing. Not even a one
week thing.
In fact, it is more like a life time thing.
sf/cr
I will reiterate that clicker training should
be first and foremost about the principles.
Make the right thing obvious.
Break it down into achievable chunks.
Reward each step.
Rewards DO come in many forms and a wise
trainer will find MANY
ways to reinforce throughout the day.
The "paradigm shift" in your thinking is what is key.
But before all that is a PLAN.
What do you want to achieve and how will you define
success?
Once you know these things we can formulate a plan for
getting there.
What portion of that is clicks and treats is to be
determined. sf/cr
So if any exercise makes you feel
uncomfortable or unsafe, trust that feeling. That
means there is a step missing for you or your horse.
KNOW ABSOLUTELY that there is ALWAYS a
smaller step that you can break any
lesson down into. No matter how miniscule you think the step is that you
are
currently working on, THERE IS ALWAYS A SMALLER STEP that
you can find.
Find enough of those tiny steps and whatever was churning
away inside you
saying this is unsafe will be addressed.
ak/tctt
I'd say that hardest thing to let go of, when
transitioning from the conventional
to a clicker mindset, is thinking the horse MUST do
anything.
You have to have some faith in the process of reinforcing
over and over again. It DOES add up!!
Also, the good news (well I felt it was good) is that all
the 'clicker' principles
I try to live by are drawn straight from the classical texts
of the old masters. Clicker
training just confirms what they knew instinctively.
So when modern conventional trainers poopoo what you are
doing
what it says to me is that they are not very well read.
Nothing to do with clicker training. ;-)
sf/cr
Raising and lowering your energy
doesn't necessarily mean being active in a visible way :)
I think it has as much to do with focus and intent as
anything else.
There's only two possibilities for a cue - it's turned on or
it's turned off.
If the behavior is really on a modicum of stimulus control,
I don't see where you'd need "extra" active body language.
I think most of the time this is a *trainer's* problem, not
a *training* problem –
know your cue and be clear about it.
For horsemen this entails a good amount of self-control in
more ways than one.
JR/tctt
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