Help... feeling a bit lost... don't know where to go next :)

[Casey76]

Hi all, I need a bit of advice as I'm getting a bit stuck 

I've just started CT with Pinto again, using Ben Harts methods (the click is a bridging stimulus, the hand moving to the food pouch being the terminal stimulus).

We've just done two sessions so far, using my nice new targetting stick:



So far we can touch the target when it is straight in front, above head height, at ground level, and at about a 45* angle at chest height, with me standing on either side of Pinto.

Pinto has caught on well to the difference between the bridge and the terminus, and upon hearing the click will watch for my hand to go to the pouch.

Now, I have no idea where to go from here.  I have to admit to not being the most imaginative people when it comes to training  so any ideas here would be great.

We are pretty limited at the moment, due to unsoundness, but I thought we could try the "stand still on a mat" as it is something we could do in the manege, where we have more of an opportunity for Pinto to make his own decisions (I'd be sectioning off a small part of the manege, so we have room to move about, but not enough room to, er, run around in.)

I guess if I want to teach "stand still on a mat" then I would need a verbal cue too?  Do I need to introduce that at the beginning too, or wait until Pinto was standing fairly consistently on the mat to begin with?

What kind of mat do you recommend? Does this sound like an OK shaping plan?

Goal: I would like Pinto to stand still, untied, with both front feet on a mat while I move about him, including within touching distance, and at distance including out of sight

Steps:
1) target mat
2) target mat placed on ground
3) shift in body weight towards mat
4) one foot on mat
5) two feet on mat
6) introduce verbal cue "mat"
7) two feet on mat while I stand at his neck (left and right side)
8) two feet on mat while I stand at his shoulder (left and right side)

Now it is here where i get confused as to when to include longevity of standing on the lat opposed to me moving further away from his line of sight (around him) and to increase the distance I am from him.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated on next steps/ is my training plan too much/too little/too advanced/too confusing etc

[hilary]

hi Katrina

Love your target stick. Very sparkly!

Re mats -  I have a mixture . A car mat is pretty useful  -  but I think that to learn I prefer a wooden mat  - I think because it is a different sound when they put their foot on it. ( Also I remember going to one of the Four schools demo, and they were using a large wooden mat for one of the exercises, I forget the explanation, but think it was something to do with practising on bard ship whilst travelling from country to country).

With the target stick you could also get him to follow it ( I transferred this to a closed fist-   that is my 'target stick" which I don't leave behind!). Like doing some liberty leading.

Re the mat  -  must admit I have not particularly got them to target the mat before placing it on the ground ( think the mechanics of my goo deilvery would have gone out the window holding a heavy piece of wood! If you are doing this at liberty, try and set yourself up for success with the location where you choose to put the mat. If the area is quite big, and Pinto doesnt even notice the mat then change the situation. ( I have a small woodchip area in front of my stables I often use).  If you are in an area outside ,and chances are he is going to look over the fence at the other horses on one side rather than the other, then choose that side to out the mat so he is likely to go near it.

And absolutely reward for body shift towards mat, one foot on etc. One hint  -  one thing that some horses do is paw the mat initially -  so to try and pre-empt that I click just as the foot is coming down onto the mat, rather than waiting till it is actually on ( ie breaking it down into tiny movements).  I am not sure how Ben does this though - as I use a different system that the click ends the behaviour, and the horse ( and me) goes into food delivery mode.


The other thing to think if, is how are you going to get him off the mat. For instance if he has one foot on the mat, how are you going to get him to leave the mat , so he can figure out that he needs to go stand on it. the way I tend to do it is I use my food delivery to back my horse off the mat, so he is coming towards me to get back on the mat.I know that some do not like to use food delivery for backing, but if i get him to come forward for the treat , it makes the puzzle of go stand on the mat a more advanced exercise. Then slowly I can get him to go slightly away from me to go back to the mat. This is a great example of food delivery  from the dog world  -  I love it when the dog bouces with both feet into the mat.http://www.youtube.com/user/ladstwo#p/u/5/ZjrJCdJqd4Y

I am not sure if this is relevant/ how this fits into when you click and when you use the hand to the bumbag ,  but hope gives you a few things to think about.

Re longevity, distance etc, -- to my mind it doesn't matter which order you do things ( you may find one easier than the other) but remeber that each is a individual criterion and one should only change one thing at a time. So don't try do distance and upping the duration at the same time, one and then the other ( having the ability to relax the criterion you are not working on)

And if you wanted to vary your sessions you could always teach Pinto to blow a bicycle horn or similar, then you'll probably have the arena all to yourself.

Another great exercise ( with little movement) is to do some mounting block work ( for which there have been some great pictures and training on Jensen's thread).


I hope above is generic enough to be of use regardless of how one uses the click.

Enjoy!

[Casey76]

Thanks hilary, that's exactly the kind of info I need and am looking for.

Will report back tonight... I've bought a bright yellow plastic placemat.  I might tack it onto a piece of plywood first to get the difference in sound (thanks for that idea!)