Question from a Compassionate Horse Click Member: My horse is rushing while liberty leading in the direction of the barn. He acts like I don't exist. Why is this happening and what can I do?

1. Going in the direction of the barn creates an immediate change of context simply by changing direction that is heading toward a place where the horse has been reinforced repeatedly over time. 

2. The horse has experienced food, friends, familiarity and freedom at the barn toward which you are heading and he's found it to have a strong reinforcement history. This may be a strong contrast with going in the previous direction, where he may not know what lies ahead or may have head less reinforcing experiences. 

3. It may help to keep the horse's attention/focus by doing engaging activities. An example might include using object that the horse can focus on such as a target or playing a game or practicing a well known intrinsically reinforcing  behavior and/or including higher value food. 

4. Few...

Horses naturally desire relationships and connections with other beings when they find the experience reinforcing. How does your horse "feel" when it's with you? It matters to your horse and can make all the difference in your relationship. 

"Being with your horse versus doing something to it ~ it's very different from the horse's viewpoint."
Melissa Deal

This is an old video made years ago that we pulled from the archives and the behaviors are not yet finished. But It's a real life example of how to keep changing things up/introducing variability to maintain the horse's engagement. 

Stay and Play

Variability is something that we want to work into our horse's training in many ways. This video shows how a basic foundation behavior we train in the Compassionate Horse Click Online Course, the stay, can be turned into a new and challenging exercise. It also shows how we can include other behaviors like the kiss, which is one of Eclipse's favorites, as we play/train to help the horse enjoy the process and feel successful when doing something new or challenging. 

The tone of the sessions are just as important as the content. We do our best to make sure that our time together with our horses is light-hearted and fun, which helps ensure it's rewarding for both.

Second portion of Video

My husband is addicted to Port City Java (local coffee ...

Ears back often? Should I reward for ears forward? This is a question that I'm commonly asked. What we want to reward is positive emotions in our horse. The softness of the face, muzzle ears, topline and body in general are indicators of how a horse is feeling. We don't want to trick train a horse to put their ears up, per se, so that they can get a reward. We would like to reward a horse for having positive emotions especially in situations where they have not had positive emotions in the past, and the ears can be an indicator of how they are feeling.

If you are wondering about the philosophy and methodology behind this Reward Based Training program that helps you enjoy your horse like never before, schedule an appointment for a complementary consultation, Compassionate Horse Click Style. Can't wait? CLICK HERE for more information about our online program or call 910-471-5445.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Melissa Deal ~ Compassionate Horse Click Founder

P.S. We encourage ...

Hi Gentle Trainer,

If communication with your horse sometimes feels harder than you'd like, please know that you’re not alone. Most of us arrive here because we care deeply about our horses — and want our communication to feel clearer, kinder and rooted in mutual consent.

My name is Melissa Deal, founder of Compassionate Horse Click. If you’ve arrived at this page, chances are you’re looking for a way of interacting and being with your horse that feels clearer, kinder, and more collaborative — while still being effective.

Many of us come to this work after moments of confusion or frustration. We find ourselves wondering why something that seems so simple doesn’t feel that way, or why our horse is hesitant, tense, or disengaged. Over time, it’s easy to start questioning ourselves — or our horses — when communication doesn’t land the way we hoped.

What I’ve learned, through years of experience with different horses and through one very influential horse that put me on the positive rei...

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU LIKE AND WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF IN YOUR HORSE AND YOURSELF. Remember to be gentle on yourself! Compassion and understanding include self-talk and self-analysis. Be as kind, forgiving and gentle with the person in the videos as you are with your horse. 

The process of videoing and reviewing videos may sound daunting at first, but it is SOOOOOO WORTH IT and like any new skill becomes super easy with repetition. The best way to do it easily is to just do it often. Here are a few tips.

1. All you need is a smartphone and a minute or less.
• Prop up the phone against the stall wall 
• Or sit it on a bucket against a fence post
• Or get a friend to video a few short clips, or just one (short clips load easiest)
• Avg. total length of video submitted per lesson is 5-10 min. Send as much as you want though. We’ll get through as much as we can during your lesson time.
• Or get an inexpensive phone tripod from Amazon or at Best Buy. You can go as simple or fancy as you like...