intermediate skills mini-workshop

This workshop is designed to follow on from the positive reinforcement mini-workshop, and takes the basic skills to the next level. You will learn about:

Using stand still, face forward

movement around the horse
lining up at the mounting block
starting cooperative care such as foot handling, injections, worming, eye medication

Using the target

hand targeting for basic groundwork or stretching
object targets for movement such as liberty leading, going from A to B, liberty lunging
mats on the ground for movement and stationing
working on more details of cooperative care behaviors

More on mechanics

using your movement to influence the horse's movement
working toward more precise and accurate timing
introduction to the shaping concepts of loops, wobble, easy/hard/easy, and proofing

Prerequisites for this workshop

an open mind and a sense of humor
hay pellets, either timothy or alfalfa. If your horse is a really picky eater, you can bring whatever feed you use on a daily basis. Please don't bring really yummy, actual "treats" (this might not work in your favor).
some sort of bag, satchel, fanny pack/bum bag, etc. that you can put hay pellets in and hang on your body, so your hands are free - hands-free and easy access are very important!
target stick of some sort (probably a flyswatter), it would be awesome if you already have one from the previous workshop, and we can always add an extension to make it longer

Fluency in the basic skills

Although fluency can look different for different horses and handlers, it should be something like:

Stand still, face forward - your horse can stand in one place, with you standing next to them while wearing your food pouch, and they aren't trying to get into your pouch, or walk off, or get frustrated while waiting for food. You should be able to have around 5-10 seconds of quiet standing, and more is ideal.
Touch a target - you can present an object target and your horse will touch it with their nose with little to no hesitancy at least 8 out of 10 times. You can present the target in different locations around the horse (on both sides) and they will go to it.

If you haven't taken the previous workshop, and you'd like to learn the basic skills, you can take my basic skills class, which includes a video review.

The video below is about a minute long, and demonstrates what the basic skills should look like and the "energy and feel" you and your horse should have in order to be successful with this workshop. I'm using a hand target here, which you can also do and it will definitely come in handy (haha), as long as your horse responds well to an object target, also.

Cost for this workshop is $50/pair for a 30-minute one-on-one session for up to 6 people with horses, and $25/person for auditors. This works best if the horses are able to be loose without a halter/leadrope, however handlers know their horses best and horse and handler safety should come first.

I will provide:

a short lecture on the concepts and skills we'll work on
one-on-one coaching during your lesson
a Q & A at the end of the workshop
hopefully comedic entertainment

Want to know more?

Here is a little e-book I wrote on starting positive reinforcement training (click HERE to download). It's free, with no strings attached. It's everything I like new clients to know when considering working with me. I'm happy to answer questions!