Do you want your horse to willingly line up to be ridden and to immediately connect with you when you’re in the saddle? Then this video is for you!
I show you the process I took when working with a mare who bolted as soon as anyone tried to mount.
This technique taught Lubie:
- How to line herself up to be mounted
- To stay connected with the rider as the person moved from the ground to the saddle (this is a big one as many horses lose connection when you mount leading to more anxious ridden behaviour than groundwork)
- To stand still calmly once the rider was on board and wait while the girth’s adjusted etc and you’re both ready to move off together
- That she could choose to line up or not and have a say in being ridden, giving her the ability to say when it was too much and when she’s happy to be mounted.
As you can see, it changed everything – all calmly, positively and with NO drama or dangerous behaviour.
➣ If you’d like to find out more about my positive reinforcement horse training approach and learn how to clicker train your horse this way, please check out the Connection Training Club. The CT Club is an online membership site where you can get access to hundreds of step-by-step training videos on training your horse using positive reinforcement. You can learn and see exactly how I train my horses and how to train yours using rewards, from starting off with a fantastic foundation to effective and practical techniques for despooking, loading, riding and more. You can find out more and sign up here. We look forward to seeing you there 🙂
➤ You can also find out more in the #1 bestselling Connection Training BOOK 📖 Get it on Amazon (search for ‘Connection Training’) or download Chapter 1 free here for a preview 👀
If you enjoyed this blog, please share it with your friends using the buttons below. Tell us your thoughts, questions and experiences in the comments section and/or sign up to our mailing list below. You will receive a FREE Video Seminar on The 4 Elements of Connection Training!
☟Scroll down the page to subscribe!☟
Hiya I have been doing this with my pony and it does work. But I am finding she is getting very mouthy. And exiting a treat what do I do now
Hi Vicky, that’s great that you’ve tried it and it’s going well. As to the mouthy-ness, that usually occurs when the foundation work isn’t solid enough, so I’d go back and work on calm, polite behaviour around you and the food for a couple of sessions before working again on other behaviours. Once it’s strong again and you’ve reminded her of the behaviours you want, remember to keep the focus on this relaxation, softness and politeness throughout ALL the training you do. If you notice her getting mouthy again it could be that you forgot to focus on that and accidentally rewarded her a few times when she was mugging or grabbing for treats, or it can also be a sign that she’s experiencing some tension, such as over-excitement, frustration or anxiety, so keep an eye on how she’s feeling generally to help you work out what’s causing it and therefore what will help most.
Theses videos on getting started will help you to go back and strengthen the calmness and politeness: https://connectiontraining.com/2018/12/how-to-start-clicker-training-your-horse-part-1/
https://connectiontraining.com/2018/12/how-to-start-clicker-training-part-2-stand-quietly-together/
https://connectiontraining.com/2018/12/how-to-start-clicker-training-part-3-walk-together/
If you need any more help, please look at joining the CT Club: https://connectiontraining.com/learn-ct-online-2/. We have LOADS more videos on getting started, understanding the emotions and overcoming problems. You can also get help in our forum, live Q&A’s or Study Groups 🙂