Laying Down the Foundation

After a very uncomfortable plane ride, an unusually expensive taxi ride (wtf), and a pit stop for bubble tea, I headed out to the barn on Tuesday afternoon.

Normally when I'm on the east coast, I don't switch my time over too much. I tend to get up around 6-6:30 when I'm on the west coast, and closer to 8 when I'm on the east coast. Not this time. I'd been getting up much earlier. That plus the time change made me extra jet lagged.

But luckily it was 70 degrees and not windy, so I was excited to work with TC. I didn't have much of an agenda, but when I got to the barn and saw the neck rope I used on Rico to ride bridleless with, I had an idea.

Also other things

I've never thought about riding TC bridleless. Rico was so good to ride bridleless because at any point, if you took all your aids off, he'd stop. TC isn't that horse (which is nice most of the time). That coupled with the bolting makes me pretty attached to riding him with at least SOMETHING on his face (I have ridden him in a rope halter, usually in the summer when I have Good TC).

But I saw it and I was thinking that maybe if I just REALLY took my time teaching him to be VERY sensitive to the whoa aids (which helps the bolting in general- this winter we're going to do a lot of halting), I could potentially ride him bridleless in the round pen. Like with his bridle still on. But just not holding onto the reins. And that would honestly be HUGE progress maybe not from now, but from last year when he was bolting all the time. Plus again, it helps the bolting anyway!

I've also been talking to Kate and Nicole a lot about clicker training since they use it. I've heard the stories of how much it slows down horses' thinking and holds their attention in work and I really want TC to be a bit more attentive and a bit more deliberate. He tends to be pretty good, but there are still moments where he clearly tunes me out because something else is way distracting.

It's about stimulus control. I lose it with him sometimes (so much less than before), where my whoa aids or contain-yo-self aids become less reinforcing than the escape behavior. Knowing that this is a) a theme with him that I need to continuously work on and b) going to get worse in the winter, I wanted to start now.

And what better way to become a bird serial killer with the one stone but to start the clicker training and the bridleless stuff at the same time.

Wandering around the ranch 

Unfortunately I only had THE BEST COOKIES EVER (apparently) with me, so I need to find some less appealing cookies. TC learned VERY quickly that whoaing meant clicks which meant cookies, so he refused to go forward at all. I had to grab mane and swat him with the whip once. I then started to alternate praise with scratches on the withers and cookies so that he didn't get so excited for the cookies. Scratches are also primary reinforcers so that's good, they are clearly not as reinforcing as cookies because when he thought he was getting cookies, he slammed on the brakes vs peetering to a halt.

But by the end of the ride, TC was stopping with just a "whoa" and a tug on the rope (and stopping my seat), even from the canter! I also walked around the ranch afterward pairing the turning aids with my leg, seat, and reins with the rope turning aids. TC seemed to catch on but I never really dropped the reins completely to try it.

I don't think we'll be truly bridleless for a LONG time, but I do think that it's a good way to introduce the clicker training, introduce the rope, and make sure that TC is thinking whoa all the time.