KBR Training Case Study:

"Patience"
Part Three

Aaah, that feels good!

Day 4:

We had showers most of the day. I spent most of the morning putting some PVC pipe over the high tensile wire on the back fence. One never knows when a mustang or two might break loose and head for the "invisible fence." I also played with Patience some, putting her halter on and taking it off a bunch of times. She still didn't like it much, but at least she was starting to stand quietly. Mikey, who was loose grazing, watched the goings on with Patience, his face pressed against the view slot in the front of "Mustang Manor." I used click-reward for most of this exercise and fortunately Patience took a liking to apple wafers as I had run out of carrots.

After lunch I went back out and checked on Patience. She seemed pretty calm. It was kind of a misty rain and nobody was around so I figured I'd see how she handled the great outdoors. First, in the paddock we refreshed the concept of leading (we've only been doing this 3 days now) and I quietly opened the paddock gate, half expecting her to make a run for it. She just stood quietly.

I asked her to "walk up" to me and follow me. She was a little apprehensive about coming up to the gate. We had to do the ask-click-reward thing a whole bunch of times because she'd try on each command, but she'd only take baby steps. Finally when her shoulders had made it through the gate she looked around and relaxed some but she still would only take baby steps. Fortunately for me some grass was within reach as about that time I had run out of apple wafers.

She continued to baby step until she was completely out of the gate at which point some strange transformation occurred and for the next 20 minutes or so she led as lightly as a butterfly, quietly walking all around the ranch. Occasionally she would need to stop to look at something, then I'd ask her to "walk up" with a gentle tug on the line and we'd continue on.

At the end of about a 1/4 mile walk during which we visited all of the equines in the stable, I decided to take her to her new paddock in the "arch barns." She wasn't too sure about walking into the barns but fortunately I had discovered about a half dozen spilled carrot bits so I was able to click treat her in. Once she passed over the shadow made by the barn, she walked quietly to the paddock gate.

She had to check out the paddock floor before she would walk in, and again took little baby steps (about a half foot print) until she had all four feet on the timbers. I only had one more treat so she had to try on command only. Once she passed over the floor I gave her the treat, unclipped the lead and she set about exploring every inch of her stall and paddock, issuing an occasional crisp snort.

With a couple hours of ranch chores done, I thought I'd take Patience back out to see if her leading was for real or a fluke. This time I loaded up with goodies and entered her paddock. Now Patience doesn't like to be caught. Actually she doesn't even like anyone getting near her and in a 35 x 50 paddock she has plenty of room to stay away. I walked in and she walked to the far end of the paddock and faced me.

"Walk up!"

Her ears pricked forward and she walked across the paddock to me.

"Click!" Treat offered. "Thanks and bye!" She briskly walked back across the paddock but again faced me curiously.

About the third time around I realized she'd turned the game on me. She would walk up, get a treat, then hightail it back across the paddock so she can walk up for another treat. Hmmm... I need more practice with this clicker stuff.

OK, so this time it's going to be "Walk Up" followed by "Touch it." She walked up, I held my hand back with the treat and said "Touch it" and when she went for it, she was close enough for me to at least get a handful of mane where I could start scratching her withers. Horse relaxed, leadrope attached and off we went.

We left of the paddock and she led like a perfect lady except that time Mikey reached out from his paddock and bit her lightly on the back. She squealed and squirted forward when that happened but stopped when she hit the end of the rope and waited patiently while I scolded Mikey for his rude behavior.

We visited a couple of horses then headed out to the horse course. The first obstacle was the wooden bridge. We had to get past a little munchable tall grass, then she tried the bridge. I offered a little bit of "click-assurance" then she did her baby step routine until she was about halfway across the bridge. "This is no big deal," and she politely trucked right across. The one inch "tilt-drop" didn't faze her a bit. We walked over cavaletti and explored the course while about every big truck and school bus in the area seemed to rumble past. Pretty much the only things that distracted her were the tall grass and the cows next door.

Then we tried the mound. No big deal. She sure tucks up real nice on the downhill side. Then we walked over the culvert. Well, first we ate grass at the culvert. No amount of clicking was better than the fresh green grass. OK, we backed up and tried it a little faster, starting from the "grass free" zone. No problem.

How about the stairs? That usually baffles green horses. She took it like a pro. Then we went back across the bridge, then across the bridge sideways where she had to step over the telephone pole "railings." We got stuck halfway across due to the grass again but as soon as I got her attention back, she completed the obstacle like a pro.

We meandered back to her paddock where she walked in nicely.

Getting Back toward those
Scary Parts

Even down the legs

Trying out the mound

Going up the steps

Down doesn't look so easy!

Piece of cake!

I don't know about those tires...
(Setting up "Touch it!" over the tires)

Just like a pro

Not bad for a first try

I can even stand in a tire

Can you touch a pig?

Of course I can!
I can touch anything!

It was time to feed so I ran the feed route, then had to get a water barrel and hose for Patience. (She was drinking from the automatic waterer but I wasn't sure she would work the paddle reliably.) I brought the barrel in and hefted it over her paddock fence. She didn't miss a munch of her hay. Then I dragged in the garden hose which stirred up every horse except Patience. Munch Munch Munch.

As soon as I turned the water on, I did get Patience's attention. She immediately walked over to the barrel, poked her nose in it and started playing with the water. Tess, not to be left out of anything interesting, wandered over, stuck her head through the fence which divided the two paddocks and had her big nose in the water too. The two mares fooled around with the water until the barrel was full, then went back to eating. (This has since become a daily ritual.)

The next day we added some other obstacles. She stalled at first at the tires so I held my hand over the large tire and asked her to "Touch it!" No problem. She proceeded without hesitation. We also went about touching goats and pigs and whatever else could be scary to a horse.

Not a bad couple of days and she seemed to enjoy most of it.