KBR Training Case Study:

"Chancellor"
Part Three

Once Chancellor was comfortable being led (which didn't take much time) Kristi walked him through more "crowded" spaces. The idea here was to explore locations on the ranch where the horse couldn't see all around him.

Once Chancellor was more comfortable with these "closed in" spaces, they went out to the riding arena.

In the arena Kristi and the volunteers discussed Chancellor's responses to various things and started setting up some simple obstacles.

The objectives here included maintaining the horse's willingness to follow his handler and at the same time present some interesting situations for him to deal with. We would start with really simple obstacles and then work our way up to more complex and challenging situations.

What we wanted to create for the horse was sort of an amusement park, with interesting thrills (new and unfamiliar things) but not make things too scary. The handler would always preserve a "confidence link" with the horse visa vis the lead line.

Simplicity and logical progression are the keys. We start out with simple leading between and circling around small obstacles and before long the horse is quietly leading between scarier objects such as two closely placed barrels.

When the horse seems comfortable we add a second handler a safe distance away with a trained horse on the line to also make obstacle maneuvers. Thus the "wild" horse will learn to focus on his tasks while observing others in his same operating space.

Going through all the scary places

In the arena - Figuring out simple obstacles

Leading around new things

Upping the ante