Well it’s been a very busy summer which is part of the delay in giving you all an update until now!
We started 2 year old Cesar the Wild Mustang, the first week of June. And using positive reinforcement, we had him fully saddle trained (or what you might call ‘green broke), in 25 training sessions. We even loaded him easily in a trailer and hauled him to a local trailhead for a safe, successful trail ride away from home on the 26th lesson! That is the beauty of what YOU too can do with positive reinforcement. You should see the looks on the faces of others when I effortlessly toss a saddle on and ride off into the wide open with this young little horse, reins just attached to his halter (no bit), and no stress, worry, anxiety, on his part or mine. In fact, check out the video of him pacing in anticipation for his riding lesson! He loves it! This is not an animal forced into subjugation to please me, this is a happy, well adjusted horse who has learned to enjoy being with me no matter what the adventure!
I offered my Horse Training MasterClass, How to Train Any Horse, to do Anything, by Anyone, twice so far this year. The best part for us is the students of the class who are now regular volunteers here, and helped us with speeding up the process of training Cesar and the others! So a big thank you to our volunteers! It’s a joy to work side by side with knowledgeable people who ‘get it’ when it comes to the concept of training the animals in a safe, respectful, and kind manner, while maximizing the safety of all in the process. This positive reinforcement training idea really works! Cesar’s eagerness to participate in training sessions is proof!
So now that Cesar for all practical purposes is trained, it’s time to refocus on all the animals in the rescue. And that means starting them all on a regular exercise program. Since we don’t have enough volunteers to hand walk all of them at once, we have decided to try to implement a 20 minute regular workout session with them all, as their personal fitness trainers!
The session starts with each animal being ‘properly’ haltered and led, check out the video on that. It is NOT ideal that each have to be haltered first in order to attend the work out session. That is a ‘safety first’ limitation of the current facility we are in, which is just one more reason why we hope to have our permanent home, soon, where they won’t have to be haltered first in order to be turned out. However, since that’s the way it is for now, if they don’t halter correctly, we stop, and do something else, and try again. We don’t practice what we don’t want, and practice what we do want, each and every time.
Once haltered correctly, and then led correctly to the turn out space, we give them a few minutes to run/play/roll and socialize before class begins. We then set a timer and begin today’s workout. Using mostly positive reinforcement methods, we train all of them at liberty to “free lunge” in both directions. Our goal is for them to just maintain movement. If they want to walk, trot, gallop, or jump fences, the choice is theirs, as long as they keep moving. It’s a great way for them to get exercise, and for us to get exercise as well! This is not about chasing or whipping them around, this is just a simple walking exercise for fitness and health. Check out the video and please leave your comments, thoughts, and suggestions on YouTube. As you know we are pioneering positive reinforcement training in horses, so your input is appreciated, help us think of new ways to get it done, or better yet, take the Horse Training Masterclass and come volunteer to work with our rescue horses!
Thank you so much for your interest in our programs! Please subscribe to our newsletter, share our message with others, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and most importantly become a monthly donor to the ResqRanch. God Bless you and the animals!