A New Challenge - Like Climbing Everest, and Spring Is Nearly Here

 Yup! Spring is nearly here.  Nearly but not quite.  Everything has burst into blossom, the swallows are back, my Hay Fever has been raging....and yet.... There is still a persistent breeze from the North East, coming straight off the North Sea and freezing fingers and toes when you least expect it.  Clothes have been on and off (depending on what field we are in).  And there has been a distinct lack of rain, delaying the growth of The Hill Field (Spring Grazing), so every-pony is still in the Winter Paddocks and we are still feeding hay daily.  We are hoping to move them by May 1st. Frankly the daily hay wrestling is becoming a bore!! And May 1st is a very important date.

Yes its the start of The Top Barn Summer Challenge!!!!! Last year I didn't take part, knowing my Dicky Ticker was struggling, and a stay in hospital to have an IV pump fitted was imminent. As we all know that didn't work out for me, but i am now on stronger Oral drugs and am 'stable' (hahahaha).  So Charlie and i are going for it this year.  

The Challenge goes like this:

10000 rider steps per day for 2 weeks daily.                                                        1000 training minutes with horsey over 3 weeks.                                                100 miles with horsey over 4 weeks                                                                  10 challenges over 1 week.

I can do the 10000 steps, the 1000 minutes and the 10 Challenges (hopefully), but the 100 miles seems like climbing Everest.  However the nights are light in June. I can in theory do a mile with Charlie 4 times a day! We have been working at doing stuff with him wearing a saddle (this is where his Lizard kicks off) and me wearing a riding hat (my Lizard wakes up for a look-see at this point). We have also been working on standing at the Mounting Block and me getting on. We are progressing to this happening with the saddle and the hat.  I know this seems weird, but my Lizard wakes up when I put a riding hat on. It thinks I must be doing something dangerous where I expect to fall on my head. If I get on Daisy, for a road hack, The Lizard goes back to sleep, as the idea of coming off her is preposterous.  With Charlie, the Lizard is on full alert as this is a strong possibility. 

However with no tack and no hat the Lizards Sleep. But this is more of a danger! So in the spirit of Health and Safety and Squashing Lizards, we are getting there. My plan is to spend the first month doing the steps, challenges and intense training in the hope that by Month 2, I can ride the 100 miles.  Hope is a wonderful thing.  I am also hoping to find a regular rider for Daisy, to come out with me and Charlie! Of course I could always box him 100 miles away and ride back, but I would need Tess Glanville for that!! Read The Ridgeway Romp on Amazon Kindle. 

So this Challenge is my Everest!  My final push to the top! 12 ish days to the start. I can't wait!!

Charlie in Training

The End Of The Challenge, Stressage Results and Clicker Training

 WOOHOO!  We completed the Top Barn Challenge.  With the Holiday Week still in hand!  I wanted to finish the Challenge by riding Charlie, but it was not to be. I did manage to sit on him for about 2 seconds and he was calm, but most of the last two weeks of The Challenge he has gone back to feral, suddenly afraid of the tack and being restricted in any way, so we spent our time at Liberty (his comfort zone) and learning to say Yes. The week following the Challenge (or Week 13 as I see it) we took a holiday.  Well Charlie did!  Obviously him (and the other 5) still expect room service daily! And the snow came!!  I Told You So!! Although it didn't lay for long, we had NE Winds bringing Snow, Sleet, Hail. I hate Hail, it hurts! Jo and I struggled on, pushing ourselves in the crap weather, wishing we had some weekday help.....So if you are that person sat at home, bored, wanting some hard graft and a good dose of fresh air in return for a nice Highland to ride, and coffee and biscuits......please get in touch.

And what of that Stressage Test?  Well it almost reduced me to tears!! If it wasn't a problem with filming, it was Charlie objecting to being led on his blind side. Not to mention I had to run. Ok not for long, but enough to reduce me to a heaving, gasping mess, ready to pass out. Eventually I ran out of time for perfection and submitted my best attempt. Imagine my surprise when i didn't come last!!! In fact we came 2nd.  I have just received my test marks!! 84% with a couple of tens and some lovely comments. I am soooo pleased with my boy,

And Finally I would like to talk about Clicker Training. Many people in the Horse World ignore Clicker Training, or think it may lead to a nippy horse.  BUT if taught right, it can actually teach your horse to be polite around treats. It is also a way to accelerate learning.  Horses and all animals (including humans) need motivation to learn and work. Imagine if you went to work every day and your boss just expected you to put in 100% with no praise and the only feedback you got was being moaned at?  Ok so this happens in the workplace (we have probably all been in that job), but that results in an unhappy employee. You are rewarded by a wage, so that's why you work, but there is no motivation to give it your all.  You become shut down, do the minimum amount of work required and have no job satisfaction. You are probably searching the Job Ads right now. 

But what if you had a nice boss?  One that praises you, thanks you? Brings in cream cakes on birthdays? Lets you have time off on school holidays? Works as hard as you do? Takes you out for meals? Yup you try twice as hard to get it right.

So it goes with animals. Tell your Dog s/he is a good girl/boy. The tail will wag. Dogs like to please their human family.  With Horses (and other animals) a "Good Boy" may not be enough reward. But a treat is usually a high value reward. 

Throughout the Animal Training world, Clicker Training is being used. Film and zoo animals are Clicker Trained, not only to perform tricks, but for veterinary work. I have seen videos of chickens playing The Star Spangled Banner on keyboards! Or Tiger coming in for jabs. My favourite was a Clicker Trained Polar Bear!

When I first began working with Charlie, he was feral. I tried a number of training methods, most of which messed up my head.  Then I found Clicker Training. It worked. We have a good relationship. When I call him he comes running. He wants to learn. Yes he wants his carrot treats, but he is excited to see what he has to learn to get them.

Here is a link to our latest YouTube Video - Begin Clicker Training

https://youtu.be/BCuQpoOIvoo