Dec. 2015 Issue_ August 2013a 2015-11-23 4:45 PM Page 8 8/ DECEMBER 2015 THE RIDER SUSAN DAHL’s MY SPIN: Catering VS Correction with Persistent Pawing Issue
comment about it. Thank goodness it’s an accept- ed practise to block those drama queens. After all, if someone doesn’t like something they see on Facebook (or elsewhere), then don’t go there! Anyway, I was discussing the problem of
feeling sorry for the horse and letting the horse have what the horse wants. I call that catering. ‘Oh you poor horse. You
pawing with a friend of mine and she brought up a good point about correcting problems like persis- tent pawing.
What if Option1: To Ignore. Leave at current position - doesn’t work? How does persistent pawing get created? How do we stop it? It must be frustrating for you if you have a persistent pawing horse. Let’s look at this together. Here’s one sce-
nario to consider. By Susan Dahl.
recent pawing video I did of my new 2 yr. old resale gelding and had quite a few comments on Facebook about it. It really can become a persistent prob- lem.
video I posted on pawing. Note that this video indicates that it’s option 1 for correcting pawing. I use option 1 when I know that the horse is new to understand- ing that pawing is not ok. In other words, I use other options when the horse should know better than to paw.
This is the Facebook
Catering VS Correction with Persistent Pawing Issue I was discussing the
I used to board my horse away from home where I paid someone else to care for my horse. I did that for many years and at many different places.
(Note: Please see my facebook page Foundation Reining Training Centre to view the video.)
that elicit an emotional response from people usually are controversial. Why? I even had someone make a nasty
I find problems like these
pened? Why hadn’t it stopped? Maddening, I’m sure! Time for other options. This is what I’ve observed myself. The
owner is correcting the behaviour but the other horse handlers are not. Let me say that again. The other people in the public stables who handle the horse from time to time (say turnout and/or removal of horse from stall for stall mucking) are
Scenario: Someone’s horse is pawing and the owner is correcting it. She has tried every method she can think of BUT the horse is not changing their behaviour. The owner mentions to everyone at the public stable who is seeing her horse paw to ignore the pawing behaviour. Do not give the horse the attention its craving.. Walk away. That way, the bad behaviour will stop. N.B. Similar to the video above. But the pawing is now persistent. What hap-
All Together Now This is a common problem I observed when
want outside... Ok, the poor baby, let’s let you outside.’. The horse gets rewarded for the pawing. The horse will paw every time it wants outside. So, the problem is that as long as 1 person
going to teach my horse deplorable things. When you pay other people to look after you horse, I think it doesn’t just include their physical needs.
Just saying...
Putting my spin on stopping pawing in it’s tracks! Reinersue
@KISS reiners
About Susan Dahl Susan Dahl, Certified Professional horse trainer, writer, author & clinician. Owner of Foundation Reining Training Centre in Durham, ON. She spe- cializes in effective horsemanship, western perfor- mance horse development and reining. She has trained and shown numerous ORHA/ NRHA champions. For more information on her training, bitting, clinics or resale horses, please contact her on Facebook, her website:
www.reinersuehorse- manship. com or
reinersue@hotmail.com
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other horse handlers, often just doing their job, to change their behaviour (I know we wish we could!), so what does the owner do? What did I do? I MOVED my horse! That’s the only thing I had control over. I moved any time I knew the barn staff was
keeps catering to the horse’s pawing, the horse will still paw. It’s called ‘variable reinforcement’. Everyone would have to do the same thing - cor- recting or not rewarding the horse for the persis- tent pawing before the horse will stop. What to do? what to do? You can’t make the
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