Heather Nelson Liberty Training

Crossing over to positive reinforcement can bring up frustration. When I was training with negative reinforcement I nearly always accomplished my goal.It was quite reinforcing for me! I could use more pressure and the horse would usually do what I asked. If they didn't do what I requested I just made the step slightly smaller and then they completed the task. Training went along at a speed that satisfied me. Essentially I had the power to MAKE things happen. With positive... reinforcement I can't make anything happen. I have to CREATE instead. I need to figure out methods to set up the environment for success and translate my intentions. As a beginner in R+ I can easily run into moments where the horse doesn't do a behaviour that they may have accomplished many times in previous trainings. And now I can't force anything or I compromise my relationship with my learner. Instead I have to ask questions. These questions were in my mind with negative reinforcement too, but I could just ignore the answers. Questions like, "I thought the cue was raising my hand but does my learner think the cue is the direction that I turn my head? Is the environment too different? Are my reinforcers poor or badly timed? How is my learner's mood or physical health? Do I need to slice this behaviour down? Is there a better tool I could use to translate with, like a target? Is there something my alternative species learner can sense that my daft human self can't?" Back to the drawing board! It's tempting to cheat, to put a little more pressure on and be done with it. But I give myself permission to not have the answer and to learn a new way. I've been training horses for 30 years with negative reinforcement. Training with positive reinforcement isn't going to make sense over night. Stay positive!

Sailor seems to have applied for the position of my new fitness coach. I endeavor to point him in the general direction I hope for and then it's a matter of keeping up. It's a ton of fun to explore the property ground driving though. It's certainly more challenging to guide my pony from this rear position. We work bitless, which is more forgiving when I'm running or attempting to run.#sailorismyfavouritepony Music: Wander Musician: @iksonmusic

Sailor and I had our first solo drive Friday! I harnessed him outside the arena. Before I had a chance to put his cavesson on he left, walked past the grass, t...hrough the gate into the arena and stood by his cart. This is a pony that knows what he likes and then just brings me along for the journey. He would probably love to be a liberty driving pony, but I have no plans for that! I don't even know if that's a thing. Is it a thing? I am currently driving him bitless and in the open "bridle" without blinders/blinkers. I may choose to add those in the future. Driving without the blinders is a natural evolution as I spent many hours over the past two years liberty driving, single line long reining Sailor in the cavesson, then added the second line, the harness and the cart. I'm accustomed to communicating with Sailor through us looking at each other with visual aids. Blinders feels like working at a disadvantage in communication. Nicole was still in the arena to positively reinforce Sailor with the occasional treats when I clicked my clicker, to provide confidence to both of us and to help me out of a jam if necessary. Everything went great though and we are excited for our next trip out! #sailorismyfavouritepony

I’m teaching Max to lie down. Initially I just rewarded him when I saw he was going down for a roll. Then I started kneeling when I thought he was likely to want to roll and I rewarded the moment he plopped down. In this session he lay down four times in a row after I kneeled so he’s figuring out my cue of kneeling means he should hit the dirt if he wants food.

We are chatting in the group now!https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83567362534

I had a lesson with Kenneth, working on the secondary aids and side movements with a horse I have been training for a client.

It doesn't matter to me if you ride western, English or bareback, with a bit or bitless. It's no problem to me if you don't even ride at all, but choose to keep your feet on the ground. I don't mind if you work a mini or a draft horse or something in-between, you are welcome at my clinics. The clinics organized by the Metchosin horse society are an excellent example of this. They are made up of a wonderful variety of horse people and the horses that they love.

Green-bean horses came together for an intensive! The goal was to work on some early riding-in training. Each horse was quite inexperienced in working under saddle but the important thing was that all of the ladies have taken their time building on the basics in previous practice, lessons and clinics. They have taken their training step by step and consequently everyone had a good time and felt safe. All of the ladies ended up in the saddle in this clinic and the horses did a wonderful job. I was very happy for them, but I would have been proud of them even if they didn't ride.

Free Livestream lesson in hand-work tomorrow, Tuesday 8:30 pm Belgium and 11:30 am Pacific time. Busy then? You can catch the replay! Learn the introduction to working in hand, and also the reasons how and why we work in this training style. This class will have video footage of Kenneth Vansweevelt working his mare, Aria, and we will chat about how to get started. You can ask questions during the class, or any other time. The following week I will have a class with my own mare in the subject on the livestream. Tune in, learn, and practice no matter where you are!

It’s fun to try different things with your pony!This is Sailor’s second session loading up a ramp into a horse trailer and I wanted to try it ground driving. I figured this was like driving over a bridge so I wanted to give it a whirl. I like to load Sailor into different trailers that show up in the driveway. Hopefully if we need to evacuate for a fire he will get into any trailer that comes to rescue him. If you want to play around with long reining, I have a clinic in Dun...can sept 19/20 and I have a couple spots available for horses. #sailorismyfavouritepony

The next free livestream class with Kenneth Vansweevelt and I will be Tuesday next week Sept 15th. I will have a continued class on the seat while riding my ma...re, Extra. 11 am Pacific time and 8 pm in Belgium. There is no class today as both Kenneth and I have other teaching engagements. See more

Sailor is learning to pull the cart now. He’s getting used to the weight and feel if it. At this point he can easily slip out if the cart if he gets uncomfortable or if it just slips out on its own (which happens often). The cart just falls down behind him and today that didn’t faze him at all.

**I changed the date of this clinic to Sept 19/20!** Have you ever wanted to try single line long reining or working in hand? The clinic series continues and we are exploring two new training modalities in one weekend! Long reining allows you to find out if your horse understands your aids when you are further back in your position. You can easily influence the hindquarters because you are close to them. It's a fun way to navigate around the arena and obstacles in a challeng...ing position and to see your horse from a different view point. Working in hand is an excellent opportunity to educate the feeling in your hand and to educate your horse to rein aids. You can bring softness to your horse from the ground and educate your own lightness too. Both these styles of training can teach a young horse to prepare for riding but also to educate an older horse to fine tuned aids. Each day starts at 9 am with a theory/demonstration and then Saturday you have two 30 min private lessons and Sunday a 45 min private lesson. Try something new or build your skillset! We welcome new participants to the summer clinic series in Duncan. The next clinic is Sept 19/20. The clinic is $235/horse + $10/night stabling for new participants and $200/horse +$10/night stabling to anyone who participated in either the liberty, groundwork, riding or lunging clinics in this summer's series.

This is Whimsy’s second session in targeting her knee to the pool noodle. She picked this up quite quickly because we’ve spent time in the past rolling the ball with her nose and legs. She enjoys any sort of problem solving activity that results in some cookies. #clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #positivereinforcementtraining #positivereinforcement

A beginning rider wants to work on intermediate horsemanship. An intermediate rider want to work on advanced horsemanship, but an advanced horseman works on the basics.A beginning rider wants to work on intermediate horsemanship. An intermediate rider want to work on advanced horsemanship, but an advanced horseman works on the basics.

Clinic four in the series was all about using lunging for improving the horse's movement, relaxation and understanding of aids. Speed control is of the essence if you don't want to fly a kite on the end of your line. Balancing the shoulders helps create shape, balance and strength. Our next clinic in the series is a combined effort in single line long reining and work-in hand. New participants are welcome to the series.

Extra has typically had the mindset that I’m about to spray her with very unflattering hair dye instead of fly spray. I’m working with the start button training so she can tell me when she’s ready for her spray treatment. Her start button is touching her nose to the fly spray and then I spray her a little. You can see she still backs off of the actual spray or flinches so I keep the spraying short in duration.... Then she’s rewarded with a treat. This way she gives me permission to spray her and she’s always welcome to go eat weeds at the side of the arena. Being rewarded for bravery with yummy treats is much more interesting than weeds.

The pony that now finds it pretty easy versus the pony that finds it quite difficult.

It has taken years for Extra to manage to trot in groundwork position in a relaxed way. She had so much weight on her shoulders and so much push in her hind legs that she would just mow right over top of me or get angry that I was blocking her. "I can't trot with you in the way!!" she would say to me with her ears flat to her head and her muscles tight. We would only try the trot for brief moments but over time her trot has become more balanced. Now she can sustain the trot... fairly easily as I huff and puff backwards in front of her. This has helped her trot in the riding to become much softer and easier for me to sit. Sailor still finds me too damn slow for his liking. He pushes against my hand (you can see this by the fact that my hand is passing his nose at the cavesson in the second photo). His head is high so that he avoids running his face into me. He is overbent, running over his outside, left shoulder because he doesn't know how to carry his weight back on his hindquarters. The momentum takes him over his outside shoulder instead. Overtime his strength and balance will improve and he will be trotting along like Extra is now. I know that if I keep practicing both Sailor and Extra will become lighter and lighter. Hopefully I will too with all the exercise. Kyle Nelson

Ground drove Sailor around the obstacles (and over a log) in the pasture today. CDE here we come!

I'm not sure that everyone who signed up for the groundwork clinic in the summer series knew they were in for a weekend of walking and jogging backwards, but they all did a great job! Aug 22/23 we have the lunging clinic in the series and there are still spots available to join. PM me for info. The ladies also asked if perhaps we could add another clinic in the series on the topic of long reining. But of course! So perhaps we will add that in September and new additions are welcome to join the series.

Liberty livestream with little Mikey today!

Mikey will star in the upcoming free liberty livestream Tuesday, aug 11 at 11 am pacific time and 8 pm Belgium time. Mikey has almost no experience with liberty (or many civilizated things actually) and I’m not even sure he will stay in my arena fence for the class. He’s an opionated elf.

Frustration is born out of those moments when the distance between where you are now just seems too bloody far from the place where you want to be. The journey from A to B is sucking up too much energy or too much time or too much money or too much...well it's just all too much! This journey could be a particular exercise like parking your horse at the mounting block or maybe it's a bigger goal like having your horse ready to go out on a new location for an event. Patience is... the skill to break that journey up into tiny achievable steps. Then you are always meeting your goals and feeling proud of yourself and your horse. If you can always feel gratitude for the wee bitty improvements you will always feel like you are making progress and even better, you will be!

The free livestream class will take place next Tuesday Aug 11 and there will not be a class tomorrow. Kenneth Vansweevelt and I had a request for liberty with a very inexperienced horse so the class will be with this handsome Mini, Mikey, at 11 am pacific time and 8 pm in Belgium in a week. You can use this time to catch up on our livestream classes and watch the replays. you can always send in questions or little video clips for us to consult on too.

Sailor gives cross country a go and nearly falls on his bum in his excitement over his treat. #sailorismtfavouritepony

The second clinic in the spring summer/series took place in Duncan last weekend. The topic of the clinic was riding and we focused on preparing the horses for riding from the ground as well as the riding itself. The horses were of all levels including green horses just beginning their riding careers. The next clinic in the series is groundwork on August 8/9 and there are still a couple of spots open in this event in Duncan.

Free live stream lesson: Liberty training together with Heather Nelson Part 1

Time change announcement for Tuesday’s free liberty livestream class! It’s now going to be 8:30 am pacific time and 5:30pm in Belgium. You can find it on either my or Kenneth’s Facebook pages and can always watch the replay.