Modern Horse Training

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Connecting The Dots Between Children’s Books and Horse Training

I just published this week’s Equiosity podcast.

This is Part 3 of a three part conversation.

In Part 1 we talked about resets – what they are and how they can be used to help horses rebalance so they are more in sync with their handlers.

In Part 2 this led to a discussion of shaping on a point of contact, the WWYLM lesson and visualizing your horse as a marching band.

In part 3 explore some useful metaphors that help in understanding lateral work. We begin with Merry-Go-Rounds and then move on to railroad tracks.

At the very end of the podcast I talk about the connection between the horse training and my children’s books. Everything is connected to everything else. I hope you listen all the way to the end to understand the connections. Clicker training really is Modern Horse Training. It represents a shift in attitude towards horses.

When I’m thinking about Modern Horse training I’m thinking about the contrast between today and that time when horses were beasts of burden.

Our relationship with horses is different today. The reason why we have horses has changed. Our horses are our companions and our friends. They aren’t pit ponies down in the coal mines forced to haul coal out of the mines. They aren’t the London cab horses that were written about in Black Beauty. Thankfully, those days are behind us. We have the luxury to really examine our training and to update it to make sure that it really does work in the best interest of our horses.

When I’m sharing clicker training, I want to touch more than the lead rope you hold in your hands. I want to touch your heart because that’s how we truly, deeply connect to one another and change forever how people train horses.

The children’s books for me are part of that. So thank you for indulging me as I continue to talk about the Kenyon Bear Books. I encourage you to order them to see what they are about. (https://www.theclickercenter.com/bear-hollow-press)
Everything is connected to everything else.

Train well and have fun with clicker training.

To listen to the podcast go to equiosity.com or subscribe to it via your podcast provider.

https://soundcloud.com/user-398403643/episode-271-resets-pt-3-merry-go-rounds-and-railway-tracks

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Why Now?

Why now? Why have I finally decided to share “my hobby” with you? Let me answer that by telling you a story. In the fall of 2020 we had a severe windstorm in my area and a tree fell on my house.

There’s a longer version to the tree story, but I’ll leave that for another time. The tree crashed through the roof and created considerable damage to the rooms underneath.

During the clean up, while I was sorting through papers, I came across a story my mother had written. It had probably been ten or fifteen years since I had looked at it. She wrote it when she was in her twenties. It was the start of children’s book about Charles Alexander and an upstairs armadillo. I have always known about Charles Alexander. He was something of a good-natured poltergeist (if such a thing exists) who was part of my mother’s childhood.

The story was only a couple of pages, just long enough to introduce the upstairs armadillo. It was started but never finished. The upstairs armadillo was waiting for me to tell his story.

I have learned that when a horse or a character wants you to tell their story, you stop what you are doing and write it down. So that’s what I did. Over the winter of 2021, I wrote “The Upstairs Armadillo”. The book wrote itself very fast. I so enjoyed the process, that I wrote a second Upstairs Armadillo book, and I was starting on a third when the weather warmed up. The horses and spring chores were back to demanding more of my time, so book three of the Upstairs Armadillo series was set aside.

I was expecting to get back to it over the winter of 2022, but I was asked by a mass market publisher to write a clicker training book for them. That took precedence. I signed a contract and in March of 2022 I began writing that book. I submitted the manuscript at the end of May, and then I heard nothing. The editor I was working with stopped responding to my emails. Finally, in July I was informed that the editor was no longer with the company, and they would not be publishing my book after all. I have no idea what happened, but I was actually relieved. It had felt a bit like selling my soul to work with this company, and now I was free to manage the book myself.

That book is “Modern Horse Training, A Constructional Guide to Becoming Your Horse’s Best Friend”. I published it on April 26, 2023.

During the year that I worked on it, I never forgot about the Upstairs Armadillo or the other children’s books I have written over the years. I pulled them out of the various drawers in which they were stashed and began reading. And that’s when I decided it was time to share them.

You’re going to have to wait for the Upstairs Armadillo. I’m going to begin with the Kenyon Bear Books.

I published these books in the late 1980s and then horses took over and for many years the children’s books sat very much on the back burner.

Tomorrow I’ll share the story about how the Kenyon Bear books came to be written.

I hope you are excited by my news and you’re eager to order the new book, but I am going to make you wait just a little bit longer to find out how you can get your copy.

Coming tomorrow: More Details!

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Modern Horse Training Leads To Creative Training Solutions

(This series of posts were originally posted on instagram in June 2023. Find me at: #alexandra.kurland.5)

Robin is helping me demo the “touch the goblin” game. This is a targeting lesson that helps horses gain a lot of confidence interacting with novel objects.

As always, I am using a constructional approach, meaning this lesson uses skills that I have taught previously. I wouldn’t begin by asking an anxious horse to follow a target up to something that worries him.

That would be like having you touch a tarantula in exchange for a hundred dollars. You might do it. A hundred dollars can buy a lot of hay for your horse. You’ll touch the tarantula – really fast and maybe you’ll be flinching while you do it. You’re still afraid of the tarantula, but you touched the goblin and got your hundred dollars.

That’s not what we want for our horses, so the game begins by having them orient first to lots of objects that they are already familiar with and don’t worry them. You’ll also begin in environments where your horse feels comfortable.

I’ve added a toboggan and some cardboard boxes to the barnyard. Robin is reminding us that turning your back on a goblin and walking calmly away is just as important as approaching a goblin. I remember years ago watching a very bold rider force her nervous horse to stand facing a scary mailbox. As soon as the horse had his back turned to it, he shot off like a rocket. She was lucky she didn’t fall off. Horses show us how important it is to listen to them and to adjust our training to meet their needs.

Things I like about this photo: Robin is working at liberty which means he has the option to leave at any time. Choice is an important part of Modern Horse Training.

I love how relaxed he looks as he walks away from the goblins. He’s following both the target and my body orientation. He may be at liberty, but this is also very much a lesson on leading.

Everything is connected to everything else.

Modern Horse Training – Be Creative!

Good training doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot of money on training equipment.

I’m teaching Robin to put his nose into a loop formed from a vacuum cleaner hose. The hose can be swapped out for cardboard boxes of different sizes and depths, pool noodles held in a loop, and many other objects.

How does this help you? Think about all the “clothes” we ask our horses to wear. This turns into haltering, bridling, putting on an over-the-head blanket, accepting a grazing muzzle, etc.

The fun of constructional training is you are teaching component skills that can then be used for many different behaviors. It’s a very fun and efficient way to teach.

Modern Horse Training: Be Creative!

Robin has learned to put his nose down into many different objects, including cardboard boxes.

Now I’m using backchaining to teach him to come to me from a distance to put his nose into a cardboard box. Backchaining means I begin by standing very close to him so it is easy for him to put his nose into the box. Then I gradually move further away from him so he has to take several steps to get to the box.

Right now this is a cardboard box. Later it could be a halter I hold out to him. Think about how you can use this lesson to help a horse who is anxious about being haltered. You’re using objects that don’t have the previous associations that a halter has for that horse to teach him the basic skills that will help him to be comfortable with halters.

The cardboard box will be swapped out for other objects such as pool noodles held in a loop until eventually the horse is ready for halters. You’ll now have a horse who sees you holding a halter in your hand. Instead of turning away, he will come from a distance to put his nose into the halter.

You’ve been framed!”

Modern Horse Training leads to creative solutions and lots of fun games!

Robin is putting his whole head and neck into this cardboard frame.

Think about all the ways this simple game can be transformed into useful skills. It’s a great prep for putting a blanket over your horse’s head. Is your horse worried about a halter or bridle going up over his ears? Games like this are a great prep. Maybe you’d like to ride in a neck ring. Again this is great prep.

Games like this are fun for both the horse and the handler. And they smooth the way for many other handling requests we make of our horses.

Want to learn more? My new book, Modern Horse Training, is available through my web site: theclickercenter.com and from Amazon and other booksellers.

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Modern Horse Training: My Horse Really Likes Me

Earlier in the year it was vaccination day for all the horses. We did the big horses first, then I drove over to Ann’s house to hold Panda for the vet. I was first to arrive. Panda greeted me with a small hello. Her response to the vet was to pretend she wasn’t there.

We had arrived a few minutes before Ann was expecting us. We went ahead and Panda her shots. All was well. We left Panda in her stall and stepped outside her little barn. And that’s when Ann came out of her house onto her back deck.

Panda erupted in song. “You’re here! My person is coming!” She whinnied her greeting.

Ann wanted to pause and talk to us, but that kind of enthusiastic greeting was not to be ignored! She went first to say hello to Panda, and then she could ask her questions.

Our clicker trained horses show us in so many ways that they like us. In this photo Panda is “helping” Ann during a scrabble game. Guide work isn’t all work. It includes a lot of social, play time that Panda clearly enjoys. It’s no wonder they have a great relationship!

Modern Horse Training Is About Sharing With Friends

Modern Horse Training isn’t something you want to keep to yourself. It’s too much fun. Laughter and love are meant to be shared, and so is good training.

I love working with other clicker trainers and I am always honored when they let me have a play with their horses. This is Graya, one of Michaela Hempen’s horses (clickertrainingferde.com). We were having a rope handling discussion in which Graya was very much an active participant.

Good training needs to be shared!

You can help me share it by sharing these posts with your friends.

These posts are from my instagram posts. You can find me at: alexandra.kurland.5

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Modern Horse Training Builds Great Relationships.

This is Panda, the mini I trained to be a guide for her blind owner.

Ann is a fiendishly good scrabble player. While she was teaching me the basics of the game, Panda had my back. She provided lots of physical and moral support. And yes – she is housebroken, just like a dog.

One of the great things about training is it creates more freedom for the individual. A horse who is easy to handle gets to go more places. It’s a lot more fun to go on a trail ride with a horse who enjoys the adventure rather than one who just wants to go home.

You might not want to bring your horse into your house. For Panda it is part of her job. And because she is house broken, time inside means more social time with her human “herd”.

This is one of my favorite photos of Panda, the mini I trained to be a guide for her blind handler. I have many more “dramatic” images showing Panda successfully negotiating challenging environments. In fact on this walk they have just gone through a construction zone in which all the sidewalks were torn up and Panda had to find a safe way past bulldozers and other construction equipment. I may share some of those images, but this is my favorite because it shows such harmony between Panda and Ann. There’s no tension in either of them. Panda guides without pulling so there’s no strain on either her body or Ann’s.

Balance and the clear communication this photo represents is a central pillar of Modern Horse Training.

June marks the 20th Anniversary of Panda going into full work as her guide. Panda still loves her job. Think about that. How many people can say that after twenty years they still love going to work. Panda can!

To learn more visit my web site: theclickercenter.com

Instagram: alexandra.kurland.5
Podcast: equiosity.com

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Modern Horse Training Connects Ground Work to Riding

One of my favorite expressions is: “Ground work is riding where you get to stand up and riding is ground work where you get to sit down.”

Everything is connected. The beautiful balance that Robin shows as he trots beside me at liberty is the same balance that I want to ride. The cues that I use on the ground carry over and become cues he understands when I ride.

The use of the lead as a communication tool works in the same way as the reins. When I teach Robin how to respond to tactile cues beginning on the ground, that understanding carries over to riding. Leads and reins work in the same way. Body language cues taught first on the ground carry over into riding.

This means the training is wonderfully efficient. I don’t have to teach one set of cues and behaviors for ground work and an entirely new set for riding. The components that I use to work with Robin at liberty are the same components that I’ll use for work in-hand and for riding. Modern Horse Training makes a deliberate, thoughtful connection between everything you teach. Lessons are not separate and random. The more your horse knows, the faster he will learn because many of the components you’ll need for a new lesson will already be in place.

Modern Horse Training Focuses on Balance

This has long been a favorite photo. I am asking Robin to lift his knee into my waiting hand. I love the quiet elegance that is expressed in this gesture. Note the solid support we see in his left front as he lifts his right leg.

I could easily turn this into foot cleaning, or I could expand the gesture so he extends his leg forward in preparation for Spanish Walk.

Or I could use it, as I am here, as a gymnastic exercise that prepares Robin for the day’s ride.

Once again we see the foundation lessons in action. Robin is standing on a mat. The mat provides a context for the leg lifts and helps to keep them from becoming a nuisance behavior. His beautiful balance has evolved out of the foundation lessons.

Modern Horse Training reminds us that everything is connected.

To learn more visit my web site: theclickercenter.com
Instagram: alexandra.kurland.5
Podcast: equiosity.com

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Modern Horse Training Takes Your Horse Into His Senior Years

I chose this photo for the cover of my new book for many reasons. First, it’s simply a beautiful image. I love the overall balance, the roundness of Robin’s topline, the softness of the reins, the energy and suspension, the settled attention. But I also chose this photo because of the statement it makes. Robin was twenty-seven when this photo was taken. He’s still in work. He’s still moving beautifully.

Balance is the central pillar around which I build all my training. Balance matters to me because I love my horses. I want them to be in my life for as long as possible, and I want them to have a good quality of life. Physical balance and emotional well being are woven together. Balance has always been a key ingredient, beginning with the very first lessons I taught Robin when he came to me as a yearling. Clicker training has been with us every step of the way. Modern Horse Training has been there throughout his whole life.

The other horse featured on the cover is Michaela Hempen’s Asfaloth. He’s also now in his twenties and still loving to play.

Asfaloth shows us how important balance is.

When you look at these two photos it is hard to believe it’s the same horse. The photo at the left shows Asfaloth in his early teens when Michaela was just beginning to work with him.

A lot of horses stand like this so at first all you may see is a grey Arab. No big deal. But compare him to the photo at the right and you’ll begin to some of the early balance issues. Look at his front legs. They’re angled back. If you were building a bridge, you wouldn’t want the support columns to be angled back like this. He’s long like a sausage. He’s falling forward onto his forehand. In this balance, he wouldn’t be able to produce the beautiful suspension you see in the second image.

A bridge or a house which is built on such crooked underpinnings isn’t going to last as long as one that is built well. Our horses show us that good balance carries them forward into their senior years.

Michaela’s excellent training is featured throughout my on-line clinics.

You can read about her work at her website: https://clickertrainingpferde.com/

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Modern Horse Training Puts Safety First

This is one of the photos I included in the book. This is Taylor Culbert working with her horse Theo. She adopted Theo from a horse rescue. In this lesson she’s using protective contact. That means there’s a barrier between them. Theo always has the option of leaving.

I love this image because it illustrates a great set up for protective contact. Theo could easily walk away from the gate, but he’s choosing to stay. He’s not crowding into the gate, reaching through the bars or stretching over the top rail. Instead he is standing politely in his own space presenting what Taylor is looking for – an ears forward, relaxed “happy face”.

When people introduce their horses to clicker training, I always recommend that they begin with protective contact. Protective contact means clicker training begins by placing safety first. If a horse becomes pushy because you have treats in your pockets, you can just step back out of the way. You don’t have to correct the unwanted behavior. You can stay focused on what you want your horse TO DO.

I recommend beginning with protective contact even when you know your horse well and you have no any safety concerns.

This “donut” structure is a great set up. The handler stays in the center of the “donut” with the horse free to leave on the outside. Choice is an important part of Modern Horse Training.

Part of good training is learning to use the environment well so you can set your horse up for success. Clicker training is going to introduce many new concepts, including one that may feel very foreign to both horses and handlers. Horses have choice. It is okay for horses to say “no”.

“No” is just information. It isn’t a rebellion or a sign of failure. It is just information. When your horse says “no” to something you have asked him to do, it means the lesson has become too hard or too confusing. He doesn’t understand what you want him to do. Getting to a “yes” answer means you need to make some adjustments. That may mean going back a few steps in your training to ask for a simpler step, or teaching a missing component skill, or changing the environment so it is less distracting. These changes will get you to a “yes, I understand that, I can do that” answer.

Horses that have been trained with commands have learned that they have few choices. “Well behaved” has come to mean they do what they are told. Safe, reliable horses are very much the goal of Modern Horse Training, but we want more than this. We want horses who participate because they want to, not because they have to.

When you begin with protective contact, you are saying to your horse: “This training is different. You have choice. I will listen to you, and I will adjust the training to meet your learning needs.”

If your horse walks away, the barrier means you can’t force him back into the game. He truly does have the choice just to walk away.

It is our job to make the lessons clear enough, interesting enough, reinforcing enough that our horses want to stay. Modern Horse Training means our horses truly do have a voice that is listened to.

Find me on Instagram at @alexandra.kurland.5

You can buy the new book, “Modern Horse Training”, through my web site: theclickercenter.com and from Amazon and other booksellers.

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Modern Horse Training Is . . .

I’ve been dipping my toe into Instagram. I’m just learning my way there. I like writing books. Writing short posts to meet the Instagram format is not my normal style, but I’m appreciating that it’s a useful skill to develop. I’ve been enjoying picking out some of my favorite photos to share to define what I mean by Modern Horse Training. They make good posts to add to my blog which is what I am doing here.

Here is the way I began on instagram. This post was published on May 26, 2023

My new book “Modern Horse Training” was published on April 26, 2023. Today I am celebrating the one month anniversary by exploring Instagram. People who know me are aware that I am a very reluctant user of social media.

Instagram is very much unknown territory for me, so bear with me as I figure out how it works. I am very much like many of you who are new to clicker training. I’m asking the same questions. What is this? How does it work? How do I begin?

Regular users of social media would have been chuckling if they had seen my computer usage over the last couple of days. I was like a nervous horse edging up to a puddle, jumping back, nosing forward again. Should I or shouldn’t I put a toe in?

I have bravely decided to test the water. Just like that nervous horse I could easily jump back out again, but I have a lot that I want to share with you about Modern Horse Training – not just the book but what that phrase has come to mean to me.

I’m motivated to take the first step in. You can reinforce this behavior in a number of ways. You can, of course buy my book. That’s very reinforcing! It is available through my web site, theclickercenter.com, Amazon and other book sellers. You can leave a five star review on Amazon. People have been writing some extraordinary reviews which I deeply appreciate. They are great reading! And they certainly help to spread the word about clicker training.

You can share the book with your friends. And you can share your own images of what Modern Horse Training means to you. With your help, I’m going to be learning how that’s done on Instagram. You can laugh as I stumble my way around hashtags. Just remember the answer is always obvious to the one who knows it.

Right now I have questions not answers which means I am exactly where someone is who is new to clicker training. I am imagining them opening my new book for the first time and beginning their journey into clicker training – just as I am beginning my exploration of Instagram. The difference is they get to play with their horses. Whatever anyone says about social media playing with horses has to be more fun!

You can find me on Instagram at alexandra.kurland.5

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Modern Horse Training – One Month Anniversary

It’s been a month since “Modern Horse Training” was published. Yesterday I celebrated the one month anniversary by exploring Instagram. People who know me are aware that I am a very reluctant user of social media.

Instagram is unknown territory for me. I am very much like someone who is new to clicker training. I’m asking the same questions. What is this? How does it work? How do I begin?

Regular users of social media would have been chuckling if they had seen my computer usage over the last couple of days. I was like a nervous horse edging up to a puddle, jumping back, nosing forward again. Should I or shouldn’t I put a toe in?

I have bravely decided to test the water. Just like that nervous horse I could easily jump back out again, but I have a lot that I want to share with you about Modern Horse Training – not just the book but what that phrase has come to mean to me. I’m motivated to take the first step in.

So I have put up my first post on Instagram. If you are on Instagram, you can reinforce this behavior in a number of ways. You can, of course buy my book. That’s very reinforcing! It is available through my web site, theclickercenter.com and Amazon. You can leave a five star review on Amazon. People have been writing some extraordinary reviews which I deeply appreciate. They are great reading! And they certainly help to spread the word about clicker training.

You can share the book with your friends. And you can share your own images on Instagram of what Modern Horse Training means to you. With your help, I’m going to be learning how that’s done on Instagram. You can laugh as I stumble my way around hashtags. Just remember the answer is always obvious to the one who knows it. Right now I have questions not answers which means I am exactly where someone is who is new to clicker training. I am imagining someone opening my new book for the first time and beginning their journey into clicker training, just as I am beginning my exploration of instagram. The difference is they get to play with their horses. Whatever anyone says about social media playing with horses has to be more fun!


See you on Instagram! If I have the language right, you can follow me at #ModernHorseTrainin