Targeting
My new target stick infront of some of Minnow's paintings
I just recieved my new trick whip (or target stick) that I ordered from Imagine A Horse. Its advertised as a foal want because the ball on the end is extra large and soft and the stick is more like the length of a riding crop. I chose it (obviously not because I have a foal), but because I needed something shorter that I could attach to my belt and wouldn’t drag on the ground. I currently had one of their combo whips which I use ALL the time. All of my boys are very target oriented and I use the wand to direct them into positions and even point to objects I want them to pick up. For any of you that don’t know what targeting is, its teaching the horse to touch an object, in my case I use this whip with a ball at the end as my target. I love teaching my ponies to target because it can be used for anything, and its such a useful skill to have in your bag. I have used the target to teach all of my ponies to self load onto the trailer. I also have used it with Blitz to convince him the the wash stall is not a scary place. And imagine your horses get loose at a horse show, all you have to do is whip out the target stick and you quickly have an easily catchable horse. (Sadly I admit this has happened to me a few times – Minnow can have a naughtly streak) 🙂
Targeting is the very first thing that I teach all of my horses. Its also a great way to introduce them to the clicker. Everytime they touch the ball they get a click and a treat.
I’ve also found that my target sticks can be used to give cues too. I use the end of the stick pointed towards their ears to signal them to say “No” (or shake their heads), I also use a tap of the stick to the ankle to signal a bow. I even used the targeting aspect of the stick to teach Minnow to bow. The target allowed me to entice him to bring his head down and between his legs (essentially making him put a knee to the ground in order to do so).
I’ve even used the target to help me free jump my horses – and if you buy the extra long target stick I’m sure you could free lunge your horse as well!
As a little side note, Imagine a Horse has a new DVD out about using treats as a training tool. I haven’t seen it yet, but you can be sure that it will be on my Christmas list!
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