Posts Tagged ‘circus
Clicks for Tricks
My video for the day is of Minnow and I goofing around at the farm last weekend. I was teaching him to kick the ball while standing on his pedestal. This video reminded me of how difficult Minnow was when he first came to live with me. If I had brought out the ball 6 years ago Minnow would have had his typical reaction – which was to pretend it didn’t exist and he couldn’t see it – mostly he would turn his head all the way around so that he didn’t have to look at it. This was extremely frustrating because if I wanted to show him something (games equipment, a scary rock, etc) I couldn’t even get him to acknowledge its existence. That is until I began clicker training him – then suddenly everything was of interest to him. He wanted to touch everything! In the hopes that it would get him a treat.
Now I love showing him new things because I’m always amazed at how he decides to react to it. Sometimes he bites it, sometimes he licks it, sometimes he kicks it, and so on. In the case of the ball (as you can see) he decided that kicking it is the most fun.
Tomorrow I am taking Minnow to my first meeting with a local clicker training horse group. I’m very excited to meet everyone – as I’m sure Minnow will be too. Minnow loves to travel, especially if he gets to do tricks when he gets there. It should be fun, and I look forward to posting how it went on Tuesday!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
At A Circus Near You
This summer I plan to bring Minnow back to Chincoteague to perform at the Chincoteague Pony Centre. Last year he started the show by painting a portrait for the crowds as they arrived. Then later in the show he performed a jumble of his tricks to music and finished up by auctioning off the painting he created.
This year I wanted to try something a little different. Instead of having him perform just a jumble of tricks, I wanted to create a “skit” for him. I’m having trouble coming up with ideas though. So far I have two thoughts – Minnow decides to join the circus and creates an audition tape, and Minnow reads the book “Misty of Chincoteague” and thinks he can create his own book and be like Misty.
Any other suggestions are welcome!
-KD
