Changes Clicker Training Can Bring

This really isn't related to Vivre at all.

I was at the barn today watching a couple of the borders work with their young gelding. A Tennessee Walking Horse, they were working on getting a running walk. He was doing very well, and finely he gave them a great few strides. His reward was to quit. Something that seemed so normal to me before. Now all I can think is how bizarre it seems that they don't want to work with their people and they everyone seems to be okay with that. If Vivre didn't want to work with me I would know there was something wrong. Even when she is heavily distracted she still is ready and willing to work when she focuses on me.

It has been a couple of hours and truthfully it still is just hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that they big reward is quitting.

My old horse is 29 and a retired champion. There isn't much to teach him except for novel behaviors like targeting. He is so arthritic that he really also needs behaviors that don't require too much movement. But even though my horse clicker training experience is limited, I can't help thinking about how much easier it would be if they could have clicked what they wanted. If they had a horse that understood "Yes, this is what I want."

I think what is really getting to me the most is that I know that this used to seem normal to me and now I can't just wrap my mind around it.