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learning curve for horses



 Since I posted on teaching your horse to stop when
you get off balance, I thought i would share the
learning curve in horses so if your training sometimes
seems to not be getting through to you horse this is
why.
   When learning a lesson a horse will go through a
bad-good-worse-better-bad again and finally learned
cycle. when you work in a calm familiar setting your
horse may not seem to go through this cycle. He'll
seem to catch on and do it right each time. This is
esp true in arabs as they very intelligent (I don't
own an arab so this isn't biased). You need to raise
the level of excitement asking him to preform when
other horses are around or in a different setting.
Even if the horse went through the learning cycle you
need to raise the excitement level so you know he will
preform whatever you are teaching him in potentially
exciting situations. Remember no mater what you are
training your horse to do if he cannot do it when the
world around him is in turmoil ie an endurance race,or
show or CTR ride, he has not fully learned the lesson.
    I keep a training/lesson book on my horse when I'm
trying to teach her something new. By doing this it
keeps me from getting discouraged when it feels like
she'll never"get it". this shows me what cycle my
horse is in, helps me understand her learning pattern
(and believe me every horse's is different!), it helps
me keep focused on what I'm trying to teach my filly,
it helps me chart her progress,even if it feels like
there isn't any and it keeps my training consistant
and prevents me from inadvertently changing the
program and confusing my filly.
     I have learned that a horse can go through the
learning cycle  in 5 min, 2 hours or sometimes days,
weeks or months. yes this is very fusterating at
times!
I have also learned each training excercise has a
different cycle and the cycles all over lap as I teach
my filly new things and review the old ones.  It's
also good to know when your horse is at the top of her
cycle as this is when I can begin a new lesson or
increase the excitement level of this lesson.

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