Well, here is the update on the trick training. We are 29 days into the training. Jackson is doing very well. He has been learning new tricks and improving upon the old ones. Along with the trick training, I have been working toward being able to ride him bridleless. I have been trying to work him at least an hour on days that are nice. If possible, even 2 hours. I don’t work him every day, so we have been working on trick training since March, but have only worked 29 days on trick training. Here is some of our progress.

New Tricks

Here are some of the new tricks that he is learning.

 BACKING UP at liberty: I stand behind him and say back. He backs up following me where ever I go.

HUG: I stand next to him  facing his left shoulder and, reaching under his neck and placing a hand there, I say “Give me a Hug.” Jackson bends his head to the left around me.

RIDING REAR: Mounted, I give Jackson his cue to rear and he rears up once.

BEND: I tap his neck and say “Bend.” Jackson reaches down between his from legs and “bows” or “bends.”

TAKE: I hold something close to Jackson’s nose and say “take.” He will take the item between his lips or teeth and hold it.

More on Trick Training

His attention span is ever increasing. If I see his focus wondering though, I will just make him lope a lap or two around the round pen. This brings his energy level up and gets him focusing on me again. One thing that does distract him easily right now is grass. I have been working with him in our round pen, so this is not an issue, but I will have to work with him soon where there is grass to teach him to ignore other distractions. If your horse is distracted by other things, one idea is to make him work for a minute or two. Then give him a chance to focus on you. When he does give you his attention, he has to do less work.  It may take several (or more) repetitions to teach your horse to focus on you, but it is worth it. 
When I am working with Jackson, it is important for me to remember that I need to reward only a good try from him. Otherwise, he will get lazy on the tricks that he knows. If he gives only a half-hearted response to a trick that he knows well, I will only pet him instead of giving him a treat. If he gives a good effort, I will reward him with several treats and much praise. This will encourage him to give his best every time.

Difficulties

One of the things that I was having trouble with was teaching Jackson how to shake his head “no.” His physical cue is me tickling his right ear. Well, Jackson is a very calm horse, and he wouldn’t ever react to this, even when I would rub the inside of his ear for several minutes. Getting frustrated after several days of this, I stopped trying this trick for a while. About a week ago I was working him on a warm day and I noticed that he was shaking his head a bit at the flies. I decided I would again give “no” a shot. It took only a minute before he shook his head on cue! This was wonderful. He will now do it mostly on cue without having flies anywhere around. The moral of the story, be thankful for the flies!

Conclusion

Trick training, as I have already iterated, is very fun. It doesn’t take much physical strength or much skill to teach some of the easier tricks. It does take time, though, time and a willingness to learn as much with your horse as you plan on teaching him. However, in the end, you will have a better trained horse and a better relationship with your horse. Not to mention you have a horse that everyone is very impressed with. So go ahead, try trick training and have fun!

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