Day 1 – Video Library Introduction
3 Topics
Day 2 – Who Is In This Partnership?
4 Topics
Day 3 – Sticking to the Plan
4 Topics
Day 4 – Hanging Out With Your Horse
3 Topics
Day 5 – The Human Factor
6 Topics
Day 6 – The Mammalian Nervous System
4 Topics
Step 13 – Observations
3 Topics
Sherlock
Creating Connection Through Change In Focus With Sherlock
After watching these two videos, go ahead and go out and try it again with your horse.
A reminder of how to use this course: click on Mark Complete below and tomorrow you will move on to Day 11.
I have a bit of a challenge with my horse because he is blind in one eye. Perhaps he will eventually become more sensitive to sounds on his blind side?
I also have a horse that is blind in one eye. I can lead her from both sides and she doesn’t seem to be afraid or nervous or anything but I was just starting this process with her when she had the accident in the pasture. She is totally healed now and I am restarting this process. Any suggestions Warwick?
This video with Sherlock was very helpful; but my horse stays in a stall so I have to take him out with a halter to lead him to an arena to do this exercise. Will this exercise still be useful for my horse? He seems to me to be shutting down when I would try to teach him things. He always appeared to me like he would rather be somewhere else.
Yes, Id take him out and do this exercise
Where can I find the “Being Effective” video? I seem to have missed the memo as to where that is supposed to be. Thank you!
Its in the Creating Connection Through Changhe in Focus playlist
I’m not quite sure what I should be doing at this point. I have 2 horses who both walk over to me when they see me. It sounds like this flag exercise is not the best for a horse that already redirects their attention to me. But one of my horses doesn’t like being brushed. Instead of the flag/capturing focus exercise, should I try brushing but stop when he shows signs of agitation? If so, how long do I stop and what marks progress? Thank you!
That would be ok later in the process, but at this point I would not be concrned about brushing. The Standing Still And Present Flowchart is the next step in the process.
Even though I had watched this video several times last year while working with a different horse, I’ve been rewatching this one and working an anxious 5yo over the last week. “Watching through a more experienced eye.” I needed more clarity on when to arc to untrack his hind end, when to arc from more of a distance, and when to walk straight. There are so many nuances to this work. Our body language and body movement is crucial. When executed as you instruct, works wonders. Extremely helpful video! Thanks again, Warick.
Rose in GA with 2 Andalusian mares
So, my options to do this exercise are to do it in my front pasture where my horses (2) are turned out part of the day or take the horse I am working with down the lane to my round pen which is of course smaller. Both have grass which can present a problem. Could I do this while both horses are out in the big pasture? If I let one horse out to work with them, the other gets completely upset. Because of the situation, I keep putting off trying the exercise.
Yes, that’s fine
Today was my first time doing this exercise. i have two horses in a long narrow paddock, they were dozing together, the mare who is the one i wish to work with first, noticed me immediately. she turned many times even coming over a couple of times.all good. then suddenly my gelding became alert to what was happening. then he reacted faster than her each time. he became the one I was working with and she ignored me. so I finished, not quite sure whether to continue with this next time out there or remove one to cattle yard and work one at time.
Id work one at a time
Hi, I’m wondering if the 30 day jumpstart program is in the app somewhere? Thanks!
I believe its under “train”
I have one horse that is very “clingy”. He comes to me and gets too close. Shall I skip the flag exercise with him? As soon as I’m in the work space with him, he naturally comes to me. To the point that I have to push him away.
I just found my answer. I was just watching the video on the Barb Stallion N° 1.
Hi Warwick,
I started the 30 Day jumpstart a few weeks ago and am up to day 10 and are just taking things slow. So far I am really loving the program, particularly just hanging out with them in their paddock while they graze, especially seeing how it’s been too hot in Canberra to want to do much else.
I am struggling a little bit with the creating connection through change in focus. I only have a couple of paddocks that I can use and all have decent amount of feed on them (which I am very grateful for especially at this time of year). The first is their home paddock which they are in 24/7 and another paddock that I usually play with them in which is parallel to their home paddock – both are about 5-7 acres each and are the smallest paddocks available to me.
I have three horses and I’m trying to do this with one horse a at time. First time I tried in the non home paddock and I can get his eye and ear focus which is really good but I can’t get his head unless I am 5-6 feet away because he is too busy eating and as soon as he lifts his head and I turn it goes straight back to eating. So I feel like we’re not quite ready to practice this in the non home paddock just yet.
So I then tried to do the change in focus in his home paddock. I let my other two out into their non home paddock and kept him in the home paddock. He will stand with his back to the gate, have eyes, ears and head on me and only occasionally look to where the other two are grazing (roughly about 30% of the time). I go about 50-60 meters away from him and he stays focused on me. After a few times of me getting a change in focus, he will come down to where I am and reach out to gently touch my hand. From there he stays with me, when I walk away from or parallel to the gate he will walk beside me but he is always trying to herd me back to the gate. When I stop he just stands next to me waiting for me to move again so he can continue to herd me. I have tried standing still and waiting for him to go away but he doesn’t. I have tried slowing right down and try to keep the direction I am going but he will cut me off. I have tried when he cuts me off making a 45 degree turn in the opposite direction and he will then come back and walk beside me for a bit then try it again. I’m not sure if this is the right thing to be doing here? Is there something else that I should be doing instead? I feel a bit stuck because he seems to pick up on the changing focus when he’s in his paddock, but he isn’t that good when he’s in the non-home paddock. Should I try again in the non-home paddock and keep persisting? Or stay in the home paddock and try something different?
Im not sure why hes hurding you, but it seems you are developing connection there. Remember this exercise is called “Creating connection through chnage in focus” not “the horse must follow me. Its more about how many times can you communicate your awareness of his change in focus.
Id try again in the non home paddock, and focus on your part, not his response