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
Hello Warwick
I did the exercise with my mare Delight again and it went very well. She soon started following me and when she stopped I could easily bring her attention back to me and she followed me again. After a few minutes she started licking and chewing, while she still followed me. I was not sure if I had to stop and wait until she finished the chewing. I did not do that.
And is there a difference between your horse is following you behind or next to you? Most of the time she was behind or with just her head next to my side.
Between starting to follow and stopping the exercise was about 5′ (with a few times redirecting het toughts) There was no licking and chewing when I stopped.
I wish you a very good day!
No, it doesnt matter where they are at this point.
I know you where travelling the day I posted this. But single I had a nice answer on a comment I posted later than this one above, I thought maybe it got a little bit lost in all the things that were waiting for you 😊. Or not. I do not want to be pushy 😅.
I really like to know how I have to respond when I am doing the Change in focus and both my horses are asking to do jambette (they even come over and offer me their front leg) and carrotstretches.
I cant find it, please re-ask the question
What does “asking to do jambette” mean?
Hi Warwick
Yesterday I just hang around with the horses. Delight came over to me to ask for a lot of scratches, I took her blanket of without halter of leadrope, scratching, putting blanket on…)
Today I did the exercise change in focus again. Two days ago she followed me. Today was totally different. She came to me twice asking for scratches which I did. And then I started walking again. But she didn’t follow me. Just turned away and went grazing on the edges of the arena. I tried a while to get her attention. I only got an ear en sometimes she looked at me. Now and then she and my other horse Bono went to the spot in the arena where I usually do ‘fun stuff’ like carrot stretches or other exercises like jambette. They really love doing that. When they saw I did not come they just took a nap there. Every time I moved I saw her ear flick. And when she raised her head because something else caught her attention I walked again and waved the flag a bit. She looked at me and then I stopped the exercise. I was sure that was the best thing I was getting at that point and wanted to stop on a clear and good reaction.
I spend a lot of time with my horses. At least 2,5 hours in the morning and 1,5 hour in the evening. Cleaning the stable, arena and pasture, Feeding them, scratching, hanging around and doing those little exercises.
My mare Delight gets very easily bored. Also when I was still riding her. Canter was the fun stuff, all the rest was boring exept making transitions or changes in tempo.
I know almost certain that she did not follow me like the first time because she found out it was not to do something fun.
Both of my horses know very strong what they want. And if I am not coming to them to do the fun stuff, they just wait and wait and wait… until they fall asleep 😌
They know very well that I am aware of what they are asking and that I know exactly what they want to do. I have done it many many times. “0h! You guys want to to something fun? Okay! I’m coming!” 😊
What are your thougts and what should I do next?
Sorry for the long comment 😅!
Now I know that coming towards you is good.
Jambette is standing still and doing the same movement with the frontlegs as in the spanish walk. So when I am standing in front of her she often begin with this. Initiating that exercise with me. But I must say that I always do that with treats after every 5 or 6 turns. The carrotstretches are also with treats. What is your opinion on that? Is it better not giving treats and can I continue this exercises between the ecercises of creating connection and standing still? With those two exercises I do not use treats because I do not want her to do that for the treat she is getting.
It sounds like theres a lot of “Ive got to do something” on both her part and your part, from your previous interactions. I never touch them in the creating connection through change in focus exercise, unless they ask me to engage with their muzzle. No scratches. This is where you need to learn to do nothing, just be.
Wow, a huge aha moment just happened. Thank you for the detailed videos. In particular, observing the development process of many different horses helps me immensely to better recognize all the little things and to understand my horse more precisely.