I come up with different projects for the winter. We are covered in snow and ice these days, so there is no riding or longeing possible. So he gets clicked and treated for stepping off when I do, rather than lagging behind. Stowaway is his slow and steady self, who likes to be tugged everywhere he goes. I want her to move right off so she doesn't get chased by one of the other horses.

Rumer, on the other hand, would much rather stay and play with me when I let her go, so I don't reinforce her…it's all about balance. In that way, he both stands until it comes off and he associates the halter removal with quiet standing, rather than twisting his head to get away. I click the turn around and feed while I remove the halter over his ears. So he gets reinforced for turning around and waiting quietly while I remove the halter or rope. When we get outside, Ande likes to gallop off to the others and to the hay piles once released. And sometimes they are extra sensitive due to the cold. There is so much FUZZ and HAIR on ponies in midwinter it's sometimes hard to even find the ears in order to get halters over them. I do a lot of clicking for ear work this time of year. Ande is very good at this, Rumer prefers if I stand in front of her so we're working on haltering from the side. Sometimes I put a halter on in which case, they get a click and treat for pushing their noses down into the halter when I put it on. Sometimes I use a rope around the neck and reinforce every couple steps as with Kizzy. A hand under the jaw doesn't always work well with them. Rumer and Ande love to investigate the barn and aren't as focused on getting out to the hay piles. So I take a couple steps, click and treat for staying at my side, before she gets ahead of me, take a couple more steps, click treat, etc. Kizzy is great about going with me if I just use a hand under her jaw. I rest a hand on the door and wait for a step back, click, open the door and treat. They are still learning about backing when I approach a stall door (having lived outside previously). The ponies on the other side of the aisle need to be led across the aisle and through Mariah's stall to be turned out (well, that's the way I do it). She comes out very politely and continues out to find the hay I have scattered in the pasture- her own reinforcement. When he walks out far enough for me to shut the door behind him, that is his first click and treat for the morning. I get him started with a fist target and then use a verbal 'walk on' to keep him going. I have to hold the door so it doesn't blow in the wind so It's challenging because I can't target him all the way out or I'd have to let go of the door. Because he has had so much practice at backing when I open a door, I am now actually working on getting him to come out, rather than stay in. Messy stalls are a pet peeve of mine and I like to get them out asap! I approach the barn at the exterior dutch doors, calling a greeting so they know I am coming.

The very first thing I do each morning is turn horses out. How do I go through so many treats? Here's a typical day, keeping in mind that it is mid-winter and 'typical' could look very different in mid-summer: I can no longer say I always have treats in my pocket because although I stuff them frequently, I also dole them out frequently and before you know it, my pockets are empty again. Once you and your horse discover how great this system is and you become a smooth handler, you can begin using clicker training in other situations and at this point, you become one of those people who always has treats in her pocket. Many people begin clicker training by having 'training sessions' and indeed that is a good place to begin- get organized, count out your treats, have a plan, train and then assess how things went. So now I'm going to do the same with the horses and share it here. I thought it was a wonderful exercise and went through it myself, but never submitted it. At the end, she encouraged readers to do a daily tally of reinforcers and submit them. In the September issue of The Whole Dog Journal, Pat Miller wrote an article called 'Daily Training' in which she detailed how she reinforces her dogs throughout each and every day.

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