Calming signals is a term introduced by Norwegian dog trainer Turid Rugaas (2005) to describe the behaviors that dogs show when trying to calm a situation. For animals living in groups, ways of communication, that can discharge the potentially tense situation, are extremely important. Calming signals are signals that all herd animals use in order to communicate with each

Some years ago behaviourists used to think that animals are passive. But animals are active, they have their own goals and aspirations. We have to be aware of this fact. I wrote before that during clicker training we reinforce not only behaviours but also decisions our horse makes. In this PreWorkshop material I will show

During last hundred years we had many scientific discoveries on how people and animals learn new things. This is very broad subject and very well covered in the literature and here I will give you only short summary with practical information on how this works with horses. Horses can learn in four different situations: R-

  GENERAL TRAINING IDEAS Your training sessions should be short and effective. The longer you wander around, the more your horse learns that training is about “saving energy” and less about “trying really hard”. Average dressage test doesn’t last for longer than 6 minutes. And that is why it’s perfectly fine to train your horse

I hope that you have already read our Introduction Materials and Modules Recapitulation. I know that it has been a lot. And I understand that you may think now: “How to apply this knowledge in my everyday life?”. I will be posting more practical materials for you soon, but below are the first suggestions you

I believe that training and being with horses can be a powerful source of personal growth and many happy moments. I believe that your horse can bring to your life a lot of happiness, knowledge and achievements. I also believe that horses in our lives shouldn’t be the source of troubles, problems, fears and worry.

  True partnership is possible only when you know who you are. True partnership is based on promises and on stability. Stability and keeping promises are not possible if you don’t know who you are. Many times I see people really want to change something in THEIR LIVES. You may think that there is nothing

If you are spending your time really together with your horse in the Here and Now and you are open to what your horse is telling you, this can lead to a MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING. Understanding, like communication, is a two-way road. This means that you will start to understand your horse and your horse will

When your horse is CALM and feels safe, also because he fully understands what you want from him, and your horse has AUTONOMY to decide what he wants to do and to decide to engage in the training, this is the moment when COOPERATION starts. Cooperation is a mutual agreement that we will help our

You have to be very honest with yourself at this point. And you need to check very thoroughly that you have the background for training that is free from fear, very calm and based on communication and autonomy. You cannot fool yourself at this point. If you have any problems come back to square one