It happens

Yesterday I was decidedly unfocused and had difficulty settling into the task at hand. Having had my plans blown apart the last two days, I came into this day with no clear plan and it showed. I was just all over the place, clicking for this and that. We were both a little confused. I am blaming it on the sun coming out for the first time in a week. It was an absolutely beautiful day.

Even with the lack of focus, we still managed to get a few things accomplished. I think Matilda could back her way across the paddock at this point. She clearly feels that this is the task for which she gets rewarded.

One of the first things I did, after greeting her with a click and carrot for not plowing into me as soon as I entered the paddock, was leave her. She stood and watched me walk across the paddock and when I turned around and faced her, to invite her to come to me, she took two large and deliberate steps backward. I don't know what the conventional wisdom is on horsey facial expressions, but I read confusion, as in "I guess I am supposed to step backwards, because that is what I do, but how am I going to get the carrot all the way over here?" I thought it was pretty funny.

That was the only time I was really able to walk away from her. I wanted to work on our spacial issues by moving into her space, so that she could move away, and then walking away from her so that she could approach me and learn to stop at an appropriate distance. Whenever I tried to walk away from her, after that first time, she was practically stepping on my heels... but she always took a step back when I turned to face her:) I discovered quickly that in order to have any chance at this, I had to be able to drop or toss the carrot on the ground where she could spend a little time looking for it.

I noticed on the very first day that Matilda did not understand this concept. She is used to getting treats from a person's hand and the idea that she might have to look for it was simply not there. There are many reasons why I need for her to do this, not the least of which is that I don't always want her to have to come all the way to me to get her reward. It seemed like a good place to start, especially since I couldn't get more than an arms length away from her in order to do anything else.

We began the same exercise, with me moving in to her chest or shoulders and waiting for her to distance herself, but this time after the click I would hold up the carrot so she could see it and say "Watch" (more for my benefit than hers) and toss it gently in the air so that the natural arc would always be within her view. I'm not sure if she was watching the carrot or responding to the gentle "thud" as it hit the ground but she started to get the idea. I had to show her the carrot, unwisely bending over to point and guide her eye and nose to it, about a half dozen times. Over time I was able to start tossing the carrot further away so she would have to search it out and I could walk away.

I started to notice a bit of an unwelcome pattern emerge. Whether I moved into her or she to me, she is touching the pail and/or me before taking her step backwards most of the time. I think our cause and effect is getting a bit muddled and to be honest, I was a little bored with the exercise. That may be part of the cause for my lack of focus. I need to start rewarding her only when she doesn't touch me, but I just couldn't go any further yesterday. I needed to pull back and think about exactly what I'm getting vs. what I want and how to make the transition in a way that won't overly frustrate Matilda.

In any event, I've got her picking up carrots off the ground and I am being touched by her nose more often than punched or mauled. She is being much gentler in her overall handling of me and there were several times that she was able to approach and stop without actually touching me. (Always celebrate your accomplishments, people, no matter how small)

I know now that, while there will always be an element of "winging it", I need a clear plan for each day and it's time to introduce the target training. Time to put her focus on something other than me and the pail. That being said, I am off to a couple of stores to try and find the stuff that I want and need for whatever is coming next.