This is part 2 of a conversation in which Dominique and I were talking about various topics that emerged during a recent on-line coaching session. Last week we talked about what it means to disengage the hips and how to think about this from the perspective of a positive reinforcement trainer.

From there Dominique changed gears to talk about an enchanting image that we both liked, that of a tiny elf sitting directly behind your horse’s ears while you ride. The elf is there to help you identify when your horse is in a good, clickable balance.

Another new image Dominique liked was that of a screaming alarm clock. This relates to starter-button version constant-on cues and the contact trap.

We also talked about the value of breaks. Teaching a horse to back provided us with a useful way of visualizing the concepts we discuss. We finish with loopy training as it relates to our recent podcasts on schedules of reinforcement.