Category: Bridleless

Riding Macaroni Bridleless! What an amazing day! This journey has been amazing! I have learned so much. This mare has an amazing personality and is super calm. If someone were to tell me that I would be riding a rescue horse bridleless for all the rides, I would have thought they were crazy! I am so in love with this way of training!

I am training Macaroni using almost 100% positive reinforcement (R+) or clicker training. I am still learning how to be most effective and not frustrate her (which I did a LOT in the beginning, but I worked through it!). With help from Michelle Martiya, we keep doing better and better! Check out her virtual lessons/training. She can help you with ANY animal!

This evening was a the breakthrough I had been looking for. I hopped on Macaroni just as the sun set. Up until this evening, we had only gotten 6 or 7 steps forward (while riding) and then often in a circle. But this night she walked almost to the other end of the pasture and back calmly! It was amazing!

Macaroni will be available for adoption.

#HOPteamMacaroni #bridleless #positivereinforcement #clickertraining #nolearnedhelplessness #horsetraining

If this video inspires you or encourages you, please share so it can help other people too! Macaroni’s first and second rides have been bridleless!!! Yay!!! I am so pleased! I know an update has been a long time in coming and that is because I have been gone (unable to work Macaroni) and the hard drive that has all my footage on it from the first week crashed! Anyway, this is from last week, about our 10th and 11th day training. I am doing all (almost) positive reinforcement at the moment. That will change at some point, but I am so happy to say that our first rides have been because Macaroni has allowed me on her back! A big shout out and thanks to Michelle Martiya at @Essential Animal Training. She does virtual lessons (she’s in FL and I’m in Illinois). We watched some of my videos together and she helped work on my timing and how to avoid more frustration with Macaroni. Macaroni did great in the indoor, but now that she is out on pasture and with the other horses, she isn’t as happy to focus on me. I needed to do HIGH rates of reinforcement (feed lots of treats) and ask for simpler things. I am also struggling with self doubt. I doubt that I will know when and how to train Macaroni. I HATE deadlines, and the deadline of 100 days makes me worry that I will train fast enough and well enough with this mare. I doubt that I will know when to switch over to “regular” pressure and release training with Macaroni. BUT, I know that I will keep moving forward, even through the fear and doubt. I know that I just have to keep training and keep stepping forward and it will all come together. Pray for me, friends! Please help by sharing this video. Thanks! Appalachian Trainer Face Off, Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue, INC Tinia Creamer #HOPteamMacaroni #dontgiveup #horseadoption #ILOVEmyJob