Level 1: Pony Pre School
What is Pony Pre School about?
Pony Pre School is about creating a happy, eager learner. No stress, no mistakes. We are setting our horses up for succes and when they do something different than we expect, that is just information for us. We want to find out and facilitate how they learn and explain to them how they can use the puzzles in a safe and fun way. To get the horses ready for the puzzles we have to teach them some basic skills so they will be able to follow our lead and be calm and attentive when we start to explain the puzzles to them. This is why the Pony Pre School starts with the fundamentals and the be-calm-and-polite courses.
Your starting point
To prepare your horse for puzzling, focus on three steps:
Fundamentals – building focus and understanding
Prepare before puzzling – getting used to objects and interaction
Overview of the Pony Pre School level:
Fundamentals
The Pony Pre School Fundamentals video's will be released soon!
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Be calm and polite
Like in every Pre School we emphasize on building life skills.
It is great to work with a horse who is calm & polite, especially around food. We often don’t realise that his work both ways. For horses it is also much nicer to work with a polite human.
Before I got into positive reinforcement training I wasn’t aware that I was able to influence my horse’s behaviour so much in a way that we both enjoy. And worse, I wasn’t aware how much I unintentionally was influencing his behaviour, and not always how I wanted it. Biggest lesson?Being polite is not something horses are born with or not, you can teach it! And don’t forget to model it to. Be consistent in what you ask and how you ask it, horses tend to notice bodylanguage better then our spoken words. Be aware of your body language, try to be consistent in your body cue’s.
Behaviour is your SUPERPOWER
As dr. Susan G. Friedman puts it so well: behaviour is your superpower. (Read everything about her work here) Through your behaviour you can influence your environment. So let’s show our horse/animal how to influence it in a way we perceive as polite. This way we both get what we want. And remember: your behaviour is your superpower to! You can influence your environment with you behaviour, if you don’t like something, change your own behaviour!
Prepare before Puzzling
Before you introduce any puzzle, this is where it starts.
Some horses are very curious and willing to engage with new stuff, they will approach and investigate new stuff eagerly. Some horses not so much, they can get nervous from new objects, especially in their stall or paddock. Thankfully you can teach them that new stuff is fun, helping them to stand more positive in life, expecting good things from new stuff and situations. People are often really bad at reading the subtile bodylanguage a horse shows when they are starting to get worried. It is important to do some research about this subject, school your eye and take the time to help your horse. Learn more about how to read you horse’s subtile bodylanguage on the website and in the books of Rachael Draaisma: www.calmingsignalsofhorses.com
How to introduce the first puzzle to your horse step-by-step
If your horse is not used to interact with objects there are some pre-puzzle steps you want to take:
Step 1: Let your horse search for food. Help your horse start to search for food by scattering it around. Lots of horses are so used to get their food in a bowl they don’t really search anymore. By scattering some food in their stall, on the pasture or in other places they get used to searching again. When I feed my horses carrots in the winter, I cut the carrots and then I scatter and even hide the pieces around my paddock paradise. The horses love to search for them and it gives them so much more to do then just eat them.
Step 2: Introduce new objects safely. I also love the exercise where you introduce stuff to your horse with some snacks hidden in them. Use old cardboard boxes, tarps, buckets, toys etc.. Prepare it before you go get your horse. Make sure it is safe. Do it in a big space, like an arena, and keep your horse off leash so your horse can choose to approach or not. Watch your horse from outside the arena and look for calming signals. Do this over days or weeks, change the place where you put the stuff, change the stuff you use, all in little steps until your horse expects good things from new stuff and explores them eagerly. You can read more about this exercise in the book Calming Signals of Rachael Draaisma and in her online course!
Step 3: Teach interaction with a food toy. Another great little step is to give your horse a treatball, or different ones, so he can learn the principle of moving something and jummy stuff falls out of it.
Step 4: Introduce the puzzle. Now your horse knows how to search for food, expects good things from new stuff and knows how to operate on a foodtoy, we can go and introduce him to the first puzzle!
The best puzzle to start with is the Spinner puzzle.
It’s simple to introduce and easy for your horse to understand. Horses naturally enjoy the Spinner—it encourages exploration, builds essential puzzle skills and introduces a wide range of movements. You can watch a step-by-step video tutorial here.
Before you begin, keep the following in mind:
1. Choose a safe and familiar place. Start by placing the puzzle in an environment where your horse feels safe and has the space to explore and walk away. Avoid small spaces like a stable or narrow paddock. The puzzles are relatively large, smell unfamiliar and make a bit of sound when they move. You want to prevent your horse from feeling startled or
2. Consider the environment (and other horses) As your horse lives with or near other horses, it’s important to consider how they respond to the puzzle. Nervous neighbours can influence how your horse feels. If horses around him are tense or worried, he is less likely to feel safe exploring something new. You can help by making the sound of the puzzle a predictor for something positive—for example by pairing it with food. This can help both your horse and his neighbours become more relaxed.
3. Watch your horse and follow his pace Observe how your horse approaches the puzzle and pay attention to subtle signals. If needed, start in a space where your horse is already comfortable exploring new objects, such as an arena or paddock where you’ve done earlier preparation exercises. Give him time—sometimes a few days—to interact with the puzzle freely. As soon as he approaches it with curiosity and without signs of tension, you can consider moving it to his regular environment (if that is your goal).
Motorskills
These are the puzzles you need for Pony Pre School:
Yes! After working on the fundamentals and doing the ‘be calm and polite’ exercises your horse is ready for the first puzzle! You can start with either the Spinner or the Tumble Crumble puzzle (or both). Be carefull with the introduction of the puzzles as there is no second change for a first impression and when the first impression is good it will make everything way easier and more fun.
Introducing a single feeder ball
The Spinner slow feeder puzzle consists of three feeder balls. You can easily remove one from the puzzle to introduce your horse to it in a simple and fun way. Fill the feeder ball with some pellets that your horse likes but doesn’t get overly excited about. I prefer to use small hay cobs. You want your horse to be motivated to try to get the food, but still able to think clearly.
Place the filled feeder ball in a large bowl and sprinkle some pellets around it. As your horse eats and searches for these pellets, he will move the feeder ball and start to figure out how it works. If at any point your horse seems unsure of what to do, simply sprinkle a bit more food in the bowl. Give him time to figure it out.
This may seem redundant, but it’s important to set your horse up for success. Breaking things down into small steps ensures he can be successful and prevents him from becoming unsure or frustrated.
This is a great way to teach your horse that it can behave to get food out. When you want to introduce your horse to the Crumble Tumble slowfeeder puzzle this is also a good way to start. You can use any feeder ball or treat ball to teach your horse this basic behaviour. You can even start with a bottle with a hole in it or a cardboard box with some pellets.