Arlene

wrote to Katy

"Thank you so much for your wonderful answer. It makes a lot of sense.
I know my horse has a very very hard time with emotional control, so
duration building is just hard for him anyway. Looking back at
journals, he has come a long way in a few months, with heads down, as
he was very resistant to lower it at all just a couple of months ago. 

I think the more I delve into this, the more I realize that I am not
great right now at always chunking things down into the smallest
pieces, and am lumping too much together, which really confuses and
frustrates him. 

So, the criteria for heads down, is just that...regardless of where
the head is, until more duration is built up :-). ""

I have been really interested in these posts re head down and duration, as that s also what my main theme is at the moment.I have  realised that I have not worked on duration much, so have been concentration on the stand on the mat exercise.

I have 3 very different  youngsters who show me how one exercise brings very different responses. Here is Isabella's take on things.

Isabella is my youngest - she is rising 3 ,  and she is just so keen! I have found it difficult to clicker her to stand there and do nothing. And then realised I had not done a lot of stand on the mat.

With Isabella , I started at liberty in the stable(she was familar with the mat as we had done some work on it beforehand).I concentrated on the mat, but did not lead her to it, though if having trouble initially would rearrange the position of myself so she was likely to step on it. That went well. At about 6-7 seconds each time for quite a few tries she would come off the mat, ad try and lick me. When she did this, I would turn into the stable wall, and make myself as uninviting and unlickable as possible. She would eventually wander back to her mat, then click and treat.

Initially I treated as soon as she got back to the mat, but then increased that duration  so she had to wait a couple of seconds etc, so she did not think the criterion was coming to lick me. After a couple of days I added in grooming.  I was interesetd in reading Katie's posts about slightly different criterion. My time varies on what part I am grooming. For instance, she tends to pick up a front leg, so that starts from a small time( want her to keep her foot on the mat).  Her bottom I can increase duration on easily - but I may then stop, walk to the other side, and groom there and then click so she doesn't think stopping brushing is always assosciated . The best thing I have found is I know have a youngster who can stand here relaxed with a cocked leg , whilst I am grooming her .A long way to go , but a good start.

For me, duration on head down will come after this exercise. I would not want head down to be a forward moving exercise, so for me, I can break head down into 2  -  standing still, then adding in the head down

.I had a session yesterday outside in my little woodchip area. When she wandered off the mat towards me, I turned slightly away , pretending the wall was there, and she walked a litte circle straight back on to the mat. The licking had just about vanished, and the cue for telling her that as not the right answer and to go back to the previous was a slight turning away/ignoring by me.

Hilary (in the UK)