Hi Dolores,

 Thanks for that considered reply, I spent a lot of yesterday "thinking" about how to look at our 14th session in strictly CAT terms, and the extinction burst question did pop into my mind.

>>>When you see this as not engaged what you may actually be seeing is a
testing process. The horse doesn't really believe what has happened up until now.
She's likely as surprised by her feelings as you are.

So, she falls back to what worked previously to see what happens. Will the other
shoe drop. That's the time for you and your decoy to stay completely unemotional.
Just wait. If she gives distance, you've got to decide if leaving is better than ugly faces
From her history, I would say that it is.


  I rewatched the video I took, and I think you are correct. We did stay unemotional and we stuck with the process. The quality of her grazing was slightly jerky and quicker than normal. And oh yes, leaving is sooo much better than what she used to do! :-P  Kate remarked mid-session that it seemed to her Jedda was "thinking". Thank you for your reassurance, we will keep on keeping on for sure, I've given myself a mental kick up the rump for expecting too much too soon. The recent posts on 5Q have been great too.  A major query was whether to increase distance again, and what you say about leaving that distance "as is" makes a lot of sense in this situation.  What you are saying ? is that we have moved past that point, we are into helping Jedda to change her thinking and find new coping behaviours to offer, by continuing to be absolutely consistent without any pressure apart from Kate just standing there.


>>>Most of us would be inclined to click the hand touch. The touch of your hand is
not clickable. What it is rather is an invitation to play. So, offer her something
clickable next. And, that c/t can still be a touch. Very hard to wrap your
head around this. But, this distinction is very important. She came to you because you gave her
control. OK, she said. I'm ready. Now, you can do a c/t behavior.

    Yes, it is hard to grasp this stage.  I didn't click at any time, I was just giving distance.  Today as I drive around at work and shower old ladies I'll be thinking about this one! so, you are saying when it's me (with whom CT is a familiar activity), I can now bring in the clicks during CAT. I understand what you said "Don't click the hand touch" when during the CAT process she comes to touch me, but then you are saying I can now offer my hand to her as target and click it.  What do I do next? would this be the point at which I would let her out of the CAT yard and carry on with CT play? Say I decided to use the halter during CAT with her loose in the little yard as usual, I would approach, maybe extend my hand holding the halter a little, and wait. She has been CT to touch the halter. If she does this during CAT, what do I do next?  Recently she's been turning her head away from the halter even though she has freely approached "me carrying the halter" in a friendly way first. Have I just had an AHA! moment thinking CAT has given her the power to say, I'm not quite comfortable about that halter, even though with CT she's been accepting being haltered for some years?

 Thanks,
Laurel and Jedda.