Episode 35: A Conversation with Cindy Martin Part 1: Head Shakers

This week we begin a three part conversation with Cindy Martin, one of my “Click That Teaches” coaches. Cindy talks about her background with both horses and dogs. She introduces us to her thoroughbred, Porter. Porter was “that” horse who helped her go beyond the basics of clicker training. Often it is one particularly challenging horse that brings people to clicker training. In Cindy’s case, her Yoda, as she refers to him, was Porter, a thoroughbred with a neurological condition. Porter is a head shaker. In the podcast Cindy describes his condition and the extreme behavior it created. She found the solution through thin slicing her training requests and the building of very predictable patterns. If you are currently struggling with a hard-to-reach horse, you will especially want to listen to this week’s podcast. When a horse pins his ears at the sight of you - or worse, in Porter’s case, goes into a fit of head shaking, it’s hard not to take it personally. Cindy’s journey with Porter provides an excellent road map to help get you through what can be very challenging territory.

Enjoy!