Ann and PandaPanda, the guide miniature horse trained by ClickerExpo fac
Horses
Canis Film Festival finalists are here!
By KPCT on 03/17/2009The Canis Film Festival is in full swing, with some fantastic entries in from around the clicker training world. Submissions are now closed, and the finalists have been posted.
Panda the Clicker Trained Miniature Guide Horse, in the New York Times
By Miranda Hersey Helin on 01/06/2009Last week the New York Times ran an article featuring Ann Edie and her guide miniature horse, Panda. (If you aren't familiar with this pair, don't miss the profile here at clickertraining.com, documenting how Alexandra Kurland clicker trained Panda.) I had the privilege of meeting Ann and Panda myself in 2007—and it was hard not to be impressed. From the Times article:
What’s most striking about Edie and Panda is that after the initial shock of seeing a horse walk into a cafe, or ride in a car, watching them work together makes the idea of guide miniature horses seem utterly logical. Even normal. So normal, in fact, that people often find it hard to believe that the United States government is considering a proposal that would force Edie and many others like her to stop using their service animals. But that’s precisely what’s happening, because a growing number of people believe the world of service animals has gotten out of control: first it was guide dogs for the blind; now it’s monkeys for quadriplegia and agoraphobia, guide miniature horses, a goat for muscular dystrophy, a parrot for psychosis and any number of animals for anxiety, including cats, ferrets, pigs, at least one iguana and a duck. They’re all showing up in stores and in restaurants, which is perfectly legal because the Americans With Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) requires that service animals be allowed wherever their owners want to go.
It's an interesting piece. You can read the full article here.
As Karen Pryor wrote in The Panda Game: "KPCT was fortunate to have Ann Edie and Panda as honored guests at ClickerExpo Newport in 2006. Everyone enjoyed meeting this distinguished pair. We were awed by Panda's calmness as she guided Ann during the day, through crowds and halls and past all sorts of dogs (some of which were distinctly upset at having a horse among them). People were wonderful about not trying to pet Panda as she worked, even though she is deliciously cute and furry. At the Saturday night autograph party Panda even signed her own books, Panda: A Guide Horse for Ann, with a little, inky front hoof."
Rescue horse + clicker training = positive outcome
By Miranda Hersey Helin on 03/26/2008Karen Pryor was recently interviewed for an article posted at CinCHouse.com, a website for military women and wives. The article details how clicker training helped a traumatized rescue horse.
Blue had clearly been abused. The then-7-year-old Arab/Appaloosa/Percheron gelding was petrified of horse trailers. His owner, Lei Ryan, Army wife and former active duty officer, could tell her rescue horse had been traumatized in a trailer.
After clicker training:
Blue now not only willingly loads in a trailer, but also trusts Ryan to guide him through all kinds of situations that used to terrify him. The horse that used to shy away from human contact recently took part in a parade through downtown Leavenworth. "He's very much my buddy," she said. "He chooses to be with me. He chooses to do the things I do. He's very cooperative."
Once again, clicker training saves the day—and the horse. Read the full article here.
Horse Needs to Calm Down? Try Football!
By Aidan Bindoff on 09/30/2007A Thoroughbred x Irish Draft Horse given up as "unridable" has calmed down after learning to play football (or soccer as you may know the game). Horse trainer, Emma Massingale, taught her horse, Kariba, to play football as a therapeutic game to expend some energy.
