After spending a week being able to sniff his new buddies over the fence, he is now happily pastured with Ty and Red.  Guapo and Red have become fast friends!  Guapo even lets Red get an exta bite to eat from his own bowl when Ty pushes Red out of his.

A good friend was helping me brush Guapo yesterday.  We got out the measuring stick to see how tall he was and the newness of the instrument made him stiffen and he looked back warily. My friend pulled out a treat and gave it to him just as I was starting to touch him on the side with the stick—an action I knew was going to make him fuss given his discomfort with the presence of the stick at all.  When I realized she had given him a treat I tried very kindly to say, please, no treats. 

She asked a series of brilliant question: Why not? Doesn't it help distract him from that which he is afraid of?  And why no treats now when it is ok to give a horse grain trying to get him into a trailer?

I wasn’t able to articulate my answer right away (it was late at night after all!) other than to say, "they are just different."  I didn't like my answer so I mulled over it last night and reached the following conclusions and hopefully coherent explanation.  

To give a treat to a horse is to praise an action.  The closest action in time to the treat is the one with which the horse is going to associate the treat, or praise.  Thus, it becomes the action the horse will often repeat to try and reproduce the treat experience.  Hence, why some swear by clicker training, because it "rewards" the action as closely as possible in time (i.e., no delay in getting the treat out of your hand or out of your pocket for that matter).  By rewarding the action closer in time, the more likely it is that the horse understands exactly which action it should repeat to reproduce the praise (clicker) in hopes of getting a treat.

To provide grain in a trailer training session is different from "distracting" a horse from that which he is afraid.  Instead, it provides incentive for forward motion into the trailer (if they are afraid) and then praise once that forward action has been taken.  Thus, it seeks to encourage the horse to repeat the forward motion to get more grain.  Eventually grain is given at less and less frequent intervals until the mere promise of grain or a treat at the end of entering the trailer is sufficient motivation to get in.

When treats are used to "distract" a horse there are two detrimental things going on with regard to training.  First, as mentioned above, the horse is associating its closest-in-time behavior with the treat.  Thus, if a horse won't stand for a farrier and you give them a treat to distract them, you are praising the inability to stand still and effectively "training" in the exact behavior you are trying to avoid or discourage!

Second, when you "distract" a horse from the task at hand you are not doing any "training" at all.  For example, Guapo's fear of the measuring stick was a training moment (even though the training is not supposed to start until the 30th!).  It was a moment to build trust, to show him that I was going to do things he is not familiar with or comfortable with, but in the end it’s a fun game, he will feel no pain, and he gets a load of praise for going through the experience at all. 

When my friend gave him the treat at the very moment he was most scared (and starting to wiggle) he is most likely to think: "oh, when I am scared and wiggle, I get praised, that must be what they want!"  More importantly, I lost the opportunity to communicate with him about his limits and for him to learn to trust that I am going to push them and things will be OK.  Instead, he was thinking about food, and eating it, and the "training moment" was lost. 

Clearly, losing one moment is no big deal—there are millions of those "moments" every time anyone handles Guapo.  But, hopefully my friend finds this a better explanation to her questions then "just because." 

By the way, by our calculations he is 14.2!

Meet Gabe: A seven-year-old polish Arabian gelding (as of three weeks).  We call him "Guapo" at the farm.  It seemed a better option than "Stud Buns" as people were starting to use due to his self-confident air and love for the ladies.  "Guapo" means "good looking" or "gorgeous" in Spanish, but in a way that also means "stud muffin" to the thirteen-year-old girls that are most often heard giggling the word.  Perfect.  It has stuck. 

Guapo came to Broadfield Stables a week ago thanks to the generous acceptance of Susanna and Alan Kane, the stable owners.  Another person that must be recognized is Sharon, the unofficial barn manager who lives in an apartment just a few feet away from Guapo and has attended to his every need as he has adjusted to his new surroundings.  Another character in this act is Lainy, the golden child.  A six-month-old golden retriever who has fallen madly in love with Guapo.  She insists every afternoon that he sniff her down.  If he is bored with the request she will wiggle to position herself back in his path and he obliges.  She is often found sleeping in his stall and keeping him company.  What do a pampered golden retriever puppy that has never wanted for anything and a recovering Arabian have to talk about?  A question to which I would love to know the answer.

Gabe arrived on the farm without much pomp or circumstance.  A few of the mares in heat trumpeted his presence and paced in impatience.  After all, he had just been gelded a few weeks earlier and testosterone is still strong in the blood.  Something they could clearly smell.  Guapo took everything in and accepted the change.  Within a few hours we let him meet McTavish, an old rescue who had a similarly tough previous life, and a horse that is cherished on the farm for his ability to babysit the nervous new-comers.  They got along famously and were soon out together eating grass.  Guapo started being bossy, however, so we have given McTavish a break from his babysitting duties.  We are also giving Guapo some more time to work the intense hormones out of his system.  He is already calmly accepting pasture mates over the fence.  We are hoping to introduce him to his new buddies within a week or so.

In his few short days with us, Guapo has proven himself to be an absolute gentleman.  He was timid upon approach and untrusting at first, but within a day or two he has learned that humans mean scratching of the withers, brushings, fly removal, treats once in a while, and company.  The first day he was unapproachable in his large grassy field.  Now, he walks eagerly toward me when I enter his domain. 

He is quite possibly the smartest horse I have ever spent time with.  He is unafraid, but has a wonderful self-preservation caution about him.  He doesn't rush into anything and doesn't panic when he gets there.  Getting him in and out of the wash stall for a shower on a hot day has been his greatest challenge so far.  The dark, damp interior, the banging of the washing machine, the hose snaking overhead, the puddles on the ground, the white drain in the middle of an obscure floor, and a million other things and noises I don't perceive all tell him it maybe isn’t a place he should charge into.  He takes his time, refuses once and then agrees, but one step at a time.  Once he is there he has already decided it is safe, starts to chew in acceptance, and rests a hind leg until his spa date is over.

I look forward to hearing his story as he tells it through his reaction to training.  I wonder if he has been ridden or ever worked.  I wonder if he has ever had a bit in his mouth or been asked to complete tasks.  His wonderful ground manners could be a function of the great work of Days End and Paradise Farm, where he has spent the last year until his court case was resolved.  Or, it could be a sign that he is not new to the whole human thing.  Only time will unfold that side of his story.  For now, he is being given time to settle in to his new environment, meet new friends, and adjust to life of the plenty.

Gabe's best friend cheating on him with another horse.  Otherwise known as the "Golden Child," this six-month old golden retriever puppy spends her evenings in Gabe's stall hanging out.