This article revolves around a video you can watch on YouTube.  http://youtu.be/lFhQJ23D2Yc  It is about teaching two young fillies to not enter the tack room uninvited – and a lot more. It’s about being able to stop a behavior without degrading your relationship – an oft claimed “terrible side effect” of using punishment. The audio on this sucks – it was a windy day and I wasn’t miked personally. Despite that the information is worth the effort to strain your ears.

Setting: Two Warmblood fillies. The larger older one I had bonked previously for shoving her head and shoulders into the tack room. This was a common behavior. You will see her later in the video when I walk into the arena – I commented, “I bonked her twice and she’s following me around like a puppy dog.” Exactly.

So, having succeeded with the older one, I decided to get the younger filly on video. She had not previously been bonked. Enjoy – or let your horse push you around.

This last picture is “post bonk” – watch the video to see if this process stopped her from blasting into the tack room.