Jan Norman
My name is Jan Norman. I have owned and worked with horses for over 60 years. As youngsters, my sister and I rode and trained ponies for I. E. Smith of College Place, Washington. Each summer, Mr. Smith would deliver two unbroken ponies and a load of hay to us in Athena, Oregon. Just before school started again in the fall, the hay was gone and two broke ponies were returned to Mr. Smith.
When ponies were too small for us, we had friends and neighbors offer quarter ponies and small horses to fill our summers with endless hours of companionship and riding. All too soon, we were old enough to drive trucks in the summer wheat and pea harvests. Still, we always had horses to enjoy.
Haunch Turn
After moving to Grants Pass, Oregon, I took interest in our local horse shows. I competed for several years in both riding and driving events and retired from showing with 14 high point series belt buckles for my efforts. My interests then changed to trail riding and trail horse trial competitions. My saddle horse “Justintime” and I won over a dozen such events in the past. I more recently had similar success with my Paint gelding “Scribble Me A Pistol”. We won all four of the trail trials we entered. I credit much of our success to Clicker Training.
This method worked so well with my older horses that I started using it with my foal, Amy, when she was three days old. The results exceeded my expectations. At 9 months, Amy demonstrated Clicker Training with Fabulous Francisco at EquiFair 2005 in Grants Pass, OR in April. They stunned the spectators with their focus, composure and ability to work and play in a setting that many seasoned show horses would find very frightening. Beth Bliss and I worked together to document the training we did with our foals, and it earned us an invitation to the 2nd International Equitation Science Symposium in Milan, Italy in 2006. We also submitted a short video titled “Stand Still So I Can Get on Safely” to the ClickerExpo in 2009 and it was chosen to be among the 10 finalists.
I encourage everyone to add Clicker Training to their training program; give it an honest try.
Website
YouTube Channel
Inspiration
Presenting at Scientific Convention in Milan, Italy
