Standing Still and basic Nose Targets

Positive Reinforcement (R+) training is wonderful for developing skills not only in the horse, but in the human as well.
There are so many skills that we can develop.
But R+ training can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it.
Feeling really meh today? Just go and do some simple nose target training.
Feeling like a bit of a challenge? Just go and do some simple nose target training and then see which rabbit hole you can slide down!
I want to talk about just one skill today, how we can begin to develop our skill for teasing out the details in our training. To be a really good R+ trainer, means developing the skill of planning and analysis and thin slicing behaviour and sometimes that means being able to do it ‘on your feet’ as well.
For example, this video looks like a basic nose targeting video.
But what I see when I’m training and when I watch the video after, is a multitude of options and possibilities of what I can reinforce and develop in my horse Flash.
I also love watching Flash’s face and all the emotions and thoughts that flits across his face. He’s a very expressive and sensitive horse compared to Mercedes and can be prone to worry and anxiety if I’m not clear. He’s a challenge to train and thin slicing is my mantra with him.
It may look like he’s just standing there nose targeting, but out of this simple behaviour, we have a whole list of possibilities.
This is not a complete list, but just some of the things I thought about when I watched the video.
First of all, whenever we train a behaviour, it’s good to “proof” it. This means that not only does the horse do the behaviour in perfect ideal conditions, but in any kind of environment, place, conditions they find themselves in. Think about proofing by building Duration of the behaviour, incrementally adding Distractions while they do the behaviour and Distance means either themselves or ourselves.
Here’s an example of how we can tease out one simple behaviour into a large repertoire.
Distance
Duration
Distractions
H̲O̲R̲S̲E̲
S̲t̲a̲n̲d̲i̲n̲g̲ ̲S̲t̲i̲l̲l̲
“Manners”
Ground tying
crunch/ rock back
N̲o̲s̲e̲ ̲T̲a̲r̲g̲e̲t̲
Movement
Forward
Backward
Sideways/lateral
Front end/back end
Poll flexion
Carrot stretches
“Hold/stay”
Alternative behaviour when adding Cues/stimulus control
H̲U̲M̲A̲N̲
RoR
Timing
Criteria
Mechanics
Feeding for Position
This is not an exhaustive list, just suggestions. For example, I could expand on the basic behaviour in the video and go down any of these paths. Some for husbandry/ vet care such as the “Hold” for injections or starting to train ridden or simple force free exercise with Movement