Starry is a Superstar

Starry is a Superstar

Starry, the only horse in the world named Starry with a blaze, has come so far.  Over the last month, he has become a reluctant leader.

It hasn’t been easy.  We tried a lot of things--and kept the ones that seemed to help.  Clicker training worked well to help him pass, but Kevin didn’t want to give him a treat every time he passed a horse, so Starry would revert, after a while.  

It did backfire. In a way.  Kevin would say “Good boy,” click and then treat.  Starry started to stop whenever Kevin just said “Good boy.”  He changed it to “Good job.” It worked.  Kevin had a way to praise him when he was good.

We avoided even trying in the places that Starry was particularly reluctant to take the lead.  Turning around to go home was simply impossible.  We would wait until we got down the trail to ask him to lead.  

We tried to avoid conflict when making him the leader.  Certain places were easier to put Starry in the lead.  A good time to do it was when we were crossing a river.  We used that to get him in the lead without a fuss and leave him there.

As we chipped away at his resistance, things just started to get easier.  If we were trotting along and he slammed on his breaks to get Cole to pass, I just turned Cole away and left him.  When he saw that Cole, not only wasn’t passing him--but leaving him--he would start walking, again.  As soon as I saw that, I would turn Cole back around.  In a short while, Cole only had to go a step or two away.

Of course, the heart of the problem was passing Dante.  I now try to guide Starry with Cole leading him by Dante.  Kevin tells him, “Good job,” and we lead him down the trail for a little bit.  Then, I can pull Cole off to the side of the trail to let Starry pass.  If he doesn't pass willingly, I bring Cole behind Starry and away he goes.

In the beginning, this didn't always work.  In the last few rides, it has worked marvelously.  We are now a well-choreographed team.  He will even take the lead when we turn around to go home--which was impossible, before.

We are so proud of Kevin and Starry for solving the problem.  We know there are still going to be moments when Starry acts up, but we know what to do to help him through.  Starry is a Superstar.