ON DEMAND: Liberty Coaching w/ Guest Katja Schumann - February 13, 2021

Special Guest in February: Katja Schumann!

Fifth Generation Circus Trainer, alumnus of 25 years with the Big Apple Circus, Katja has been a friend, mentor and colleague.  We welcome her for an hour of inspiration and education - ask all the questions you want!

Workshop Content:

David’s Welcome & Discussion of Mentors including Katja Schumann

Video: Katja as a child, simulations on the ground and riding

Visit with Katja

 Discussion of video Katja presents 2 Palominos for King & Queen of Sweden

Analysis of Big Apple Circus Arabian Nights 6-Horse Liberty Act

 Questions:

• Do the horses in Katja's routines eventually memorize the routine, or are they actually watching her for direction and cues the whole way? Or, maybe a little of both?
• Why do all the horses use side reins?

00:52:00 - Katja videos on tools and basics for liberty horses

01:08:30 - Q&A

• I'm wondeng about what Katja would say about motivation. I see the treats, wondering what treat she uses and how she uses treats. Does she use other types of motivation??
• What about using mares?
• How much do you use voice cues versus body cues?
• How do you choose the outside/leading horse?

Rhapsody in Blue, Albert Schumann, 12 Arabian Stallions

• Elegance, Precision & Lightness - Inspiration
• Most sophisticated routine on film from Katja’s family circus

Break: Replay Video of Katja & 2 Palominos

Coaching: Liberty with 2 Donkeys - Sanne from Netherlands

• Techniques for beginning multiple horses
  
• Techniques for Donkeys
  

Coaching: Shannon from Canada with Tido

• Increasing speed of spins
• Stopping behavior learned but not asked for (turn and back to me)

Q&A

• Do you think that at least part of the reason that a horse will tend to keep offering something definitive that has been recently taught is because the horse feels confident that it is something that he already knows? Like, you are maybe trying to teach something new, but the horse will default, from a confidence standpoint, to something that they feel confident that they already know?  Maybe it is a clue that we need to break down the new thing into smaller pieces, or go slower, to build more?

Coaching:  Laura & Tupelo from Ohio

• Shaping the Jambette
• Choosing the approximation to reinforce
• Eliminating Jambette when you are not asking
• Closer & Away in Circles
• Liberty Flying Lead Change - only changing in front
• “Away” and “Closer” to create specific size circles

Q&A for Katja

• Could you talk about introducing the horses to performing in front of an audience and in a ring that is open to the audience?
• 02:59:35 How important is it for the horses to stay in their order? For example is #1 always #1 and so on? Is the outside horse always the outside horse??
• 03:04:20 Is there anything specific that Katja practices with her horses to earn their respect?

Post Workshop Q&A

• Hi! When playing with multiple horses do you have to say the name at the cue for each horse, or can you say the cue and then just call out horses names? When watching Katja's videos it looks almost like there is not enough time to repeat the cue and the name for each horse.

• Are the students not encouraged to use a marker( clicker/tongue click, etc) to help orient the horse to knowing they are on the right path? - and be more clear with the approximation of the behavior being taught?

•  I've read Mark Rashid's book "Horses never lie" recently. What is your opinion about an idea of passive leadership, which is presented in the book? I can't deny that it is very close to my heart and my feelings about what true partnership between a horse and a human should look like. I have a feeling that this strong relationship I've built with Boris in such a short time is based on the fact that I do my best to never force him to do anything. But I am very curious about your opinion. Thank you :)

• My pony offers in response to my ask but just paws the ground incessantly (daughter taught him to paw in respinse to her scraping her foot years ag; it was cute but it's not helpi gme now :-). He thinks that this is what I want. How do I help him understand I want him to hold?

• A bit tangential but a question I have had: What does it mean and what should you do if your horse gets erections during the training? Is it excitement that means you need to slow down? I notice this horse has "dropped" and  once, that I saw, got a brief errction. I have a horse, not a stalllion, will drop and will get an erection when doing training, especially if treats are being provided liberally.

• I see this horse bringing his head in front of her body when she is trying to change sides to work on. She has to bump him with her arm/hand to ask for some space. Do you have any other tips when a horse moves its head into your space?

• Paris the Mule has the extend and hold, but I have not gotten her to connect to the target to lift and hold.  Any suggestions for getting the lift?

• I wonder what Katja thinks about the "offering butt" problem?

• After Katja talking about her loudness, I wonder if she would comment on Shannons volume... Like - can she adjust anything on the loudness scale to differentiate on what zone she wants to draw? I am having a similar issue as I am spending a lot of scratching time in the hind zones, so my horses love to present this way too. I would think of the loudness and clearity on the signal in my body to let them know better, and it would be helpful to know through Shannons practice.

• I'm still curious about how you start getting one horse to follow the first one.

Sample Teaching from the December 2020 Workshop

The Hitching Post

Long ago in the old west, when people had trouble with a horse, they could go into town and seek the advice of grizzled veterans over a meal, or a round of drinks at the bar…

 I’d like to think I’m not so “grizzled” – but I am a 30-year veteran of helping students create a Liberty connection with their horses that resists distractions, no matter where you are playing.

The David Lichman Video Coaching Webinar Experience

Sit in the Gallery, watch, listen and post questions for three hours, as I advise and coach 3 to 4 students on their individual video submissions. During the event I will share the student videos - stopping, starting and highlighting relevant sections while I discuss with the student my thoughts and suggestions.  Live Q&A throughout.

 Accepting Video Applications for Liberty Coaching:

• Beginners: Having issues with getting started?
  • Take the FREE 5-Part Begin Your Liberty Challenge https://tinyurl.com/DML-Begin-Liberty and I’ll coach you through any challenges or just help you to improve.
• Boomerang & Game of Two Eyes: My two signature exercises.
  • For students working from Liberty Outside the Round Pen https://tinyurl.com/DML-Liberty-Streaming. I will help you get over any stumbling blocks to perfect these exercises so you can play at Liberty anywhere!
  • Help with issues using treats as motivators, and understanding the behavioral psychology that underlies these exercises.
• Advancing: Make progress in the following areas.
  • Liberty Outside the Round Pen with Multiple Horses https://tinyurl.com/DML-Multiple-Horses
  • Spanish Walk https://tinyurl.com/DML-Spanish-Walk
  • Positive Reinforcement Strategies
  • Tricks, Chain Behaviors, and Problem Solving
  • Dominance & Safety Issues
  • Shaping Out Unwanted Behaviors
  • Training for Veterinary Procedures Using Positive Reinforcement
  • Any Advancing Topic of Your Choosing
    

When:

            Saturday, February 13, 2021

            10:00 AM to 01:00 PM, USA Pacific Time (GMT – 8)

Pricing:

            Until February 6 2021

            Gallery Spectators…. $25

            Coaching Students….$50

           After February 6, 2021

            Gallery Spectators…. $30

            Coaching Students….$60

Purchasers will receive a $5.00 discount on all future video workshops!

To Apply for Coaching:

• Choose the COACHING SESSION option and purchase. If your video is not selected, you will join the other Gallery Students, and I will refund the difference in price.  
• Upload a horizontal format video of 5–15 minutes in length to YouTube (UNLISTED), and email the link to David@DavidLichman.com with the Subject Line: Hitching Post. Include a brief description of you and your horse and what you would like help with. Make the video as high resolution as you can, and try to have someone zoom in and follow the action where possible.  Cell phone video works great.

To Join the Gallery:

• Choose the GALLERY STUDENT option and purchase. Participate in Q&A following each video. I will follow up on any questions that are not answered live, and share with all the students.

Access:

 I will email you a link to a ZOOM Webinar session prior to the event.

An archive recording will be available for viewing, in case you miss it – but the Q&A is only available during the event.