Cabin of the Week Contest

Enter to win 1000 bucks for your decorating skills!
Kazzandra	BostonGal	Kaitlin2010
Last Week's Cabin Winner Keely Send contests@clubponypals.com an email telling us the username's cabin you want to enter. Rules are: Each week three cabins will be chosen from the entries for member voting. Members can enter enter as often as they like, but winners cannot enter this contest again for six months. Look for more new fun furniture items soon. Have a request for something you want to add? Let us know!

Drawing of the Week Contest

by birdy286

by Maid Mairain

"Beauty"

Winner gets 500 Wiggins bucks, and their art is made into a painting for members' cabins. If you want to enter, send your art to the Contests@ClubPonyPals.com or mail it to:

Club Pony Pals
16654 Soledad Canyon Road #382
Canyon Country, CA 91387 USA

If you want a sticker and bookmark make sure and include a mailing address where we can send it!

Vote for your favorite caption for this cartoon--

Write a caption for this --

Can you write the winning funny caption for this cartoon? Deadline is Thursday of this week. Email it to Contests@clubponypals.com

Look for the entries in the next week's e-newsletter and vote for your favorite.

Winning caption gets 500 bucks, runners-up get 100 W bucks each. Captions should be short.

or draw a cartoon --

We are looking for cartoon artists, too. Draw one and email it to us by Thursday.

If it is selected, you can earn 500 Wiggins bucks! Hint -- for this contest, please draw your cartoon in black and white. If you want to enter, send your art to Contests@ClubPonyPals.com or mail it to:

Club Pony Pals
16654 Soledad Canyon Road #382
Canyon Country, CA 91387 USA

Envelope Art Contest! Win 100 Wiggins Bucks!

EagleGirl's Clicker Club Training Column

We have discussed charging the clicker and targeting, along with the backbone of clicker training, breaking a task down into tiny steps. We're going to talk a little bit more about that this week.  You want your pony, or other animal, to always have success, and you want every clicker training session to end with success.  In order to ensure this success, you need to observe your pet carefully, and structure your lessons so that he moves forward a little at a time, building up to a complete task.  Wow, no problem, right?  Actually, when you put it like that, it can seem more than a little intimidating, can't it?  But we're going to talk about how to do this, so that you can feel confident as you work with your pet.  For the purposes of this column, I am going to talk about working with a pony, but you can apply these principles to any animal.

First of all, relax, because you don't have to plan the entire "lesson" out before you go out to work.  You do need to have something in mind, because you have to start somewhere, and you need a goal, but understand that you might end up changing your plans and doing something entirely different, all because you are going to observe your pony so that he can tell you what he needs.  Don't panic; you will be able to do this!  And so will he!

Let's say you have already charged the clicker with your pony.  He understands that when he hears the click, a treat follows.  He must understand this before you continue, because the click is a marker to let him know when he has exhibited the desired behavior.  Because he really wants that treat, he is going to pay attention to what he was doing when he heard the click, and he is going to repeat that behavior.  So, if you get out to work, and you discover by using your powers of observation that he still does not "get" what the clicker means, you need to back up and continue working on charging the clicker.  You may find that you need to take several sessions just working on charging the clicker.  Some animals get it almost immediately; my Welsh mule did.  Other animals need more time and more practice; my appaloosa mule did, and so did my neighbor's paint gelding.  This is not a race.  Remember, you want your pony to have success, every time.  So you are going to take as much time as you need in order to make that possible.

One of the really beautiful things about clicker training is the bond it builds between trainer and pet.  Not only do you learn how to observe your pony and understand him better, he learns how to observe you and understand you better too!  You will find as you continue that the two of you develop a real rapport, and become very much in tune with one another.  You will learn how to pace your lessons so that your pony understands each step.  This is important, because sometimes we can get excited and try to do too much too soon, and that can be overwhelming for your pony.

For instance, let's say you want to teach your pony to walk nicely on the lead.  You will probably find that if you start working on that first thing, both you and your pony will become frustrated.  You could come away from that lesson thinking that clicker training will not work for you or your pony.  That is not so.  It can and will work for both of you.  But you must be patient and take the time that is needed to get your pony comfortable with the clicker.

So, you want to charge the clicker before you do anything else.  Take your time, and make sure your pony gets it.  Do you want to "test" him to make sure?  That's a great idea.  So, walk off a little ways and let him come with you.  If he doesn't, that's okay too; just go back to him, click and treat.  You can do this several times and then stop, or you can stand and pet him for a little while, every once in a while clicking and treating.  He doesn't have to DO anything when you are charging the clicker.  You are simply teaching him that when he hears the click a treat is forthcoming.

Okay, you have spent as much time as needed to charge that clicker, and when your pony hears the click, he looks for the treat.  So now you are ready to move on.  But do you see how we have backed up and reinforced the concept of "click and treat"?  Now that we know he has "gotten" it, we can continue with the next step.  We discussed targeting last week, and if you want to introduce targeting next, that is a fine plan.  But if you really, really want to teach your pony something else, then you can work on that next.  Just remember that no matter what you are working on, you want to start at the very beginning and take tiny, tiny steps.

So, we are working with that pony that you want to teach to walk on the lead.  Think about all that is involved in that, and start with the very first step.  You might think that the first step is stepping off with your pony and having him step off after you.  But that is not the first step.  In fact, that is way down the line.  Before you can step off with your pony, you have to get the halter on him.  And before you can get the halter on him, he has to stand still while you put the halter on him.  But before that happens, you have to be able to walk up to him and have him stay put.  Do you see how we have worked backwards from the desired behavior to the very beginning?  It's like solving a maze.  Sometimes you have to go to the end of the maze and backtrack and work your way to the front.

Now we know the first thing we are going to work on.  We are going to work on walking up to our pony.  So leave the pen, or whatever area in which you are working.  Then go back in.  If you can walk right up to your pony, great.  Walk up and as soon as you reach his head, click and treat.  If your pony moves away when you approach him, then you need to work on teaching him to let you approach him.  Step towards him, observing him carefully.  Watch for any sign that he is about to turn away and move off.  The key is to click BEFORE he starts moving away.  So if you think he might be getting ready to turn away, then stop moving and click.  Then hold out his treat.  He might walk up and get it, or you might have to move towards him.  If he will take the treat, let him.  Then turn around and walk off.  Don't pet him, don't stand there after you treat him, just turn around and leave.  He might follow you, but it's okay if he doesn't.  After you are away, turn back towards him and stand for a moment, then begin to approach him again.  Keep following this same procedure until your pony stands and lets you approach him.

The behavior you want the pony to exhibit is to stand still and let you approach him.  You might have to get to that point in increments, which is why you click before he moves away.  The click tells him that good things happen when he stands still.  You will gradually be able to move closer and closer, until you can walk up to him and he stays put.  But remember you are taking tiny steps, always observing your pony so that you can ensure his success.

You might find that you can walk up almost close enough to touch your pony before he walks off.  But you might find that as soon as you take a step towards him he takes a hike.  This is where observing comes into play.  WATCH your pony.  You will get to the point where you are able to tell when he is thinking about leaving.  And you will click BEFORE that happens.  Take as long as you need to teach your pony to stand while you approach him.  He might get it in one lesson, or it might take weeks.  Most ponies will probably be somewhere in between those two extremes.  Remember, your pony will progress at his own pace.  Your job is to observe him so you know what that pace is.

If you have a pony that will not even let you come up to give him a treat, then you need to set up a place where you can put his treat.  You can hang a bucket on the fence, and charge the clicker using the bucket.  Click, then drop a treat in the bucket and move away so the pony can come get it.  As long as the pony will not let you close enough to treat him by hand, you will need to use the treat station.  If you have a flat surface nearby, you can lay the treat on it and then move so the pony can access it.  This method, using a treat station, is handy with ponies that have been abused or that have not been handled much.  The number one thing you want is for your pony to feel SAFE.  And when your pony feels safe, then you are much safer as well.  Always move slowly enough so that your pony is comfortable.  You will be amazed at the bond and the level of trust this will build between you and your pony.  Just be patient.  Good things come to those who wait.

Next week, we will continue talking about training a pony to walk nicely on a lead, and how to break lessons down into tiny steps.  Happy clicking!

Happy clicking!
EagleGirl

from ellie rose

Showing the dogs front... i was done before any one else! :)

Yes, the handing over of my prize... maize seems thrilled right? sitting in the schorching hot for maybe, um, only three hours, oh and did i mention, i felt like i was gonna faint?
(Except when i was winning!)

Here are some pictures from my previous show. I am riding A-jax. I got 1st place in the hunter jumper class, and I beat people more advanced and older then me. Yay!

Member Art Gallery

by Maid Mairain

"Snow White"

 

Dear Pony Pals Send in your photos, stories and drawings for our contests. e-mail them to Contests@ClubPonyPals.com or mail it to: Club Pony Pals 16654 Soledad Canyon Road #382 Canyon Country, CA 91387 USA The first printing of collectable stickers is almost gone. For the next week or two, if you want a sticker and bookmark make sure and include a mailing address where we can send it. Please include your user name and the email address you used to register in your letter, too. Webmaster

 

Play These Games to Earn Wiggins Bucks

 

Play these to earn bucks! Each week, that week's highest scoring

Scavenger Hunt
Winner gets 3000 Wiggins bucks,
next nine members scores below that get 500 bucks each.

 

 

"Scavenger Hunt "

gk99

rene

Chesapeak

buzz lightyear

Caspian136

kater

dutch_angel

RoyRogers

gloglo678

Horselover00000001

 

Pony Pal Derby
Race your pony to earn Wiggins bucks!
Each week the derby game's highest scoring player earns 3000 Wbucks.
500 Wbucks goes to each of the next nine highest scores.

 

"Pony Pal Derby"

RogueMustangMare

DizzyDaizy

Ariane

BlackNWhite

TSC

emi_bunny

LunaLight

Rebeccaismyname

Comanche1999

16302956

 

Math Games
High scoring players in addition,
subtraction or multiplication earn 500 Wiggins bucks,
next nine players who have high scores earn 100 bucks each.

 

"Add Like Mad"

EagleGirl

wombat165

LunaLight

Kdoepker

horseegirl122

Elizabeth114

indijade

christmas berry

HorsesAreMyLifeNZ

horse98girl

 

 

"Subtraction Action"

wombat165

LunaLight

indijade

djbates

rainbowgirl

jhorsey

christmas berry

BlackNWhite

xSpuffyx

star454

 

 

"Multiplication Station"

HorsesAreMyLifeNZ

LunaLight

Caitlin8

Natalie21

rainbowgirl

BlackNWhite

breezymarie

Bellakas

jumper94

TSC

This Week's Cross-Country Trophy Winners

Cross-country course north

celebi_00

caroline97

Moonlight Sonata

iambellamom

ole miss

Cross-country course south

rhambuchen

buggieboo

Lucky horseshoe

Britnie

EHL

 

Pony Pal Thoughts for the Day:

"Horse, you are truly a creature without equal, for you fly without wings and conquer without sword."
Arabian Proverb

_____________________

"God forbid that I should go to any Heaven in which there are no horses."
Robert B Cunninghame-Graham 1917

__________________________

"No hour of life is lost that is spent riding a horse."
Winston Churchill

__________________________

It may be broadly stated that.....of all animals kept for the recreation of mankind the horse is alone capable of exciting a passion that shall be absolutely hopeless.
Bret Harte