#FunFriday- How to Entertain a Halter Horse Over Winter Break- Teach Him to Fetch!
Curtis Howerton with Ricky Bobby.
By: Brittany Bevis
Every Friday we like to feature a fun video clip or photo from one of our EquineChronicle.com readers. Today’s clip comes from 17-year-old Curtis Howerton of Williamsfield, Illinois who took advantage of the winter break to teach his APHA show horse a new trick…
Ricky Bobby is a 6-year-old gelding that recently ended up #3 on the APHA year-end standings for the Youth Aged Geldings division, with Howerton at the lead. Howerton and RB have been a team for the past three years and currently compete under the guidance of his parents, Rick and Joann Howerton.
Since it’s been a bit chilly in Illinois this winter, Howerton came up with a fun indoor activity to keep Ricky Bobby entertained. His idea was inspired by one of the family dogs.
“There is snow on the ground, and we haven’t been able to turn RB outside, so we figured this would be a great way to let him have a little fun inside,” he says. “We have two dogs, a Husky and a German Short-Haired Pointer. The puppy kept bringing a stick into the barn and RB liked it. He would watch her play with it and carry it back and forth down the barn aisle. One night, I was out in the barn, and I thought it would be pretty cool if RB could learn how to fetch the stick.”
The talented and photogenic Ricky Bobby. Photo courtesy of Karen O’Brien.
Because RB is very food-motivated, Howerton decided to use his horse’s love of feed as a positive reinforcement reward.
“I started by throwing the stick, and then I would go put some feed on it, so he would know it was good to go get the stick,” he says. “Then, I would walk away so he would follow me. Then, I’d give him more food so he would know it was good to bring the stick to me. It took about 30-40 minutes.”
Of the four horses at the family farm, RB is definitely Howerton’s favorite because of his fun-loving personality. But he’s not the only champion halter horse in the barn. RB’s stall mate is MMM MMM Good, who was named the 2014 Honor Roll Youth Champion Mare and spent last year receiving accolades in youth and amateur classes around the country.
“We’ve had a trainer before, but we do it all ourselves right now,” he says. “My mom does a great job with them.”
Since posting the video debut of his first trick, Howerton has spent the week practicing with RB to hone his skills. He is currently trying to come up with their next trick. “I’ve been trying to think of something else that would be cool to teach him, but I haven’t come up with anything yet…”
Curtis and Joann Howerton with MMM MMM Good at the Jefferson County Fair. Photo courtesy of Brittany Johnson.
Howerton is hoping our EquineChronicle.com readers can help give him a few suggestions! Click here to watch RB fetch.
For those hoping to teach their own horse a similar task or trick, Howerton has three pieces of advice.
#1- Find a Reward– Pick a reward that the horse loves. This could either be food-based or some sort of toy.
#2- Start Small- Don’t try to do the entire trick all at once. Start out small and break the trick up into steps that will be easy for the horse to achieve.
#3 Repetition, Repetition, Repetition!
