Romeo & Juliet
Painting Horses
I'm often asked if I show my horses. I smile and say "Yes, at art shows." After I explain that I have two Paso Finos that paint on canvas with a brush in their mouth, inevitably the next question is "How in the world do you teach a horse to paint?"
I love the question but my answer is not always the same. As I learn more about how and why my horses do what they do, my answer evolves to reflect what I've learned about them. My latest answer involves horses as problem solvers.
Horses as Problem-solvers
Many times I've seen Romeo manipulate a branch between his hooves and teeth to remove a tiny speck of moss. To my disbelief I watched Juliet step up on her pedestal so she could reach the tender grapefruit leaves above her head. This leads me to believe they have goals. These are also behaviors horses would use in the wild, with the goal of survival. I'll go an extra step to say they find gratification achieving those goals.
Painting, from a horse's perspective, involves several processes that horses are used to doing naturally. I put those processes or behaviors on cue, like holding things in their mouth. Then they take over to manipulate the brush in their teeth so it hits the canvas in the way they prefer. It's interesting to note that Romeo prefers flexible, floppy brushes that look more like mops, and Juliet prefers more traditional brush with a thick sponge tip. They each have their own style of applying paint to canvas. This leads me to believe that it's possible that they not only have goals but also preferences as to how to accomplish a task. So much for horses being simple beasts of burden.
Traditional horse training discourages mouthy behavior, and for good reason. I, however, found encouraging mouthy behavior to be a major turning point to Romeo's transformation. Romeo came to me as an eight-year-old with 6 previous owners. He embodied the words difficult, aggressive, dominant and unpredictable. Yet at the root of all those behaviors was serious insecurity. Everything scared him. Nothing that worked with the other horses in my past worked with him. I had plenty of well meaning advice like "show him who's boss" or "whack him with a crop" only to see him melt down or explode. Even a gentle approach of pressure / release or request / response / release brought out his insecurities.
Clicker Training
He had me totally confused. I began reading about clicker training and was excited because it was something we hadn't tried. In desperation I bought a clicker and clicker training books and began with the first lesson of targeting an object. My object was a supplement lid. I'd extend the lid toward him and the moment he touched it with his nose, he'd get a click and a tiny treat. With eyes wide, he touched it again and got a click and treat. All of a sudden he got it. Something he did brought him something he wanted.
It was like someone waved a magic wand over our relationship, and suddenly Romeo and I could communicate. Within days he would stand patiently with all four feet on the ground, listening for the click. This was quite a change from the old days. I quickly learned that if I had Romeo's attention, I had his whole body. I was no longer petrified of being jumped on or dragged across the field. Perhaps this was the start of equine goal setting. Romeo had a goal of earning a click to get the reward. By watching me, he began actively working towards figuring out how to do that, and I became the source of all good things.
Trash Can 'Lids of Death'
This ability became invaluable when Romeo had to face his darkest fears, the terrifying "trash can lids of death." I had him target the trash can lid. Of course the lid bobbled and moved, sending him into orbit. We repeated this a few times with the same results. We kept at it until it was not as scary and then he began moving it himself. I stopped clicking for targeting and only clicked when he moved the lid. Then I stopped clicking for moving it and watched him pick it up in his teeth. I saw that the more he could manipulate something the more confidence he gained. After that day, with anything that scared him, I would encourage him to touch it or pick it up. Soon my flighty, spooky horse was becoming confident and brave.
It seemed that the moment he could manipulate his environment using all of his tools, including his mouth and hooves, I began to see that he truly had an attachment to results. Did he have a goal? I think so. He wasn't just reacting, I think he was thinking.
Soon he was picking up everything and handing it to me. I could be on his back and drop my helmet, or my jacket, and he would pick up and hand it to me. It was then I decided to hand him a paint brush. I knew he would hold the brush, but how would he know to run the brush up and down the canvas?
I presented him with a large sketch pad and handed him a brush. As if he could read my mind, he ran the brush up and down the pad. The next day we added paint, and he's been painting and painting and painting.
Enter Juliet...
In the back of my mind, I had always wondered if Romeo was a fluke, or that our connection was so strong he was reading my mind. We found out after we moved to a new house. This gave us the opportunity to add a companion for Romeo. We found a five-year-old pinto Paso Fino mare with the athleticism of a gazelle and the temperament of a seasoned draft horse. She was very green but very curious.
I began my experiment. Could I encourage another horse to paint? Every time Romeo painted, we placed him where she could watch. This seemed to fuel her curiosity. I taught her the basics of targeting and picking things up. At first she didn't have the focus or attention span of Romeo, but as I worked with her the duration of her attention increased.
I introduced her to the easel, the paint and canvas. She was vaguely amused. Then we were invited to a local horse show. Romeo was in a separate corral while Juliet was on the sidelines watching in a larger arena. When Romeo left his painting corral for a bite of hay in the larger arena, Juliet ran into Romeo's painting area and stood at his easel. She wanted a turn! I handed her a brush with paint and she happily began large, enthusiastic brush strokes on canvas.
By that time, we had owned Juliet about 3 months. Now, 7 months later, Juliet has a diverse array of behaviors as well as painting. She lays down when I point to the ground and will tuck her head when I tell her to cuddle, and then lies flat out when I point at the ground. Just recently she learned to sneeze on cue. The aroma of the fly spray makes her sneeze, so every time she sneezes I'll say "sneeze" and then click/treat. Now when I say sneeze she'll sneeze, or if she forgets how, she'll shake her head in the same movement as a sneeze.
Juliet came from a loving home, so in essence she came to me as a blank slate with no baggage. This is a sharp contrast to Romeo's long list of issues. Under saddle, Juliet responds well to pressure and release where Romeo still takes a while to process the request. Each horse had a unique way in which they perceive the world and it shows in their painting styles. I have to gear my training appropriate for each horse, based on how they see the world. I can't have the same expectations from them because they are individuals.
However, what I do that works equally well with both them is free-shaping. This is where I mark something they do naturally, without me having asked them. Every time I see them exhibit this behavior (like Juliet learning to sneeze) I'll say a word to mark the action. Juliet learned to lay down on cue, simply by me telling her "down" every time she'd roll in the sand. Fortunately she loves to roll. Now she's thrilled to get rewarded for something she likes do.
My discoveries with free-shaping have made my training more about asking my horses "What do you want to do today?" rather than "How can I teach you what I want you to do?" I try to think "Is this fun for my horse?" and then watch them to see their level of enthusiasm. The more they enjoy something, the more willing they become to try to new things.
Horse trainer Harry Whitney says, "It's not what your horse is doing, it's how it's doing it." I'm finding that when I ask my horses what they want to do, they remember the behavior more quickly and they can't wait to show it to me. Soon there is no distinction between what I want them to do and what they want to do. It becomes one in the same.
How do you Teach a Horse to Paint?
Romeo learned by manipulating his environment to overcome his fears. Juliet learned by reinforcement of her natural curiosity about the world around her. They both learned by having the opportunity to use behaviors that horses need for survival in the wild. I think they are stimulated and challenged by using these skills that they enjoy using. When I work with them in terms of what they think is fun, what builds their confidence, what they feel good at, they shine.
So for now that's how I think my horses learned to paint, but as they continue to show me their many talents, my answer will continually evolve. Until the next answer emerges you'll find me with my horses, side by side, covered in paint, handing them their brushes.
About Cheryl
Though I'm not a professional horse trainer, I wished I was when I met Romeo, a mixed-up, adorable horse who completely challenged my abilities. Through his many issues I learned how to see things from his perspective, which has changed my approach, making me question what's best for him and Juliet. We're frequently seen riding bitless [in Dr Cook's Bitless Bridles], treeless and barefoot.
If you'd like to know more, feel free to visit us at paintinghorse.com.
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