The Intermediate Bridge leads to engagement!
SATS and its Magical Bridges
This podcast is dedicated to the friend of my podcast, Sara Licht, a talented horse trainer. Sara wants to know how the bridge becomes so powerful in last week’s video, “Loose lead walking, with explanation.” I do not use any food in that video, and this is a common question.
So, before I answer that question, take a moment to think about what that question implies; it implies that the greatest thing we have to offer an animal during training is food (and perhaps the corollary, the greatest discouragement of unwanted behavior is physical punishment). Neither is true, but many of us deeply believe it to be true that animals will work with us due to the incentive of food.
News flash: in seminars, held all over the world, where people brought animals I had never met before, and who either could not, or would not, take food from me, it never mattered to me. It didn’t materially affect the training outcome. Even though the animals did not know me. Even though they had diverse problems and diverse characters and diverse passions. I could almost always engage the animals to work together with me and align with my purpose.
Now, here are some critical questions: How do we do this? And Why does it work?
And how do we escape our own unwarranted beliefs and our fears?
One way is to master SATS! 🙂
So, think about what SATS is: SATS is a training system where we recognize the intelligence of the animal, and communicate with them fluently about what we plan to do together.
Many times, animals will initially respond to my information with a startle and a moment of confusion. “Are you talking to me???” And then, they answer. They answer with actions, and they can answer by toggling a choice. You want to see your animal light up with excitement: show them that you see THEM. Their intelligence, their ability, their passions, their skills, their love of working together.
Stop the endless repetition. It dulls the mind and discourages the animals from thinking. I ALWAYS want a thinking animal. The idea that an animal should do something 8 times before new information is introduced strangles progress. It smothers delight in learning. It derails real communication.
And, become expert at both training and communication. Know your objectives: training goals, the definition of the behavior – both what it is, and what it is not. Cover all this information at the start of the training process, so the animal can see where you are going together. Know the typical problem areas for a behavior and show them to the animal at the beginning, and show them how to navigate around them. The animal needs to really understand the behavior, and how to do it, BEFORE we add speed to the process.
Deliver the information fluently, with skilled presentation, and swift, but thorough explanation. Modulate your bridging, use sincere, emphatic feedback and praise. Suit the level of excitement, speed and loudness to the particular animal you are training.
Most of all, celebrate the animal, and their ability, responsiveness, and importance to getting the job done.
When we clearly state what we are doing, and how to do it, and then ask the animal to demonstrate the behavior, they tend to shine, learning very quickly, and often with little to no error.
All this is not simple or easy to do, even for people with plenty of natural talent. Consider the fact that, for many people, the most dreaded thing, next to dying, is public speaking. Animal training requires the skillset of a very good public speaker, along with the expertise of a very good trainer. We must learn concepts, integrate them into our habits and actions, and hone our ability to deftly flow from one idea to the next, taking our animal with us on the quickly moving journey.
Now, a few words about the mechanics of bridging: I recommend a clear, sharp presentation. Most people are more muffled and hesitant, then clear and inspiring. Bridging is a continuous stream of information. Modulate your bridges to tell your animal when you are coming upon the challenges, when you are almost done, and when SUCCESS has been met! Be on time. We all work to bridge at the optimum speed: 7.83 beats per second. I was that speed naturally (a whole other story). Lately I have slowed down a bit, so I am working on raising my speed again. It still works when I am slower, but wow does it work when I am on time.
Being an excellent trainer is very challenging, but wow! It is fun! I hope you will continue to follow and learn the SATS training system. A good time can be had by all.
Note: What makes the SATS bridges so powerful? We explore it here. There are additional stories and exampled in the video and podcast recording, but this blog records the nuts and bolts. Links below.
Youtube: Loose lead walking, with explanation: https://youtu.be/LOkNQlFikuo
Podcast: https://kcetu.podbean.com/e/the-magical-bridges-of-sats/
This blog post (please share)” https://kcetu.podbean.com/e/the-magical-bridges-of-sats/
Cadence tool: synalia.com/cadence-tool