In preparation for future saddling, I wanted to gauge his reaction to a fly sheet. My reasoning was that a fly sheet combines both a novel object and all over body contact compared with a saddle that is only in contact with his back, ribs and belly. I wanted to make sure Koda could be relaxed in movement with the sensation of the sheet and straps touching him over. In this initial baseline test, the photo is showing his flight reaction to the fly sheet resting on his back, despite introducing it gradually and positively.

I re-introduced the fly sheet by hanging it on a fence and using “splitting” to build his confidence. I asked him walking past it with me between him and the sheet, using the handheld target as guidance and as a familiar focal point for him to stay connected to. We ignore the fly sheet completely for a few sessions, asking him to simply touch the target while getting progressively closer to the fly sheet.

Our next step was squeezing between me and the fly sheet, and targeting it directly. I asked him to walk between me and the fly sheet while it was hanging on the fence, again using the target. We started the squeeze about 10-12 feet away to start and gradually worked up to being closer to it. We also started transferring a nose touch from the HH target to the sheet itself while hanging on the fence, and then hanging on a stationary pole in preparation for further generalization to trees and the ground.

We need changed up the environment to an area he is more comfortable in, confidence. I mad a game out of following the fly sheet, touching it, and then stationing at it. The fly sheet became a fun thing to "catch" on his own terms (he is chasing it, it is not chasing him) and a safe place to stand while I walked away, just like his regular stationary target. I was really pleased by how quickly he picked up on these exercises and how willing he was to play the games.

It was time to start working on getting Koda confident with the fly sheet touching his body. We used body targeting, which he knows quite well, to give him the control over when the sheet touched him. The photo above shows him moving his ribs laterally into the sheet by choice after offering a consent signal. We also used the Spoonful of Sugar technique which worked better than marking the moment it touched his body to prevent conflicting emotions. Touching the stationary target is a familiar and favorite behavior.

For our next several sessions I asked him to freely follow me around while I was carrying the fly sheet, mixing up targeting, stationing, searching for treats in the folds of the sheet on the ground, body targeting, and laying the sheet on his back. We blended in the difficult behavior of laying it on his back among lots of more familiar behaviors, using the challenge sandwich technique. It worked beautifully and he responded so much more calmly than if I had tried to isolate the behavior of laying the sheet on his back straight away.