>>Message Sent by: "Marie Gulliford" I have not found the target stick ideal for backing with horses. It is a useful thing for your horse to know. Many things can be taught with the target stick. Such as lunging in a nice even circle, stretching neck and back muscles, and halt for instance. To teach my horse to back I used a repel stick.  The repel stick is the same idea as a target stick but in reverse. Instead of clicking the horse for touching it I click the horse for moving away from it. Then I move it so the horse learns to move any part of his body away from it. Using this technique I taught back, turn on fore, turn on haunches, and side-pass.  Another way to teach a horse to back would be to stand in front of it in a narrow aisle. Wait. At some point the horse will want to move away.  The only option being to back up it will. Click and treat for each step back. There are lots of ways to teach a horse to back without using force.  The most important requirement is patience. If your horse is stiff it may well be painful to back. An appropriate course of action then would be to work on flexibility first.(using the target stick of course<smile>) I hope this gives you some ideas. Happy Tails to You Marie Gulliford Ashby, Ma. USA http://home.att.net/~doghair/index.html

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