Wild horse works on stepping on pedestal

This horse is extremely careful about his feet. This is from yesterday, right when I started doing pedestal work with Swagger. I haven't done pedestal stuff with Swagger since February.
Watch as he tries to figure out how to lift his hind feet high enough to get them on the pedestal.
Notice how he looks around behind himself to see where his feet are.
I make sure to keep feeding him, to make sure he doesn't get frustrated with the process. You can see him working through the puzzle, even though he has food he is chewing.
𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧-𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 $𝟐𝟓 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://gofund.me/909cd1ad.
𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝.
• Swagger is a very unique, feral horse.
• Please resist the urge to offer suggestions. I know there are many techniques that work well for wild/feral horses, but this is the path I have chosen for myself and Swagger.
I have worked with Swagger for 200 hours over the 15 months I've had him.
• I am NOT looking for help, unless you are willing to come to Fort Worth and work with me in person and/or you have been following our journey since Summer 2023.
• Please do NOT recommend a trainer I should follow unless you are offering to help pay for training.
• This is a WILD horse. He may look calm because I work to keep him under threshold, but he is NOT a tame horse! He only accepts touch on his body in certain places and on certain days.
• I do not own the property and am limited to changes that I can make to the space.
• I am working with a professional and am a professional myself.
• I welcome ideas and suggestions from people who have followed our progress in its entirety (since May or June 2023), and understand the restrictions and time limitations we are under.
• I pay over $800/month for board and feed and professional training (virtual lessons).
• He is a feral horse, but not a mustang. He is gaited.
• He's a 6 year old Appalachian brumby gelding.
• He is getting a mixture of hay stretcher and sweet feed.
• I pay Michelle Martiya to work with me and Swagger virtually. We have been working together for over 14 months. She is an amazing animal trainer!
#hopteammcswagger #appalachianbrumby
#clickertraining #clickertraininghorses #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementhorsetraining #forcefreehorsetraining #fearfreehorsetraining #happyhorses #horsetraining #positivereinforcementhorses #wildSwagger