04/15/2016
In the section of the JOYFull Horses posts (https://theclickercenterblog.com/2016/03/27/) that I've just finished, I wrote about Panda, the miniature horse I trained to be a guide. Ann was asked recently by a British producer of a series about animals if they could film her with Panda. Usually Ann says no to these interviews. They are a lot of work, and they rarely tell the story she wants to talk about. They just see Panda as cute and as a novelty. Ann wants to talk about clicker training and the difference this type of training can make for both horses and dogs.
This time she agreed to the interview so yesterday morning just after nine the director and a cameraman arrived at Ann’s house. They had a wish list of things they wanted to film. The list was several pages long. As they read off all the things they had been instructed to film, my only comment was I thought they were being a bit optimistic.
They quickly found out why. Even when you're used to seeing Panda at work, it’s hard to resist the temptation of filming every little thing she does. They began by filming Panda and Ann leaving the house and walking down the driveway. Panda did exactly what she was supposed to do. She guided Ann to the foot of the drive, stopped, waited for Ann to tell her to go forward and then proceeded across the road and turned right in the direction they normally take on their walks.
“Stop. Come back,” called the cameraman. “Can we do that again?”
Now imagine taking your horse out for a ride, or your dog out for a walk. Your animal knows the routine. He is eager for the outing. You are on your way, and abruptly, for no reason that can make any sense to him, you stop and head back the way you’ve just come. And then, to add insult to injury, you make him stand about waiting while a cameraman tries to get his very high tech equipment to work properly. How patient would he be? If he’s anything like Panda, the answer would be very.
Panda never fails to impress. She was so good! She went back with Ann. She waited for the cameraman to change his equipment, and to make adjustments to his lenses. Finally the signal was given and Ann cued Panda to go forward. Panda guided her to the edge of the driveway and stopped.
“Could we do that again?”
And again. And again. The answer each time was yes. Panda could do it as many times as they needed. She could do it with the cameraman down on his knees getting a close up of her feet as she came to a halt at the exact end of the driveway. She could do it with the cameraman blocking her path; with him walking backwards just inches from her face.
Whatever they wanted, she could indeed do it again. Could she do that crossing of a busy street again? Could she pick up the keys Ann was dropping again - and again. Wait! Could she get in and out of the car again?
Every one of these requests took Panda out of her routine, but she was still so very solid. From a training perspective I was beyond impressed. I wish I could have filmed the filming. That was the real story. They were there to shoot a human interest story about animals helping people. They missed the better story about the details of Panda’s guide work. Panda is fifteen years old. She’s been in work for thirteen years now. She knows her job and even the disruption of a film crew didn’t throw her off her course. The better story, the one they should be telling, is the one about Panda’s life as a clicker-trained horse.
The film crew finished at six. That’s what I mean when I say these interviews are a lot of work. They took nine hours to film all the shots the producers wanted. It will all get edited down to a three minute story. Panda performed magnificently throughout. She is indeed a superstar of a little horse.
When it was done, Ann emailed me this:
"I hope the truly marvelous thing about the relationship between Panda and me came through in the filming and interviews, that is the joy we share in our work together and the clarity and subtlety of the communication between us brought about by the soundness and humaneness of the training method used in Panda’s preparation for guide work. The fullest expression of the joy of our relationship is shown when we are trotting freely down a long stretch of sidewalk, in perfect balance and exchanging cues and confidence through the lead, harness, and mind links, just enjoying the feel of sunshine and breezes and the sound of birds and fluttering tree leaves. This joy and freedom are difficult to convey under the conditions of filming and through interviews, but it is the essence of what my relationship with Panda has meant in my life."
This is a perfect expression of their work together.
1 post published by theclickercenter on March 27, 2016
