He could kiss, paw, and rear on command and that was about it. Everything, even standing to be brushed, had to be taught from scratch. My experience in eventing and natural horsemanship failed to prepare me for a horse like Erving. The conventional advice of "apply more pressure until they give in" only made him more resistant.

In desperation, I picked up The Principles of Learning and Behavior and added words like ‘operant conditioning’ and ‘positive reinforcement’ to my vocabulary. Armed with a clicker and lots of treats, I set about retraining Erving. And it worked. He became excited and willing to learn. Encouraged by the progress, I decided to take it under saddle. 

Being a retired harness racer, Erving moved like a board, as though he was physically still strapped between the stanchions of a sulky. He needed dressage. I believed combining positive reinforcement with classical dressage would create a horse that is both willing and graceful, happy and athletic. My success with Erving transformed how I train horses.