A "grin" for the camera from Minstrel, bred and raised by Bex Tasker Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
Ordinary farm animals can do extraordinary things under the care and guidance of former drug dog handler Bex Tasker.
In a few rolling paddocks overlooking Matakana Island in Bay of Plenty, her young human trainees are also building up their skills working with the sheep, chickens, rabbits and horses.
Tasker trained as a vet nurse and with guide dogs before working for Customs handling dogs to sniff out drugs. Five years ago, she started working with young people through her animal training business Positively Together.
Bex with Barnaby, the Valais Blacknose, her "main man" Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
She not only trains the animals, including Kaimanawa horses from the wild, she also teaches 7- to 16-year-olds how to coax animals to build on their natural behaviour, using positive reinforcement methods.
"Force-free training is about making behaviour change, but it's about doing it in a way that the animal's on board with that and the animal is having as much fun as we are, whereas I think traditional animal training is about making the animals do things because it's convenient for humans," she told Country Life.
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She takes the older trainees with her to demonstrate the animals' skills at fairs and A&P shows.
"They get nerdy like I do, about the training, and some of them just love cuddling the animals."
When Country Life visited Tasker's 5.6 hectare property near Aongatete, the treat bags were out and Pipsqueak, Rupert and Misty were getting ready for a session with "next-gen trainers" Ariela, Hosea and Elena.
Thirteen-year old Ariela led Pipsqueak, one of the sheep, onto a pedestal where, with the help of a sheepnut or two, he waved his hoof, a trick Ariela has been working on.
"I was just trying to train him to stand on the pedestal, but he kept on nudging me with his foot, and I'm like, I think I can turn this into something.
"It's more about trying to get him to get out of bad habits of, you know, nudging me, and more wanting him to wave in front of him."
Timing is everything, she said, as well as a love of animals and confidence.
"And patience for sure."
Pipsqueak the sheep waves his hoof as Ariela reaches into her treat pouch to reward him Photo: RNZ/Supplied
Her 10-year-old sister Elena said she had learnt a lot about the handling of animals and body language.
"[It's] definitely taught me to be patient with animals, because sometimes that's kind of hard because they're like, pushing you, and you're like, 'oh, come on, just stop doing that!'"
Tasker has recently started 'Animal Adventures', a therapeutic programme aimed at building young people's resilience and meeting the needs of those with anxiety and other mental health issues.
"There's definitely a need for our neurodiverse kids and all sorts of other sorts of medical complexities and challenges."
Tasker takes some of her animals to shows to demonstrate their skills, including her magnificent Valais Black Nose sheep, Barnaby, who she desribes as her "main man".
With his horns and long ringlets he is an unusual sight, fetching, jumping and spinning for the crowds.
"He's quite surprisingly athletic for how heavy set he is."
Radha, Bex's assistant, and trainee Hosea with her horses and sheep Barnaby and Rupert. Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
She also incorporates card tricks and a chicken football game into her shows, building on the animals' natural behaviour, like pecking, and traits like the ability to discriminate certain colours.
"It's the magic of training, it's the magic of animals.
"While it all seems very silly and cute and fun, there is, for me, there's a much deeper, deeper message, deeper meaning.
"I'm really passionate about the pre-teens and the teenage group in particular, and really role-modelling and showing the importance of respecting body autonomy, of looking for consent when we're interacting with other beings, whether those are sheep or chickens or humans."
Bex Tasker takes her animal show to local events such as A&P shows, markets, schools, fairs and community events. Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
What about those who say making animals perform is not natural and unfair on the animal?
"My response is that we ask the animal, you know, and my animals tell me that they love it more than anything.
"My horses [...] come literally galloping from the other end of the paddock, neighing when they see me come to the gate because they're so keen to train.
"So rather than putting human ideology and human ideas onto our animals, this is a, you know, a good example of where we need to ask the animal.
"Yes, they're performing, but they're also living 99.9 percent of the time in a paddock with, you know, friends, so they're not living an unnatural lifestyle, and then, every now and then, I pull them out and take them out and do things, and they're always happy to perform."
Radha Foulds, one of the coaches, cradles a newborn lamb with Awhi on guard Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
Tasker also takes her animals to rest homes where she says older people find joy in cuddling newborn lambs, unlocking memories of their earlier life.
She would eventually like to build a charitable arm for her business, enabling more of the therapy work and offering scholarship spots to young people.
Learn more:
- Find out more about Bex Tasker here
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