Training Log Dictionary

NQR Not Quite Right

Miz Scarlet Effect An obscure reference to a politically incorrect skit on an episode of The Carol Burnet Show that aired in the 1970s. Carol played Scarlet O'hara, who was about to deliver her child. She had a handmaiden that would become hysterical over the slightest detail, and exclaim, "Miz Scarlet, whad we gwan do? Whad we gwan do?", at which point Carol would slap her and the handmaiden would calmly say, "We think of somethin'". The same thing happens with horses, especially those new to training, who look for things to over-react to, whether that be a bird 200 yards away or a non-existent friend horse. Luckily, we don't have to slap horses, one can just poke them in the neck with a finger or shake a lead shank at them and they refocus on their handler. The act of looking for something to over-react to is the Miz Scarlet Effect.