First Steps In Clicker Training
Clicker training is really very straight forward, it is a brilliant way of letting the horse know when they are doing something you want them to do.
What you will need in order to do some training yourself is the ability to concentrate, an understanding of equine body language, precise timing so that you click while the horse is doing the right thing, and the patience to allow the horse to dictate the pace of learning. The horse will let you know when they are comfortable with a task by their relaxation and anticipation of what you are asking for, so when you reach a level of comfort you can start to ask for a bit more. Clicker training is much faster than most training methods simply due to it's capacity to say "Yes! That's It!"
So, how would you take the first steps?
The first thing you need to teach the horse is that the click is a promise of a treat. In the beginning follow the click quickly with a treat, once the horse understands that a click means a treat is on the way then you don't need to be quite so quick with it. There are two ways I introduce horses to the click-treat. Which one I use depends on the personality of the horse. One is to attract the horses attention and when they are focussed on me, then Click-treat (c-t). For horses that are already very focussed on the handler, I would use an object for them to target. Targeting an object means the horse will touch the object with their nose. In the beginning make it very easy, in fact almost inevitable that the horse will touch the object. Hold it at nose level where the horse will brush it with their nose with a very small turn of the head and c-t when the object is touched. The object can be almost anything safe and unthreatening, I often use a plastic bottle or a grooming brush.
Once the horse understands the sequence, target-click-treat then you can start asking for other types of behaviour. I like to start with some despooking work, as this is always helpful for the horse and their rider and it also builds trust between the horse and myself, as the horse learns that calmness and relaxation are rewarded, and the strange woman with the scary object will never let anything hurt or frighten them.
In clicker training you are aiming to gently expand the boundaries of what the horse is comfortable with and capable of offering, your aim is to engage their cooperation and enjoyment.
I often start the despooking process by working with a plastic bag. You will need to gauge how worried an individual horse is by the plastic. Remember that if you hold it tightly bundled in your hand then it will seem a relatively small threat. The bigger it is, the noisier and more erratically it moves, the more worrisome it is likely to be. This means that with one carrier bag you have a wide range of different levels of asking.
Clicker training is very straight forward for the horse once they understand behaviour means click=treat and the horse can be taught an endless range of behaviours. Despooking, loading and all aspects of ground work are very straight forward, including work on the lunge and free schooling. Ridden work and performance are also easy, though may require more experience to train and it is useful to have someone with you, on the ground, who can let you know when you are getting what you are asking for.
For the first steps in schooling I tend to ask for stretching down, first in walk then progressing to other paces. Then I might work on forwardness, straightness and quality of the paces, and at each stage ask for the best self carriage that an individual horse is able to comfortably offer at that time. It's a matter of building things up gradually, in stages, always keeping the welfare and willingness of the horse at the forefront of your training. You should aim, always, to keep it fun for the horse, and teaching them to play games is a very useful part of their training, and can come in doubly useful if you horse is ever confined to box rest.
Teaching your horse tricks and games, so long as they don't involve the horse behaving in a way that threatens their own or others safety is very useful. (Think very carefully before teaching anything that another person might find threatening or frightening. Movements such as Spanish Walk can be dangerous to bystanders for example.) Teaching a horse something such as football is good for their suppleness and balance, and when you get to the stage after a while where you can throw the ball over, under or gently at, your horse, it will have helped with despooking and strengthened your relationship.
One of the main aims and benefits of clicker training is to elicit the enthusiasm, cooperation and contentment of your horse. It truely does make a vast difference to ride a horse that loves working with you and actively wants to learn and perform.
What you will need in order to do some training yourself is the ability to concentrate, an understanding of equine body language, precise timing so that you click while the horse is doing the right thing, and the patience to allow the horse to dictate the pace of learning. The horse will let you know when they are comfortable with a task by their relaxation and anticipation of what you are asking for, so when you reach a level of comfort you can start to ask for a bit more. Clicker training is much faster than most training methods simply due to it's capacity to say "Yes! That's It!"
So, how would you take the first steps?
The first thing you need to teach the horse is that the click is a promise of a treat. In the beginning follow the click quickly with a treat, once the horse understands that a click means a treat is on the way then you don't need to be quite so quick with it. There are two ways I introduce horses to the click-treat. Which one I use depends on the personality of the horse. One is to attract the horses attention and when they are focussed on me, then Click-treat (c-t). For horses that are already very focussed on the handler, I would use an object for them to target. Targeting an object means the horse will touch the object with their nose. In the beginning make it very easy, in fact almost inevitable that the horse will touch the object. Hold it at nose level where the horse will brush it with their nose with a very small turn of the head and c-t when the object is touched. The object can be almost anything safe and unthreatening, I often use a plastic bottle or a grooming brush.
Once the horse understands the sequence, target-click-treat then you can start asking for other types of behaviour. I like to start with some despooking work, as this is always helpful for the horse and their rider and it also builds trust between the horse and myself, as the horse learns that calmness and relaxation are rewarded, and the strange woman with the scary object will never let anything hurt or frighten them.
In clicker training you are aiming to gently expand the boundaries of what the horse is comfortable with and capable of offering, your aim is to engage their cooperation and enjoyment.
I often start the despooking process by working with a plastic bag. You will need to gauge how worried an individual horse is by the plastic. Remember that if you hold it tightly bundled in your hand then it will seem a relatively small threat. The bigger it is, the noisier and more erratically it moves, the more worrisome it is likely to be. This means that with one carrier bag you have a wide range of different levels of asking.
Clicker training is very straight forward for the horse once they understand behaviour means click=treat and the horse can be taught an endless range of behaviours. Despooking, loading and all aspects of ground work are very straight forward, including work on the lunge and free schooling. Ridden work and performance are also easy, though may require more experience to train and it is useful to have someone with you, on the ground, who can let you know when you are getting what you are asking for.
For the first steps in schooling I tend to ask for stretching down, first in walk then progressing to other paces. Then I might work on forwardness, straightness and quality of the paces, and at each stage ask for the best self carriage that an individual horse is able to comfortably offer at that time. It's a matter of building things up gradually, in stages, always keeping the welfare and willingness of the horse at the forefront of your training. You should aim, always, to keep it fun for the horse, and teaching them to play games is a very useful part of their training, and can come in doubly useful if you horse is ever confined to box rest.
Teaching your horse tricks and games, so long as they don't involve the horse behaving in a way that threatens their own or others safety is very useful. (Think very carefully before teaching anything that another person might find threatening or frightening. Movements such as Spanish Walk can be dangerous to bystanders for example.) Teaching a horse something such as football is good for their suppleness and balance, and when you get to the stage after a while where you can throw the ball over, under or gently at, your horse, it will have helped with despooking and strengthened your relationship.
One of the main aims and benefits of clicker training is to elicit the enthusiasm, cooperation and contentment of your horse. It truely does make a vast difference to ride a horse that loves working with you and actively wants to learn and perform.