Undecided - Clicker Training

[NoviceNic]

So Captain has gone to his previous yard. He is now a very happy bunny. Back to normal. No threats, no dragging, no out of character behaviour. Until..........my friend bought a net of carrots and we have popped a couple of carrots in a bucket for tea. Captain then decides that all humans are good enough to eat. :rolleyes: Before I invest my heart and soul into clicker training, is it the right method to use????:confused:

[Bay Mare]

The girl who rides Saff for me at the mo uses clicker A LOT and has had some excellent results with her (and Saff used to be a mug monster). She's even teaching her lateral work and Spanish Walk using a combination of clicker and in-hand.

She's only done a couple of sessions of SW and we've got this already:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/TashaKat/INSaffy17Mar07Spanish-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/TashaKat/INSaffy17Mar07Spanish-5.jpg


Saff is responding really well to clicker and she's even doing it under saddle.

I didn't know enough about it before but having seen it done correctly I'm impressed! :D

[Bay Mare]

She does travel a bit and would come out and teach you some stuff if you were near to Lincoln (that's about her limit travel wise).

She's a PTT, has her grooms certificate and does behavioural stuff, long reining and in-hand work. She's also training as an EETT at the mo AND doing a PhD in Equine Stereotypies! Oh, and she's brilliant with horses! :D

[julia gulia]

So Captain has gone to his previous yard. He is now a very happy bunny. Back to normal. No threats, no dragging, no out of character behaviour. Until..........my friend bought a net of carrots and we have popped a couple of carrots in a bucket for tea. Captain then decides that all humans are good enough to eat. :rolleyes: Before I invest my heart and soul into clicker training, is it the right method to use????:confused:

Hi Nic:D I think the thing to try remember is that the food is not the problem...knowing his boundaries and what is expected of him is the problem. I know it's hard to see it that way when we (ahem...I can relate:D ) have boys who love to eat but they still have to mind their manners!!! Don't be put off because the clicker training involves food. I don't use clicker training but know people who do and they have had great results!!!

It's always something huh? Quick...pass the bute:p

[KarinUS]

Saff is such a pretty girl!


Anyway... we did clicker training for awhile and the horses enjoyed it but my gelding became obsessed with target training. That's how you start out. They touch the target, they get a click. After the click they get a reward. He didn't get pushy about the rewards, he got pushy about targeting. Like at some point he decided the cat was a target and started pushing on him with his nose. No click? Bob the cat harder, etc.

It's really impressive though how fast they can learn things with this method. Just give it a try. Quit if you don't like it. No harm done.

[Harry Hobbes]

Before I invest my heart and soul into clicker training, is it the right method to use????Clicker training accomplishes two main things (different from other training methods):

1. It really motivates the horse to participate in training (via the positive reward of treats.)

2. It teaches the human to get really good with the timing of the reward.

With other training methods, the focus is on the asking/pressure/cueing, and the human gets good at asking, pressuring and cueing, but is generally lousy about "rewarding the try" in the horse, which is when the horse learns. (Usually, the human doesn't recognize a try, or is late recognizing the try.)

But with clicker training, the focus is on training the human to recognize the try and to reward at the opportune instant for just the right behavior. In other words, clicker training trains the human to recognize and reward instantly and appropriately. (This addresses a major problem with the novice horse-training community.) Instant and appropriate rewarding for correct behavior is the very essence of successful horse training.

So to answer your question, clicker training is appropriate for you if you need enthusiastic participation from your horse, OR you need to hone your skills at recognizing and reinforcing desired behavior at just the right moment.

In terms of "mugging" (the horse mugging you for the treats), lesson two of most clicker training courses teach you how to train the horse not to do this. It is very straight-forward.

On a personal note, the cowboy from Montana is now clicker training his own (previously trained) horse and the near-feral Shetland Pony next door using clicker training. I find it a very effective training method and am experimenting to see where we can go with it. I really like the result to date.

If you decide to pursue clicker training, get the training materials and learn how to do it correctly (which is not difficult.) The cousework will teach you how to avoid the typical problems (such as mugging.)

Done correctly, you will not be disappointed.

Best regards,
Harry

[Bay Mare]

Great reply, Harry :D

Thank you.

[NoviceNic]

My friend has borrowed the bute after Captain bit her the other day....:eek: She said she was in quite a shock because he did it even without warning. All she was doing was putting his head collar on to lead him out to the grazing. Naughty Captain...:o Anyway, a few Scottish accented words and he hasnt bit her since.;)

I have booked a clicker training session with an EE teacher called Sammy in my area. I cant get Captain there until my trailer is fixed but I think it will be just as good to learn from a horse that is clicker wise....

[Gill]

I just wanted to say that I hope you get on well with the clicker work.
I think it is the most amazing tool. Last year I took my pony to Alex Kurlands clicker clinic and learn't such a lot.

We fit clicker into something every day even if its just making Erry wait politely for her tea instead of diving her nose into the dish as soon as it appears.

It is such a useful extra tool especially for the food muggy horse because it teaches them self control. It can also be great fun!

[NoviceNic]

He is a bu**er with a haynet as well. Tonight I was tying haynet up and asking him to wait. He didnt want to.....I stopped and turned around. Grew with my body language and asked BACK. He just walked all over me. :mad: So I pushed him back and made him go back well away from me befire I let him get near his haynet again....

[Gill]

NoviceNic it takes time. Think of breaking down each behaviour into tiny steps and then train each step with click/reward until you get the whole behaviour.
My pony is as greedy as they come so I know exactly what you mean.