Clicker Training Commands

[NoviceNic]

We have started Clicker training. So far so good....:D I was wondering if there is a list of commands I could be using. for example stand, touch, wait etc.....What do you all use??

What is the difference between stand and wait? I tend to use both which I am sure is confusing for Captain...:o

[Bay Mare]

I use stand for 'halt' and wait for if I'm moving away from her and want her to .... erm ... stand :D

I think that the key is consistency to be honest and making sure that if you use a tap of the whip to achieve something (Saff is learning Spanish Walk at the mo) then you make sure that it's a clear signal that doesn't also mean something else!

Try and use terminology that you will use in all types of training so that you can transpose groundwork to ridden work etc. The girl who is riding Saff for me is using clicker for everything including riding with very good success :)

[Lucyad]

I have read that you are supposed to shape the behaviour and then add a cue, but am not too sure why. As long as the cue is clear, I dont see the harm in including it right from the start.

[Bebe]

If it's something the horse picks up quickly then you can add the cue in whenever you want, I usually include it from the start but don't expect it to be linked with the action for a good while.

I use a variety of voice aids (I don't really do commands to be honest).

"Wait for me" is the one I use when I let Bebe out of the field gate on her own and want her to wait whilst I close the gate.

"stand up" is essentially the same thing but used for different situations and tends to be give in more of a commanding tone (I use it when she ignores the wait for me request).

Back, over, down, etc area pretty self explanatory. I don't think it matters what you use as long as you're consistent and both you and your horse understand its meaning.

I don't expect other people's horses to understand my inane chatter, even though my girl does :D

[capalldubh]

You probably use lots of voice cues and gestures that Captain understands already - I am very aware of doing this - for example, I have never specifically trained "pointing" cues, but when I'm leading on the road, I lead with a loose lead and if a car comes, I use the left hand holding the lead to point at the kerb, and Jackson steps in. I've never clicked him for doing this, he's just learned it himself.

The main thing is to try to use the cues you already use naturally - "whoa", "walk on" etc, and then decide what new ones you want. For example, for turn on the haunches, I touch his shoulder and say "across", but for turn on the forehand, I touch further back and say "over". Both are asking him to move sideways, but I want them separate for when he's ridden.

When you give the cue is important, because you want the cue to become a "conditioned stimulus" or something that when it happens, means the behaviour you want happens automatically immediately afterwards. But you can't really train it this way, because to start with, you need the cue and the behaviour to happen at the same time so that they become associated. So if you want a cue to work, you start by saying it (or doing it for gestures) at the same time as the behaviour. So, say you're training "over" for turn on the forehand - you start by shaping Captain to move his hindquarters away from you while sort of pivoting on the front foot nearest you. I did this by just placing my hand on his hip and waiting for movement (the grass grew a bit while I was waiting ;) ), then clicking and rewarding the smallest movement away from my hand. Once he was moving away consistently, I started saying "over" as soon as he moved, then clicking and treating. Now I look at his hip, say "over" and he moves :D

I'm doing this with "trot on" at the moment - stupid me thinks all horses know what "trot on" means... but no, so I am having to say "trot on" when he is actually trotting, before I can get to the stage where "trot on" actually causes him to trot. Dur :rolleyes:

BTW the turn on the forehand one is quite invaluable for horses that get into your space - I trained the cob mare to do this in 10 minutes and then used it constantly to get her out of my space. Once she got the hang of it, it became very useful for gates - open gate, walk horse through, say "over", horse pivots back to face gate, you close gate, walk away :)

Eta: what is it with me and verbal diarrhoea? Never use one word where 15 will do ;-)

[NoviceNic]

Hey dont be embarrassed about lengthy essays....I love to hear every piece of advise and the more explaination the better for me...The idea of using different commands for front and back legs are a good one as you can then have more control of what feet you want him to move. I too have a hugging Mum cob in anxious situations...Thank you..:)

I am looking at doing the gate as it is one of our areas of weakness. Captain hates mud and water, I hate it when he runs through leaving me standing...:eek: :mad:

[Shadowlark]

You do not want to add your voice cue until the critter understands what you are asking for not before ESPECIALY if you are shaping. They learn thru assosciation, and you want them to only associate the correct complete behaviour with the verbal cue, not any of the process. By adding the verbal cue to early you are adding a distraction and slowing down the learning process.