Clicker training

[shelby]

Ditto the 'Tteam and Ttouch' thread for books and videos on clicker training please!

[Kimo]

Please try this link to Alexandra Kurland's site. She's a great clicker trainer for horses, and has even trained a mini "guide horse" for a blind woman.

http://www.theclickercenter.com/

Also cool is the step by step beginner's guide that you can read online:

http://theclickercenter.com/2004/guide/index.php

[shelby]

Thanks for that Kimo. Ive seen the mini-guide-horse on TV, going up an escalator in a shopping mall! Its amazing what can be done, especially when I compare my slightly scatty mare!

[Kimo]

I'm a fan of clicker training, and although I've only used it on my horse a little, she really shines when I take out the clicker. She's an overachiever with it, and it's helped a lot with things, especially with her feet which used to be a big problem.

But the best time I've had is doing clicker training with my cat. He's been doing this just a few minutes a day for about a week but the results are 100%, absolutely astounding. He "loads up" whereever I ask him. He targets and does "high five." I think he's going to be a super star! :D

[mayS]

LOVE clicker training!!! Try searching this site for it and you'll see lots of good discussions on clicker training.

Pick up any of the Kurland books. Clicker Training Your Horse is a good first book.

Also join the clicker training equine discussion list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clickryder

[*Hannah*]

this may sound really stupid, but i have no idea what 'clicker training' is! I checked out the site and couldn't figure it out!!!
Does anyone have a simple way of describing?
Hannah x

[mayS]

I hope I can explain this well. I'm trying to keep these very complex concepts as short as possible so I hope I make things clear enough.

In the old days a long time ago, the cowboys would literally force a horse to do something. The horse would get rope restraints, whipped hard, spurs, and manhandling until his spirit was broken and he'd give up. Nobody cared how the horse felt. Some horses might be bleeding from spurs or raw from rope burns.

In modern times trainers realised they could train horses in a traditional matter (punishing bad behavior) but without the brutality & abuse.

Then came Natural Horsemanship which is also not relying on pain or abuse to motivate. Natural Horsemanship seeks to understand how the horse thinks. A NH trainer motivates his horse using "release of pressure" rather than punishing mistakes or using pain. Release of pressure (eg. tapping in an uncomfortable way, then stopping when horse acts) is the horse's reward for doing things right.

Clicker training is fundamentally different. It centers on positive reinforcement. Instead of punishment or release-of-pressure, you are instead rewarding the horse with something extra-nice: a treat, scratches, etc. It's unique in that a clicker trainer allows the horse to try different things on his own and have choices. The horse isn't uncomfortable or hurt if he is wrong. The trainer doesn't punish or act until the horse gives the right answer, then Reward! The "click" in clicker training sets it apart from plain old handing out treats; click is a marker or bridging signal. You're communication to the horse "Right Answer!" and rewarding. Suddenly you can talk directly to the horse in a way they'll understand. And suddenly without the fear of negative consequences like pain, the horse is free to choose what he wants to do. The click also marks the exact moment he gives the right answer, and it's so easy to snap a clicker at the right moment. In my opinion, a snap of a clicker is far easier to time precisely than trying to move a whip or carrotstick at exactly the right speed, pressure, and then stop at the right second (and it doesn't tire my arm out :D )

In my personal opinion, on the horses with trust issues it's the best way to go. My horses tend to be abused/neglected rescues. Right now I'm working with a former workhorse Belgian who wasn't fed well and who was beaten until he was terrified of people, lead ropes, etc. Many horses have phobias about at least a few things. I can help the horse overcome his fears by asking him to touch the scary object ("targeting").

Once a scared horse sniffs and nudges a scary object enough times, it ceases to be so scary. For example a NH trainer might keep the object near/againt the scared horse until he stopped dancing around, then rewarded him by backing the scary thing off a little (release-of-pressure). The NH trained horse learns not to run away because when he doesn't run, he is rewarded. IMHO this is a hard sometimes with an extra scared horse, especially when he is scared of many things as well as people.

With clicker instead of trying to keep up with the scared horse and having precise timing of when to back off, I just hold the scary object out. A horse who has been shown what targeting is will eventually come up to me. All it takes is for him to (even accidentally) bump into the scarything with his nose, and I immediately click-reward. Again I just calmly wait for him to approach me and the scary thing is between us, so he'll eventually bump into it with his nose again. Click-reward. Believe it or not it only takes a few tries of this for the horse to understand what I'm looking for, and then it's just a matter of repeating it until he's so busy targeting the object he's forgotten it's scary.

Another example is leading:
You can work on your horse's leading by walking him with you. If he acts up, the old way is to use the toughest stud chain on him every time and yank to hurt his nose as much as you can. The NH was would often use a rope halter, and when the horse is acting up the halter or lead can be tugged on (not to inflict pain though). The stopping of the discomfort/annoyance is his reward. With clicker training you ask him to walk. When he's where he's supposed to be next to you and he isn't yanking, you're periodically reinforcing that with click/reward. When he's dancing around or acting silly, he isn't getting rewards. It doesn't take long for the horse to WANT to do whatever it is you're asking because he loves to work the "vending machine" of rewards. He loves that he can earn a reward anytime he wants (it becomes his idea and the horse is often more cooperative)

Clicker training does not exclude other forms of training. Clicker trainers are usually smart people who use it along with other methods to solve their training problems. For example you could combine the NH release-of-pressure with an immediate click/reward for faster results and a more motivated horse.

You do not have to use the clicker forever. It's just a tool until the horse learns the tasks. You also don't need rewards forever.

You do not end up with an agressive, mean, bitey horse if you're doing it properly. The only horses who are pushy are those who are allowed (or sometimes even accidentally rewarded) for being pushy.

You also do not need to carry a Clicker with you at all times. A skilled clicker trainer can use a verbal cue, either a sound or a word, as long as it sounds the same every time. A few of the big-name trainers such as those training for tricks will use a word as their "click" every time the horse does things right. Most people don't realise it but these fancy trainers are clicker-trainers too!

Hope this encourages you to consider Clicker training with your own horse.