horsegirl
Well-Known Member
How did you get on, any tips?
Has anyone Clicker trained their horse
- Thread starter horsegirl
- Start date
lennysmith
Well-Known Member
No but I will watching this thread with interest. I am thnking about it with Denver.
Claireg9
Well-Known Member
ew, good question... im also watching!
Gingernags
Well-Known Member
Dammit, need some replies cos it would be interesting to see if we can tame the spawn of satan with it (back to her old tricks)
lennysmith
Well-Known Member
Lol looks like we're all waiting in anticipation!!
Doreys_Mum
Well-Known Member
yay! you're all waiting for me
I have. It TOTALLY depends on the horse!!!
You're SUPPOSED to teach them that the click is a good thing by getting a bottle taped to the end of a stick and letting them touch it... when they do, they get a click and a food reward. They soon start touching it to get the click+food...
However, my ponies all hated said bottle on a stick, and Dorey was the only one who'd conceed and touch it, but you could tell she was litreally forcing herself to do it for the food!!!!
Zak, on the other hand, hated the bottle, but shat himself when I clicked... clicking was obviously NOT going to help him in the slightest...
they will spook a bit tho... it is, after all, a sudden sound - but they soon twig.
So then I started working on some training. With Dorey, I've only clicked her manners... so we were working on barging and walking backwards.
The point of using a clicker is that you reward natural behaviour. You CANNOT make the horse do something and click for it, cos it won't understand. However, you CAN encourage a horse to figure it out...
So for manners. I didn't want dorey in my personal space, so I walked around with her in the field. then I'd stop. If she stopped and touched me, I started walking again. Veeery soon she twigged she shouldn't touch me, which I clicked her for.
then, when I stopped, I took a step back. Knowing she shouldn't touch me, she started turning her head away, so I clicked.
we managed to combine the whole activity into respect for personal space AND that she should turn her head away for her treats.
So you put an oral command to the action and eventually stop clicking.
It took about 40 minutes spread out in 10-20 min sessions over a couple of days, but she will STILL turn her head away if you say wait for her tea or a treat.
It really does stick with smart horses!!
I love it! I would be doing more of it now if I had access to her!!
I have. It TOTALLY depends on the horse!!!
You're SUPPOSED to teach them that the click is a good thing by getting a bottle taped to the end of a stick and letting them touch it... when they do, they get a click and a food reward. They soon start touching it to get the click+food...
However, my ponies all hated said bottle on a stick, and Dorey was the only one who'd conceed and touch it, but you could tell she was litreally forcing herself to do it for the food!!!!
Zak, on the other hand, hated the bottle, but shat himself when I clicked... clicking was obviously NOT going to help him in the slightest...
they will spook a bit tho... it is, after all, a sudden sound - but they soon twig.
So then I started working on some training. With Dorey, I've only clicked her manners... so we were working on barging and walking backwards.
The point of using a clicker is that you reward natural behaviour. You CANNOT make the horse do something and click for it, cos it won't understand. However, you CAN encourage a horse to figure it out...
So for manners. I didn't want dorey in my personal space, so I walked around with her in the field. then I'd stop. If she stopped and touched me, I started walking again. Veeery soon she twigged she shouldn't touch me, which I clicked her for.
then, when I stopped, I took a step back. Knowing she shouldn't touch me, she started turning her head away, so I clicked.
we managed to combine the whole activity into respect for personal space AND that she should turn her head away for her treats.
So you put an oral command to the action and eventually stop clicking.
It took about 40 minutes spread out in 10-20 min sessions over a couple of days, but she will STILL turn her head away if you say wait for her tea or a treat.
It really does stick with smart horses!!
I love it! I would be doing more of it now if I had access to her!!
lennysmith
Well-Known Member
Thats ounds really good! Glad you said about waiting for tea as thats Josie's downfall actually, she's horrid at tea time. Sounds like it might work. Denver needs to butt out of my space where he finds himself mos at home, so maybe that may work too. Do you know how young you can start it?
horsegirl
Well-Known Member
Well we started last night, first I had to get the clicker off my daughter as she is trying to clicker train herself!! I held out a brush and everytime he touched it he got a click and a chunk of carrot, he got the idea after a few minutes and kept touching it with his nose. I threw it on the floor and he went to touch it but got bored with it very quickly and then ignored me.
allijudd
Well-Known Member
word of warning...we have a mare on this yard who is psycho...owner decides to get a well known clicker trainer from this area to clicker train...he came out once a week every week for about 3 weeks, unfortunatly the work wasnt continued by the owner, then the clicker trainer got kicked in the ribs by his own horse and never returned.....
so she is bbasially back where she started....
if you are going to try this please make sure you continue all the work.....
so she is bbasially back where she started....
if you are going to try this please make sure you continue all the work.....
Enfys
Well-Known Member
www.theclickercentre.com
I've used it a lot for dogs and horses. Some seem to take to it better than others, the really bright ones figure it out in seconds, some take longer and some don't seem to get it at all. It can be very useful.
I've used it a lot for dogs and horses. Some seem to take to it better than others, the really bright ones figure it out in seconds, some take longer and some don't seem to get it at all. It can be very useful.
Happytohack
Well-Known Member
I did quite a bit of clicker training with our Icelandic pony. He is as bright as a button and soon twigged that click meant treat. Got him to walk up to various cones in the school and touch them with his nose. Got him to pick his feet up to the command "foot" and hold each one up. When riding him, got him to stop. Taught him lots of things & had lots of fun with him - but he is ultra bright and enjoyed the whole game.
sorona
Well-Known Member
I clicker trained my daughters pony when her back was sore and she loved it and picke dit up instantly. I started offwith her tied up to the hitching rail and I stood the other side holding an orange plastic skittle in my hand near her nose and when she moved her head, she accidently touched it with her nose so i clicked and treated, i did this a couple of more times before se purposely searched to nose the skittle. I then tried her loose in the school as she had picked that up so quickly and within 1 very short lesson, i had her following me everywhere, bending, stretching, moving back, etc and by the 2nd lesson, she was actually fetching the skittle. I was doing it to relieve her boredom as she loves doing things, so wasnt doing it as a form of taining but i know it works for horses that have trouble picking their feet up and even teaching spanish walk etc but I never took it that far. The important thing is always to click the instant the desired behaviour has been carried out and then treat. In time, just clicking should work without a regular treat and then eventually just praise should be enough. It is a good fun thing to do and the horse should never be looking for a treat but be concentrating on the object to touch instead; our pony used to open the tack box and look for it in there and stick her nose to it!!
frannieuk
Well-Known Member
I tried to clicker train my mare - completely not interested! Her attitude was "sod your click, give me the treat, and if there aren't any treats I'm not playing" Tried for quite a long time when she was 4 and had to give up. I do wonder if it might be different now she's 8 cos she likes games!