So, my problems with clicker training are....

[soloequestrian]

1. The click. It sounds very like the click of an electric fence, and I have one horse who is scared of the noise, which is a good thing - if he can't hear the click, he'll take the fence down. I don't really want to condition my new one to like the noise of the fence!
2. The fact that I need both hands most of the time, and the clicker would need one of them.

I get that it's a great training method - very consistent sound associated with something pleasurable. Has anyone come up with a different way of making a different consistent sound? If not, I will just have to carry on using my voice which is nowhere near as consistent, but I don't need an extra hand to hold it!

 

[Maesfen]

Whistle?

 

[BlackRider]

you can get clickers with a volume control on, although the clicker itself doesn't matter, you just need a noise that can be consistently repeated at the correct tiimings.

 

[FlaxenPony05]

you can get clickers with a volume control on, although the clicker itself doesn't matter, you just need a noise that can be consistently repeated at the correct tiimings.

This. It can be anything. I really like the idea of clicker training, especially with youngsters, however you need to be absolutely 100% consistent with everything you do. I'd love to incorporate it into riding but I'd need an extra pair of hands! I did actually read something where the clicker was sellotaped onto the top of the crop, which seemed like a good idea.

 

[Borderreiver]

I have clicker trained my Highland from the day he was born. Now rising 6 he is a happy driving pony. My Welsh cob mare also loves ct including ridden. I've hardly ever had an actual clicker in my hand. It's a great way to train.
You will find that everyone who uses ct has lots of questions and worries, mostly the same ones, and ideas are developing all the time. I would recommend joining this friendly and knowledgeable bunch http://www.hannahdawsonequine.co.uk

 

[Dottie]

Just click with your mouth? That's what I do. One single 'click' that's different from others I might use e.g 'clicking to ask the horse to move forward etc. No need to carry a clicker around!

 

[pennyturner]

Clicker training is effective because it requires the human handler to give a clear and immediate response to positive behavior. If you can do this with your voice, you don't need a clicker.

 

[spookypony]

You don't need a clicker. And the noise doesn't have to be a click. It needs to be something quick and distinctive, and something that you reserve for "clicking". I do a noise with my tongue.

 

[dollyanna]

I make a strong kissing kind of noise by sucking my lips together then pulling them apart - it's something I do a lot anyway to entertain my baby patients, but it is always with me and very distinctive from any other sound I use. I didn't want to click because I find it too hard to get out of the habit of clicking my tongue when asking them to move.
Once they are conditioned properly you will find that they will accept almost anything within a click or two, the sound of the click is not that important as long as you are consistent and get the timing right. My trimmer will start helping with mine by clicking when she feels them balance and take their weight, and then I just feed them, so they start to think about what she is doing and less about me.
As an example my deaf dog has 3 different clicker - a torch, and vibe collar and a hand signal - and I swap between them very easily, he picked it up very quickly once he had a couple of click treats to tell him that was the game.

 

[mandwhy]

I found with most things I didn't really need the clicker and there was a second's leeway to give a treat and for the horse to still get it, they are intelligent beasts after all! It depends how complex and specific the actions you want are though I guess. My clicker is really loud and makes a two click noise so not like the electric fence really!

 

[Landcruiser]

When we took our dogs to obedience classes, the sound reinforcement (given alongside a treat) was a high pitched "Yes." It worked very well. I have reservations about clicker training horses though - I've seen some examples of horses getting very bargy and nippy if treats aren't forthcoming. I know some people have good results...but I'm not sure it's the best way with grazing animals though.

 

[dollyanna]

If people end up with bargy horses then it is because they haven't taught them the very basics of receiving treats. I actually started clicking with my boy when he was just 6 months BECAUSE he was really gobby, and within a few mins of his first session he stopped mouthing and although has had the odd relapse it doesn't last long because he understands that he gets nothing. Infact, he knows that he will get nothing until he has stepped away from me, and even just giving him a normal treat once he knows it is in my hand he turns his head away until it is offered. Treat delivery is very important, probably equally as important with horses as the timing of the click, but many people don't take the time to get it right. I didn't realise this despite years of clicker training, when I changed from dog to horse I wasn't quite getting it right until I had help from a trainer and within a very short time I was suddenly getting so much more information from him than I did before.
I think clicker training can be a simple or as deep as you want to make it - but exploring the depths of using it to open up communication lines is really fascinating, and since doing an online course with an instructor I can have "conversations" with the babies, they can tell me when and what they are worried about, and I can let them know whether it is anything to be concerned about or not.

 

[fburton]

Just came across a great article by Catherine Bell about clicker training here...

Keeping it Positive - Reducing Frustration in Equine Clicker Training

http://www.network54.com/Forum/2353...89553074/Keeping+it+Positive+-+Catherine+Bell

 

[Brightbay]

Heard a lovely story recently about a dressage rider who wanted to continue to be able to "mark" good behaviours but who didn't want to be obviously clicking, esp. during tests. She used a slight cough as her marker signal

It makes absolutely no difference what your marker signal is - after all, it's just the consistent sound we use for training. Horses already know lots of marker signals that we don't even know about. Many horses know the sound of their owner's car engine, the sound of a feed bin opening, the sound of Velcro being undone... Learning theory applies to all animals, it's not a case that "it doesn't work for grazing animals", or "it's only suitable for animals who hunt their food".

All you need to do is choose a sound that you can make consistently, and stick with it.

 

[fburton]

All you need to do is choose a sound that you can make consistently, and stick with it.

You could say "Good boy!" as a marker signal, though it might cause confusion if you were tempted to say it for other purposes, e.g. "verbal praise" where you weren't intending to treat soon after.

 

[soloequestrian]

Thanks for all of these. I think the problem with making a sound yourself though is it's just not as consistent - as far as I can tell from the reading I've done, that is the only distinguishing feature about clicker training compared with any other kind of positive reinforcement training, which is hopefully what most people use. I already have things that the horses have trained themselves to regard as positive - pats, rubs, endearments - and it would be useful to have something as consistent as the clicker.
I like the dressage coughing, although I wonder if they would be phoning for an ambulance if the horse went really really well!