Trick training

Leam_Carrie

Leam_Carrie

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Any book recommendation for teaching horses simple tricks. Just thinking this might be something to do with her while she's off work. She's clicker trained so hopefully this could be fun time together. Any idea or tips welcome :)
 
I can't reccomend a book but I had a lot of fun teaching my mare how to 'give kisses' (i.e. Put her nose/lips to my nose). All I did was hold a chunk of apple/carrot in my hand curled in a fist and held it in front of my face. I gave the command 'kiss' and when she touched my hand to smell the treat, she was given it. I kept repeating until I was able to hide the treat behind my back, give the command and she would 'kiss' my nose. Very fun but sometimes she gets excited and smacks me in the face with hers! Currently trying to teach her to bow but I can't get her to drop her knee, her head just ends up between her legs.
Have fun!
 
My daughter taught her cob to kiss the same way - and now has extended that to "counting". She asks him a simple sum - 2+2 or whatever - and when he has kissed her the right number of times he gets the treat. She also taught him to say "please" which is quite cute because he actually will! Before he gets his feed he has to pick up his left fore. She started by just tickling him under his elbow until he lifted his leg then feeding. That progressed to the command "Say please" and pointing at the leg which he will then lift. However if you are working with him and he wants you to stop he will lift his leg to say "please"; for example when trying to untangle tails or when he is delayed getting into his box for his haynet, clipping etc. The appie she taught to "smile" - to lift his upper lip in the Fhelmen response - for treats. Its really about observing their natural behaviour and getting them to repeat it on command.
 
Ooh love this thread keep them coming !

My boy gives lovely kisses. Trying unsuccessfully to teach him to catch tea towel - any tips ? He actually had it in his mouth at one point but it was sooooo scary so after running round field with it in his mouth he finally dropped it - oh the relief on his face :-)
 
Leam_Carrie said:
Any book recommendation for teaching horses simple tricks. Just thinking this might be something to do with her while she's off work. She's clicker trained so hopefully this could be fun time together. Any idea or tips welcome :)
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There a book called 'in a whisper' by Suzanne Fargher. It's very good for ideas and ways of going about teaching tricks. I've taught my mare smile, yes, no, back, forward by gesture, Spanish walk, bow, curtsy, standing on a pedestal and the most useful one, to pick up the whip I dropped and give it to me whilst riding.

Not all the ways she uses will work with every horse, so you have to play about a bit to figure out 'how' your horse learns.

Its very very very important to teach the horse to be respectful about treats first though! A disrespectful horse that's taught tricks, is a very dangerous horse to be around.

It's fascinating to see your horse learn and figure stuff out though. Their soooo much smarter than you'd think!
 
Mine can say please by extending a front leg, but we very rarely do it otherwise he is asking please for everything and it hurts when he catches your leg with it! He came to me with that trick! He can also walk backwards at break neck speed but that is more like napping but he thinks it's a great party trick!
 
I have a lot of 'non horsey' and children in my life, so I have taught my retired horse to laughs at (bad) jokes - and everyone thinks it amazing. My other horse can say 'yes' and 'no' to questions, which again gets a whole lot of attention and helps the 'non horsey' people to relate to the horses!


Edited to add WHAT, I have just looked up the Suzanne Fargher book on Amazon and its £337 for a paperback!!! Can that be real Carasmum or is there somewhere better to buy it???
 
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I clicker trained my pony to fetch a dog toy when I threw it for him. Not a lot of use but good fun.
 
I was just about to start trick training my horse, and just about to write a very similar post, so you've saved me the effort OP!:)

Do you think clicker training will help?

carasmum your tricks sound amazing!
 
canteron said:
Edited to add WHAT, I have just looked up the Suzanne Fargher book on Amazon and its £337 for a paperback!!! Can that be real Carasmum or is there somewhere better to buy it???
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I was thinking a slightly cheaper book ;). Will have to search for a second hand copy. The tricks sound amazing.

Canteron - how did you teach your horse to laugh?

Loving hearing about all the tricks.

My horse responds well to clicker training. It seems to make it into a game for her. She is a mare who definitely likes to be asked rather than told, so it works well to teach her things. The last one was she used to move off after I mounted so taught her to wait while I counted to ten after which she got clicked and a treat.
 
canteron said:
I have a lot of 'non horsey' and children in my life, so I have taught my retired horse to laughs at (bad) jokes - and everyone thinks it amazing. My other horse can say 'yes' and 'no' to questions, which again gets a whole lot of attention and helps the 'non horsey' people to relate to the horses!


Edited to add WHAT, I have just looked up the Suzanne Fargher book on Amazon and its £337 for a paperback!!! Can that be real Carasmum or is there somewhere better to buy it???
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I bought it of amazon about 5years ago. The book was written on the Isle of Man but published by a company in the states. Cost me about £20 at the time. I've already worked my way through them it, so I'll put it up on ebay tonight for who ever wants it.
 
Lillybob said:
I can't reccomend a book but I had a lot of fun teaching my mare how to 'give kisses' (i.e. Put her nose/lips to my nose). All I did was hold a chunk of apple/carrot in my hand curled in a fist and held it in front of my face. I gave the command 'kiss' and when she touched my hand to smell the treat, she was given it. I kept repeating until I was able to hide the treat behind my back, give the command and she would 'kiss' my nose. Very fun but sometimes she gets excited and smacks me in the face with hers! Currently trying to teach her to bow but I can't get her to drop her knee, her head just ends up between her legs.
Have fun!
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To get bow, target train first so that the horse will follow a stick. Then stand to the near side, say 'give' and the horse should pick up the n/f preparing to have its hoof picked ;-) then use the target stick to ask the head into the correct position, using the word 'bow'. This has to be a gradual process so as not to strain the muscles. I did it over the period of a month. Then gradually stand back and take the stick away to only point and use the vocal cue 'give bow'. Vocal cues make it easier to transfer to the saddle. That's the way I do it anyway
 
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Please by lifting a front leg is a bad idea we had a pony cone to us having being taught it she was a nightmare she would do it in the show ring and lost a lot of classes because of it . She once did it in the trailer and got herself stuck over the front Breast bar and nearly caused a serious accident.
 
katymay said:
Mine can say please by extending a front leg, but we very rarely do it otherwise he is asking please for everything and it hurts when he catches your leg with it! He came to me with that trick! He can also walk backwards at break neck speed but that is more like napping but he thinks it's a great party trick!
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mine too :) tried to teach my older mare but shes having none of it she doesn't see the point ;)
 
nervous nelly said:
Please by lifting a front leg is a bad idea we had a pony cone to us having being taught it she was a nightmare she would do it in the show ring and lost a lot of classes because of it . She once did it in the trailer and got herself stuck over the front Breast bar and nearly caused a serious accident.
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If the pony was doing it without being cued, then that's not a trick. A 'trick' is a movement that is asked for in the former of a 'cue'. No 'cue' no leg lifting. If a horse lifts a leg without being asked to do so it needs to be firmly taught not too. Otherwise it's dangerous. Trick trained or not, no horse should do that. My horse can Spanish walk or raise a leg on request, but never without being asked.
 
I have a great book called 100 games your horse will want to play, (or something like that) and some circus schooling DVDs by the same author. I also picked up some tips from working with stunt riders a few years back. My horse will bow, do Spanish walk (his favourite) chase sticks/dog toys, play football, rein back on command at Liberty no matter where I'm standing, and used to come to a whistle (seem to have lost that one!), we were also working on lying down before he hurt himself, and a useful one I'm doing now is teaching him to drop his head to the floor when I touch a certain spot on his withers (hoping I can use it as a relax cue when he gets stressed out hacking).
 
I'm trick training at the moment (my 30" gelding has no job cause he's too small for my cart) and he does try to be cute and do the trick for a treat but he gets ignored and doesn't take long for him to figure out he doesn't get treated for doing a behaviour without being asked. We're ready to move on to leg lifting now
 
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