Jan 20 2012

Clicker Training For Your Horse Made Easy

Published by Russell under Horse training

Clicker Training Can Be

A Useful Tool

For years now animal trainers have used clicker training as a more humane and behavior modification training program for all types of animals but only recently has it begun to gain acceptance by horse trainers. Clicker training relies on positively reinforcing positive or correct behaviors from your animal and then building on these successes.

Trainers have been successful teaching their horses to lift their hooves for checking shoes or trimming, loading into a trailer or taking their bit or giving the crowd a bow.

Clicker training can be a useful tool especially when you are navigating a crowd and your voice is competing with the noises of the crowd and other horsemen. The basics of this type training mean that you’ll be able to use a technique that your horse will come to enjoy and perform the tasks much faster and with more enthusiasm.

Getting Started with Clicker Training

The first step to having your horse respond to clicker training requires that you get him used to hearing the sound and responding to a reward based training system. The way that you do this it to take a handful of your horse’s favorite treats and spend a few minutes introducing them to the sound and what happens when he hears the click.

So make a click and as soon as you do provide your horse with a treat. Do this several times and very quickly he will learn that when he hears the click a treat will be coming. This allows you to begin to control his behavior by rewarding him.

Try to use an easy behavior when starting your clicker training. One of the easiest is to have your horse put his nose on a target, such as a ball on a stick. When your horse learns to do this behavior with the clicker, then you can actually lead your horse onto a trailer or have him stand still for an exam using this technique.

Clicker Training Techniques: Keeping It Simple

In order to get your horse interested in touching the ball you have to reward any interest that he shows in the target. As soon as your horse touches the target with his nose click and give him a treat. Move the target and when he touches it, reward him again. Keep your training sessions short so that your horse does not lose interest and begins to enjoy the training sessions.

Once your horse is able to touch the target reliably, you can begin to make the target tougher for him to get to. You can move it so that your horse has to turn his head, put it between his front legs or make him reach up high. Each time your horse gets the target, click and reward your horse’s behavior.

Remember that so far we have not used any commands as all.

You’ll now be able to add the command “touch” just before your horse reaches the target. Then after he touches the target reward him. Do this through a couple of sessions and only reward your horse when he touches the target when you use the command and the click. This type of training can be used to introduce almost any type of behavior or action.

Clicker Training Sessions: Keeping Them Short

When you do a training session make sure that you are only providing one behavior per session. Any more than this and you may begin to confuse and frustrate your horse making it hard for him to pick up your cues reliably. By offering only one goal per session your horse will quickly learn the behavior and the command for that move.

It’s also important to keep your sessions short. Longer sessions will bore your horse and this again will lead to frustration and refusal to respond which is the opposite of what you’ll want to accomplish with this type training.

Clicker training is perfect for horses that will be around others, and must be moved a lot or participate in events where there is a lot of noise and confusion.

The sound of the clicker, the command and being rewarded is something that will stick with your horse and allow him to know what is right and wrong in most situations.