You can also begin to incorporate the clicker into your horse's regular training. Indy, a six year old half arabian gelding came to me in June for training. He was a kind, beautifully-mannered horse. His owner/breeder had never had time to saddle-break him, so at six he had a lot of catching up to do. During the worst of the summer heat when the temperature was creeping towards 100 and neither of us wanted to work hard, I introduced him to the clicker. He was slow to catch on. It took three sessions before he finally got the connection between touching the cone and getting grain. After that there was no stopping him. He became an enthusiastic over-achiever. He needed only minutes to shift from touching one cone to touching a whole circle of cones. (Figs. 7a, 7b).
Clicker Training for Your Horse
Clicker Training For Your Horse: First Clicker Lessons
By Alexandra Kurland on 04/01/2003So how do you actually begin to teach this to a horse? I start by teaching a simple trick. My intent here is to condition the secondary reinforcer and to establish the link between behavior and reward. I'll worry about practical applications after he's learned how the game is played.
I like to start with something that's very simple and easy to understand. I'm going to teach the horse to touch his nose to an object. I've found this works really well in part because it is outside the horse's normal training program. It's so different from anything else he's been asked to do, he has to pay attention to figure me out.
Kudos for Alexandra Kurland and Clicker Training for Your Horse
By KPCT on 03/02/2006From Bettye Baldwin, Pleiades Pony Farm, TX: I'm getting pretty excited about this clicker stuff. I specialize in teaching timid riders or those that have lost confidence so anything that can help in that is exciting. I've been dinking with the clicker training this past week while waiting for your articles to arrive. I used some of the target training I read about in your on line articles with an old school pony of mine that is a real case. He was in complete charge of his people for many years and did NOT appreciate my trying to exert any control. He was a mugger first class and had NO sensitivety whatsoever. Within moments I had him focusing on touching the target instead of searching my hands and pockets for the treats he knew were there. I haven't given him treats by hand for the 2 years I've had him, but he would still try to "mug" me, so observing this change in a matter of moments was incredibly exciting. I'm going to attempt to train the youngest of the Arabian mares I bought last month to put her halter on herself. She is coming along pretty well as is, but this should be good for both of us.
Clicker Training For Your Horse
By KPCT on 02/01/2004Now Alexandra Kurland's classic volume on equine clicker training is available in a deluxe hardcover edition packed with full-color photographs. Produced by our British co-publisher, Ringpress, this special edition of Clicker Training for Your Horse will stand up to years of reading and reference. It also makes an elegant and enduring gift for every friend you would like to introduce to the power of clicker training.
Clicker Training for Your Horse: About the Author
By KPCT on 03/01/2003Alexandra Kurland earned her B.S. degree from Cornell University, where she specialized in animal behavior. In the 1980s she studied with Linda Tellington-Jones and became a TTEAM Practitioner. The other major influence on her riding at that time came from the high school dressage trainer, Bettina Drummond. In the early 1990s she added John Lyons' training into the mix to develop her own teaching program, "Riding In a State of Excellence."
