Clicker and Target Issues

A Calm Horse and a Still Horse are Not the Same Thing: Relaxation and Attitude are Paramount.

QUESTION:

Hi Shawna
Love seeing your pics from the UK. Maybe one day you’ll make it to Australia! I just have a quick question. I am working with a horse that has a lot of nervous energy. I am just starting target training and he isn’t entirely relaxed about the target yet. He comes over to me in the paddock to do it, but I can see he’s got an eye on his escape route the whole time. I am doing short frequent sessions but I want to bring attention to when he is softening and relaxing (which isn’t really happening at all yet) but when it does I want to bring attention to that as you often say to do in your answer blogs. However, I’m not sure how best to do that. He’s still learning that the click means he’s performed the correct behaviour, ie touching the target. So I’m not sure if I should click when I see him just relax a little (and not neccessarily touched the target) or just feed and say good boy. Will he relate the click to the relaxation? I’m afraid he’ll relate it to something entirely different and I might inadvertently create a alternate behaviour. Thanks Leone (I guess not such a quick question).

RESPONSE:

Hi Leone,
I must sing your praises for a moment…That is an exceptional observation and one that a lot of people overlook!! You can build tension into behaviors that may overtly look calm. Standing quietly with their jaw clenched, or head raised up, or tension in their body is definitely not the same as standing quietly with relaxation and softness. Swinging their head at a target is not the same as gently touching the target. This goes with any behavior. Attitude is the most important element of any behavior, period. A great looking behavior is nothing unless it is done with a good attitude. That is why I am such a big proponent of working at liberty. It gives them the freedom to express their worries or concerns as well as there is no subtle coercion. What may appear subtle to us is often deep rooted for the horse trained with pressure and release. Working at liberty just builds a better attitude. I must say I am impressed with your awareness to those details and that alone tells me you are going to go very far with your horse (I am still smiling!)

I recommend that you don’t work on the targeting with him yet but instead just focus on the standing and relaxing while you condition him to the sound of the clicker. Just wait for him to soften, exhale, any sign of relaxation. Even the slightest bit. I try to watch the ears, the eyes, the mouth, nose, jaw, head carriage and body language. The softness will increase once he gets the idea. There is a point when even the most worried of horses gets tired of holding in all of that tension and takes a break. Draw attention to that moment.

Since it seems like he is keeping his escape route open, I suggest maybe starting on the other side of the fence. Maybe this way he will feel a little safer and more relaxed. Also, sometimes squatting down (if you feel it is safe to do with him) will help to remove some suspiciousness and again help him to feel more comfortable. The lower you are the less threatening you will seem. Maybe even sit down outside the fence line if your situation still allows you to feed him from there. Another thing that works for some horses it to walk a bit. Sometimes just the act of walking can help them to focus on walking instead of their tension. Also, when you walk away, you are retreating which can build his confidence. I am confident you will be able to read him and see which thing (or combination of things) works best for him. As you see him consistently being soft and settled, slowly fade out the tools you used to help set him up for success. For example, when he is routinely nice and calm with you outside of the paddock then step inside the paddock and follow the same steps until he is staying calm again.

Once he is consistent with relaxing and seems more trustful, with you two standing together, then I would re-introduce the target. I suggest starting with the target in your hand, down by your side, and continue with the relaxation exercises while not drawing attention to the target. Some horses view something in your hands as a threat. So, for the next step I recommend you keep it slow and low until he learns the target is a safe thing. That usually doesn’t take too long. Also it may help to go back to the early steps you used to help set him up for success. If he was more comfortable with you sitting or squatting, start the target while sitting or squatting, or outside of the paddock or whatever seems to help. You have also got the right idea with the short and very reinforcing sessions. However, it may take a bit longer to wait out his tension until he finally relaxes a bit. I know you will get it worked out, especially since you recognized it on your own in the first place.

As for a visit down under…I have been getting a lot of interest from Australia and requests for clinics. If you know of a group of people or a facility that may be interested in hosting a clinic I think it would not be too hard to organize. Just something to keep in mind. Otherwise, please keep me posted of your progress with your wary horse. I am here to help along the way. Keep up the good work and exceptional observations!!

Your Horses Behavioral Changes & Physical Causes

Jane McClaren commented:

Hello, I have for the first time in my riding life (50 years) an under motivated horse. He is sweet, kind beyond imagination, but doesn’t like to be schooled/ridden. A hack is sometimes OK, but he might tend towards distraction and consequently become fixated on something else, then fear follows, and, well you know. We have found his attitude might be caused by physical discomfort, such as ulcers. In early January I put him on a months treatment of Ulcer Guard. Dramatic changes followed. He was happy and forward. Now in early April the old signs are coming back, particularly when grooming him around his gut he is agitated, and snarly. Here’s my take on all this. Shawna has the answers to motivate your horse, no doubt about it. I’ve used clicker training and it works, and now I am reminded to get it out again. It takes a lot of time and patience. Two keys to good horsemanship. But, I wonder Shawna and all your followers, are you finding ulcers more often than not? I will do the above suggestions, small steps, lots of reward, and I particularly like: doing something after that the horse clearly enjoys. Jesse and I love hanging out together. I sit in a chair and he grazes. Sometimes he comes close so I can scratch his poll, he seems to like that too. I agree with Shawna, spending time with our horses, doing something they enjoy too, something other than being on their backs and asking and asking, this is precious and award-filled time to spend.

Hi Jane,
As always, you bring up some great points!! I was responding to your comment on a previous post when I realized I should turn it into new blog post. As I followed my train of thought I realized I didn’t want people to miss your comment since you touch on some important topics. I am hoping others will chime in with their thoughts and observations.

First point, I want to to remind everyone to always check for physical causes when you are seeing a behavioral change, or any issue, with your horses. This is very important. It is always my first thought when I am trying to figure out what is going on with my horses. I will discuss the behavior with my veterinarian. It may be that the behavior change is the first alert to a physical issue. Pain is their bodies way of telling our horses to avoid certain activities so they have a chance to heal. The resulting behavior change can communicate this pain or discomfort to us if we are paying attention. As their stewards we are responsible for recognizing possible problems since they cannot verbalize what is bothering them. Also, keep in mind, for survival reasons they are hard wired to mask the pain so they would not appear vulnerable to predators, if they were living the wild. Once we have ruled out any physical discomfort, injury, illness or even nutritional needs, then I move onto dealing with it behaviorally.

However, in some cases the behavioral change starts because of pain or discomfort but the behavior may continue after the initial, physical cause has been addressed. The unpleasant association (reinforcement history) still remains. For instance, let’s say your horse has a sore back and each time you get in the saddle the pain becomes worse. This may manifest in a behavioral issue with mounting. He may not show any other overt symptoms. So, you talk to your vet and report the changes you have noticed in your horse. Together you determine there is an issue with his back, you come up with a plan for recovery and he is given time to heal. After some time your horse seems to feel better and doesn’t show any signs of soreness. However, when you try to mount, you are seeing the same unpleasant mounting issue. He remembers that the mounting process resulted in pain and he is anticipating the same old pain. Double check to be sure there isn’t another underlying issue. If all checks out it is time to address this behaviorally to rebuild a good association (reinforcement history). Mounting/sore back is an example that I see often but it can happen with a whole slew of physical ailments. The main point I want to make here is that we need to always rule out a physical cause for a change in behavior. Especially before we move onto a training plan to address a new, problematic behavior.

Now your question about ulcers…I would love to hear from others on their experience about this subject. I have only had one horse that has taken me down similar road. He came in and he was a real curmudgeon on the outside, until you got to know him. Then he was pretty sweet. He had been a high level show horse and he had some issues with jumping. The first day I groomed him I thought “How do they get him groomed everyday!?” He was fidgety, sometimes he would groan and, as you said Jane, he was snarky. But this seemed to be his behavior with a lot of things, not just grooming. He was progressing along nicely with training and his personality was getting sweeter but he still had the grumpy grooming attitude. I called the vet and we decided to give him a thorough exam including scoping his stomach. Ulcers was on our list of concerns. It turned out he had a lot of scarring from previous ulcers. It seems it had been a previous, chronic condition but he was healing. This probably explains his cranky grooming behavior and he had to relearn a new set of rules since he was getting better. He continued to jump, travel and learn but he never had ulcers again….nor stopped at a fence again!! That is my only experience with ulcers. I know there can be different causes for ulcers and I am certainly no expert. In my limited understanding stress can contribute to the condition. I find the positive reinforcement/clicker training reduces stress in training as well as with new situations. Traveling and competing can become a joy instead of a worry if we create a good association. We can also re-train a new, better association if, as you pointed out, we take the time and practice patience.

Let’s face it, as an industry, there is a great deal of focus on the horses physical well being. I mean, just look through any horse magazine or website, a large majority of the ads are addressing physical needs. It is all about the best supplements, medications, feed, tack, blankets, boots, pest control, grooming products, footing, bedding, barns, fencing, trailers, the list goes on and on. These are all important considerations. Next you see a lot of articles geared for the rider. How to get more control, how to get a better half pass, sliding stop, jumping, rider position, flying changes, shoulder in, safe stops, trailer loading, how to be more effective with your aids, this is another list that goes on and on. Again, this also important information. After all the better we are at teaching and executing these things the safer and more enjoyable our horses are to ride. However, relatively speaking, very little is aimed at the horse’s mental well-being or on what would help the horse to be happier for his sake, not ours. There is a tendency to focus on their physical well being or what we need them to do for us. Their psychological well being seems to fall by the wayside. I am a big believer in balance. All work and no play can indeed make Jack a dull boy, or a grouchy, sour boy. It is not enough to say they get turned out or live outside, or in a dry, well-bedded stall. I think it is important to spend time with our horses that they value and find enjoyable. If we are always seen as work and pressure/release training we are not exactly going to be the highlight of their day…in fact we may be their least favorite part of the day. Who wants their horse to run away from them when they go to catch them? Or one who just gives up and abides because they have no other choice? No one wants that kind of relationship with their horse. But who can blame them if all we do is take, take, take but don’t give back? If we never give our horses something that they value or find enjoyable? A reminder…this does not mean something we perceive as valuable but that our horses find enjoyable. I have found if I keep a balance between work, play, quiet time, they are much happier about all elements of their lives. I think it is important to do some of these activities together so the association becomes associated with you and enhances your bond. Turning them out is great (and necessary) but if all of the fun stuff happens when you are not around it can strengthen their desire to spent time away from you. I try to have half of our time together include something besides riding or prepping for riding. Training sessions using positive reinforcement are great since they really enjoy these for the rewards but also for the psychological stimulation. But so are some other activities like hand walks, exploring new things, and sitting quietly with your horse. This depends on what your horse seems to enjoy. If he has been subject to a lot of work and not so much quality time it may not be that fun for him to spend time with your right off the bat. As the balance shifts he will learn it is not all work and no play and begin to enjoy your time together. Anyway, some food for thought. Thank you Jane for your comments and question. Okay gang…I would love to hear what you have observed with your horse, what you do for fun or what you have experienced with ulcers…whatever is on your mind.

Motivate Your Horse to Participate in Training

QUESTION:

Hi Shawna, I was wondering what you do about a horse that isn’t willing to try. An example is – now that there is grass outside and Mr. Horse is not as hungry, his willingness has diminished. Now, I realize that I could take him off the grass and make him more hungry. But, what I am looking for is him to be more willing whether he is hungry or not. This particular horse is also one that will constantly test and see who is the “boss” that day. So, I am thinking part of it is his way to try to be in control of the situation as well. I can “make him do it” by insisting with more pressure. But, I am wondering if you have a better way of handling a horse that likes to try to control the training session with either a complete refusal, or just a lack of energy. Hope that makes enough sense. Thanks!!!

RESPONSE:

Hi Tina, The first suggestion I have is try to find a reinforcer that your horse enjoys more than grass. Does he love apples? Carrots? A certain treat or grain? By using something that he finds more valuable the more motivated he will be. You may have to experiment a bit to figure out which he seems to prefer.

You also seem to have some other issues going on here as well. It could be a number of causes and it isn’t always easy to know what is really going on inside his head. Sometimes we read one thing as the cause when it may be something different altogether. Often times when a horse is shut down it ends up looking like different things with different horses. A lack of motivation is definitely one of these symptoms. Often times people think the horse is just quiet or obedient but given a choice he would rather not participate. Since traditional training doesn’t really give them a choice we don’t see the symptoms of a horse who has shut down. The same holds true for round pen work. They don’t really have many choices without repercussions. If they respond incorrectly they are displaced, via body position and driven around the round pen. With clicker training they are given an absolute choice and sometimes we see horses who won’t respond, unless you use some sort of pressure. They have been taught “don’t do anything until I tell you” and the primary training tool has been pressure, both physical and psychological. If he is a horse who resented his training he may balk, refuse and look at training with suspicion. He may also resent that he has been forced to submit. Whatever the cause, don’t despair there is a way to overcome this disengaged attitude.

I often tell the story of Mint and when I first started working with him. He was the worst horse I have ever worked. He would not try at all, he just didn’t seem interested. For the longest time I didn’t even think he had a personality since he didn’t seem to enjoy any part of his life. He would walk away from target training and that is the easiest thing ever. Most horse can figure it out within minutes. The horse in the next paddock would reach over the fence and try to touch the target and I wasn’t even working with him!! So, I made things very, very easy for a while. I would put the target two inches in front of his nose. One touch of the target and I would dump the whole session’s food on the ground. He needed big motivation at first to get his attention. I did this 3 times a day, after about a week I move up to two target touches and then the whole amount. I gradually increased the duration and what I was asking from him once I started seeing him consistently coming over when I arrived. Today, you don’t see the quitter Mint once was, instead he is the epitome of heart and try.

Also doing his training session just before you feed his breakfast/dinner can help. So you may go to him with his food ask for a target touch and then feed him his dinner. Some horses need to learn how to learn, think and make decisions. This takes small steps since they often feel safer doing nothing until they’re told to do something. Once they get engaged in the training process, even slightly, they move right along. There are all sorts of psychological needs that are being met when we train using positive reinforcement so they learn to enjoy the process. They will then start to work anytime and anywhere. If I ever see a break down in the training process I assume the criteria is too much and I need to re-evaluate what I am doing. They are such individuals there is not set plan to follow. Sometimes I find myself doing something that has worked 1000 times before, however, it may not work with the next horse. Instead of thinking “what is wrong with this horse?” I remind myself to think “what am I doing that isn’t working?” There is a way to teach him, I just have to figure out how. I always break it down to smaller steps and increase the amount of reinforcement and that usually always works, but there are times when I need to break it down even further. I always let the horse’s progress dictate the path.

This same process for getting them engaged and enjoying their work also puts you in the driver’s seat. He will start to look forward to the training since there is something in it for him. This includes pleasing you since you bring the opportunity to play the game (called training) that they enjoy. Your presence becomes associated with the whole process. They quickly begin to look at the training as a privilege and a highlight in their day. Often times horse start nickering when they see you and some of them nicker when they see you pulling out the saddle. All signs of how much they look forward to learning. They soon realize the opportunity is there, if they are minding their manners and focusing on what is being asked of them. They are no longer trying to challenge you but instead trying to please you. You are now the leader, not by force but by election. There is no need for overt “dominance”, in fact I never think about it. It just happens.

Also, try to think of what you can do to help set him up for success. Try to think where he is most comfortable, maybe a smaller area will help, are there other horses intimidating him, so maybe he would be better without the other horses around. Maybe try him right before feeding time when he is the most food motivated, maybe he is better after he has had some work, maybe he is better before work, or a certain time of day. Also in addition to a food reinforcement do something he likes after the good (albeit brief) session. Perhaps turn him out or offer his favorite toy or scratch his favorite place, take him to a sand ring to roll or hand walk around the property…whatever your horse seems to enjoy. It is important to make certain it is something that he enjoys and not something that we humans perceive as a reward. We humans have a tendency to assign value to things that the horse may not think of as a reward. This will all be based on your individual horses preferences and it takes some observation on your part.

Once you get him over this hump he will become much more engaged in the training and learning process. He will take food more regularly and you may start to fade out some of the things you used to set him up for success in the early stages. Okay, Tina, I hope this helps give you some ideas…as always, I am here for support along your journey so if you have questions please don’t hesitate to ask. If anyone else has questions, the same goes for you. I would love to hear your thoughts, questions or ideas. Bye for now!!

Clinics Dates for the UK…My UK Tour!

I LOVE doing clinics, demos and lectures so I am excited to be able to share the dates and venues for clinics and demos in England and Ireland.  There are people from all over the world that visit the blog so I thought I would share this info in case you are near the UK and would like to learn more.  I also want to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone for reading my blog, sending in questions and for your feedback.  It is amazing and humbling to be able to reach so many people in over 75 different countries!  So, a big giant THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!!   If you are interested in attending a clinic or demo and would like more information please contact:

Helen Spence:   info@helenspencehorsesense.co.uk.  Also you may contact Anita Kania:  anita@rockinghorsefarm.co.uk Anita is helping Helen and organizing the dates in England.

Cheshire (16th-18th April)

Northern Ireland (26th-29th April)

I look forward to meeting some of my internet/Social media friends who I have chatted with via computer.  It will be nice to put a face and voice with the name…that includes the horses too!

Well, that is it for now.  If you have questions for me or want to book your own clinic please don’t hesitate to contact me.  However,  as far as the clinic venues in the UK it would be best to contact Helen or Anita.

Warm wishes everyone,

Shawna

Biting and Mouthiness in Horses (Both in General and when Leading)

I am addressing two questions in this blog post. One was sent in after the video was recorded but they are both along the same lines. Here they are:

QUESTIONS:

1) How do I get my horse to stop biting me while leading?

2)I have a new horse and want to start him on target training. He’s very mouthy and nips alot, is there something besides treats and pellets I can use that is as effective to give as a reward?

ANSWER:

I have addressed some of this in the video below.  But, as usual, I want to expound on my answer a bit.

Did you know I have fixed mouthiness and biting in horses by hand feeding?  Hand feeding is not the problem it is whatever behavior is happening when we offer the food.  Us humans often times, unintentionally, feed our horses for unwanted behavior.  It all comes down to our awareness of the behavior principles that govern our horses lives.  Something I want you to keep in mind…If any behavior increases in frequency, then something is reinforcing that behavior.  If you are seeing more mouthiness and biting it is because that behavior is resulting in some sort reinforcement.  However, it is not always easy to identify the reinforcer.

There are  two types of reinforcers: positive and negative.  Positive reinforcement means they are seeking something they want, something is added to the equation.  Negative means they are trying to avoid something they don’t want, it is removed from the equation.  This is a tricky concept for some folks since we tend to think of these terms with an emotional slant.  People interpret negative reinforcement as punishment or other harsh methods and they think positive reinforcement means anything we offer with good intentions.  Both of these descriptions is incorrect.  These terms were written by people with a math/science  orientation.  The positive reinforcement indicates something that your horse wants and will seek out on his own. When this is added to the training equation it increases the frequency of the behavior that precedes the reinforcer.   Negative reinforcement means something they want to avoid.  When this is removed from the equation it increases the frequency of the behavior that precedes it’s removal.  For example, when we are teaching our horse to stop or slow down, using traditional training, we apply pressure to the halter (via lead rope) or bit (via reins).  When they respond correctly we remove the pressure, we soften.   Our horses are working for the removal of this pressure, the softening of our hands.  When our horses are learning to lunge or do round pen work we apply pressure via lunge whip and or body position.  When they respond correctly we relent with the driving pressure by dropping our hand or changing the position of our bodies.  This change serves to reinforce the horse.  The legs and seat serve the same purpose when riding.  Our horses are trying to figure out what to do to have the pressure go away…to be subtracted from the training equation.  I always suggest we try to think of positive and negative reinforcement the same way we think about positive and negative numbers.  There is no good or bad number but instead numbers that are added or subtracted from the equation.  The above examples are all negative reinforcement.  It is a very effective training tool when used correctly.  I think it is very important to understand the behavior principles that apply when we are training our horses.  These principles were not made up or invented by anyone and they are in effect whether we are aware of them or not.  If we want to be the best trainers we can be I think we should understand what motivates our horses.  Okay, this may be old hat for some of you by now.  However, there are always people who are just learning about behavior principles.  So, thank you for indulging me!  :0)

Back to the use of food…it is a very powerful motivator.  One of the strongest for most all animals.  The trick is how to use it in a constructive way and not let it’s presence become a distraction.  Horses put a very high value on food.  The value of a positive reinforcers is established by your horse and not by our human perceptions.  Food is needed by every living thing to ensure their survival.  They are innately wired to look for food beginning in their first hours of life.    This makes it’s value, as a motivator, unrivaled by anything we have in our training programs.  The problem often comes in when we underestimate the horses desire for food.   They become very focused on what they were doing when they received the food.  Their instinct directs them to search for food at all times,  to remember where to find it and how to get it.  They naturally seek it out with their noses and mouths.  This has served them well their entire lives.  Often times a horse reaches out for a “treat” and we give it to him.  And there it begins…  The good news is that it isn’t hard to teach them a new behavior.  A constructive behavior that will serve us as well as them.  I am going to post a link to a 3-part video series (on de-spooking your horse)  at the bottom of this post.  You may find it helpful to watch the first video.  It shows some of this early lessons of teaching your horse to mind his manners and respect your space.  This will help you to see it in action, which is most effective, and save me some typing and you some reading!

The premise is quite simple.  They will do what it takes to get the food since it is so high on their list of priorities.  By giving them a new, better behavior, they will start to form a new routine.  Everything our horses do is because they establish a reinforcement history (association) with behaviors/tasks/scenarios.  Each time we have a chance to reinforce a behavior, we have just increased the likelihood of seeing that behavior repeated.  Over time they establish new habits.  The things they learn with positive reinforcement have lasting results. They will begin to look forward to all parts of the training since it all forms good associations and this includes our presence.  All of the elements become conditioned reinforcers.  See the video answer posted below to see learn more about some things you can do to start working on changing their behavior..

Okay question number two.  I address some of this second question in the text above and in the video answer.  Remember the axiom I pointed out earlier…If any behavior increases in frequency than something in the environment is reinforcing it.  This is in effect here too.  By changing when he gets fed and being aware of his behavior when food is delivered, you will change his behavior.

However, often times our reaction to the biting may  also be serving as a reinforcer.  Young horses have a instinct to play as part of their social development. They need to learn how to fight for their place in the herd, to fight for/with females and defend themselves.  If you watch horses together, especially young horses, they tend to spar and bite at each other until they get a reaction.   Usually it is not a sincere act of aggression but more instigative in nature.   Most young horse will try this with their humans at some point.  Often times our reaction to this behavior can serve to reinforce them.  We think we are correcting them but we may actually be engaging in their game of sparring.  If the biting and nipping is increasing in frequency…something is reinforcing the behavior.  I see this behavior all of the time even when food is not part of the equation.  This is a possible cause and something to watch for and if applicable, adjust how you react.  As I stated in the video the best thing to do is ignore it or walk away.  By not engaging you will stop reinforcing them for this behavior.  If they have done it for a while it will take a bit until they finally get the idea that this doesn’t get them the desired response anymore.  This in conjunction with the  teaching of a new, constructive, behavior is the quickest and most effective.  This technique, in behavior terms, is called a Differential Reinforcement of an Incompatible behavior (DRI)  It simply means you give them a choice between two behaviors.  They can’t do both behaviors simultaneously so they will make a choice.  They will opt  for the one with the strongest reinforcement history. It is pretty simple and very effective.

Next, as for alternative reinforcers.  Food, air, water, sleep and procreation (to maintain the species) are the strongest motivators. Horses are hard wired for these things since they need them to survive.  Other reinforcers are on an individual basis and take some experimenting to test their value for that individual horse.   A lot of horse respond to tactile stimuli like scratching withers or other areas of their bodies yet I have found some horses find this just a notch above neutral.  Some horse like to play with toys, some prefer turn out, etc.  This part takes some knowledge and observation of the horse as an individual.   However, none of these things will have the same value as food.   I have found it useful to offer these other things as a positive  reinforcement in addition to food.  You can also strengthen these things by pairing them with a primary reinforcer to build a stronger association.  Then they become conditioned reinforcers.  But, again, we are back to food as part of the equation.

I hope this information helps you.  Here is a link to the video series I mentioned earlier that shows the early part of the training to establish manners and to respect your space.

LINK: For manners and respect of personal space ( watch 1st video from DeSpooking Your Horse series)

I am also going to post an article (below the video) from The Horse.com.  It was posted by Dr. Sue McDonnell from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.  She heads up their Equine Behavior Program.  Dr. McDonnell’s post outlines some suggestions about how to avoid feeding directly from your hand.  It is more food for thought.  Please keep me posted.   I would love to her your thought, questions or experiences with your horse.

Hand-Feeding Treats (from The Horse.com)

by: Sue McDonnell, PhD, Certified AAB
February 01 2012, Article # 19536

QUESTION to The Horse.com
I manage a small boarding and training barn. In recent years our clientele has become mostly comprised of kids whose families are pretty new to owning or even being around ponies and horses. On the one hand these folks have been a lot of fun and very satisfying to work with, but on the other hand I feel especially responsible for and concerned about their safety in ordinary horse handling. In this regard I have been fretting more and more about the whole deal of hand-feeding treats. I am old-school and prefer to never hand-feed treats to horses, particularly ponies. But lately I’ve more or less had to give up trying to convince clients of that. The current trend seems to be a belief that a horse or pony without treats is unloved.

Hand-feeding treats creates the nuisance of horses and ponies constantly nudging and nipping at people. It’s bad enough for our skilled staff to deal with it, but my greatest concern is that somebody who is not able to deal with that safely, or even one of the barn girls caught off guard, is going to get hurt. I am especially nervous about the kids who like to hug and kiss, so are right there face-to-face with a nippy pony. Or, as is usually the case, when a pony or horse gets nippy for treats, the unskilled treat-givers often react in ways that create a head-shy, anxious horse. What are your comments? Any ideas on how to convince people that treats are not the best way to show affection?

ANSWER from Dr. Sue McDonnell:

I certainly agree that unskilled hand-feeding of horses can very quickly create a huge safety concern, and not just with kids. This issue is not much different from so many things skilled horse handlers do every day and take for granted, but then can be shocked to find that inexperienced folks are unfamiliar with potential safety concerns and can easily and unknowingly put themselves at high risk of injury.

You might wish to consider a method I have found relatively effective for teaching how to hand-feed treats more safely. Usually, this method avoids encouraging nudging and nipping behaviors. It involves delivering the treat in a very specific manner: Stand at the shoulder ¬facing the same direction as the horse, reach under the neck, and offer the treat when the horse’s muzzle is just off center to the opposite side.

This also is a great example of counter-conditioning: training or substituting a desirable behavior that is incompatible with an undesirable one. The horse cannot nudge or nip at you and instead turns and holds his head slightly away from you. You can continue by shaping the horse to hold that position quietly for longer and longer, just as a dog is trained to sit-stay. You can also add in the verbal prompt to let the pony know it is treat time (e.g., “Treat!”). Another instruction to stress to your clients is that if the pony gets in any way food aggressive–pushy or anxious for a treat–to just back off, say nothing, and walk away calmly if possible. Simply ignoring that undesirable behavior should help extinguish it more rapidly.

Read the unlikely story of a woman who quit her Washington, D.C., area office job to open the racehorse placement program LOPE in Beyond the Homestretch.

I learned the specific method of reaching under the neck with the treat from “On Target” trainer Shawna Karrasch, who effectively uses food tidbits to clicker- and target-train horses. Here at the New Bolton Center we use hand-fed treats in the hospital to avoid or overcome patients’ aversions to repeated mildly uncomfortable treatments such as injections, eye treatments, or oral medications. And even with skilled horse handlers, an obvious side effect of giving treats any old way is that some patients become so happy to see us for treats that it becomes bothersome to staff.

I have also taught the above treat-feeding method to a fair number of kids and ponies. It has been relatively easy for handlers, even those new to horse handling, to learn and use. In a situation such as yours it might be an acceptable compromise compared to never hand-feeding treats. It also helps kids and people new to horses learn some of the universal principles of behavior modification–getting them thinking about stimulus response relationships and how they shape behavior, how our behavior affects an animal’s behavior, the importance of good timing, and how to avoid inadvertent training of an undesirable behavior.

Before recommending this method, my standard suggestion previously was to only feed treats from a particular feed pan and to place that pan on the ground. When the pan was not available, he received no treats. This seemed to reduce the likelihood that a pony would become nippy in general and aim his treat-seeking nudginess toward the upper body and face of the child. In most cases it limited the amount of treats the pony received simply by being less convenient for the handler (the pan had to be present), which was both good and problematic. It cut down on the treats, but handlers had more of a tendency to “break the rules.” And, as you likely know, ponies are brilliant at simple associative learning.

Teaching a Fearful Donkey to Accept Touch

This video addresses a question about a donkey who is fearful of humans. The donkey has made some progress but it is going slower than anticipated. It seems he has some fear of humans in general as well as in association with ropes, hoses, etc. I suggest some ideas in the video for helping him to grow more comfortable. I have to admit…I video my answer straight off the cuff. Then I watch it later and have more thoughts and ideas. So I write the text portion to add to my initial response. My head never stops processing ideas. It seems that you are on the right track, so here are some ideas to help you break down this particular behavior to smaller steps. It is the successive approximations that ensure success so if you ever hit a roadblock try to address the issue with even smaller steps. If you need help thinking how to do this I am always here to help. :0)

One suggestion is to utilize the target. I know he is worried about things in human hands but if you keep the target low and slow he will grow braver. Usually the real fear isn’t the object but the human holding the object. Horses often feel safer when they poke their head out to touch the target. Once they learn how to touch the target it starts to become conditioned. They grow increasingly more comfortable with the target. Pretty soon it becomes a familiar and safe behavior/object. It will also help him to grow more comfortable with the humans presence since we are also associated with the target. We will be able to fade the target out of the picture but for now it works to help bridge the gap. When he is consistently and boldly approaching the target it is time to introduce some touching.

In the video I suggest letting them pursue your hand verses always trying to reach out to them. In addition, when you see they are confident with following you as well as the target work. I recommend holding your hand out to the side. You may ask the horse (or donkey) to target in a position that encourages him to walk past/near your outstretched hand. However, I still do not suggest reaching out to touch him for a while. Since they are such individuals there is no set recipe for the plan to move forward. It will be something that you will read in his demeanor. He will have soft eyes, mouth, lower head carriage and general relaxed attitude. He will not be stand offish or seem like he is about to flee. However, when they have grown comfortable with your presence they usually progress much quicker. I always recommend letting the horse dictate the pace. Going too slow is better then too fast. Cara, I hope this helps with your newest donkey. I would love to hear thoughts and comments.

Is Hand-feeding a Problem?

This is always a been a hot topic which brings up some valid concerns. Here is a response posted on The Horse.com. Dr. Sue McDonnell is the founding head of the Equine Behavior Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She offers some sagely advice.

Here is a link to the article:  Hand-feeding Treats

I posted this in a group discussion but decided I wanted to share it here as well:  From the article I think it is apparent where I stand on the topic. I want to reiterate that it is not feeding the treats/reward that is causing the problem. It is all about our timing. What were they doing when the treat is delivered? What ever behavior the horse was exhibiting at the time is the behavior will see more of. We have, in effect, said that is what earned you the reward. We are training this behavior.

The mere fact that this hand feeding issue exists supports the effectiveness of positive reinforcement training. Horses, or ponies, are quick to remember what resulted in a reward…even if us humans aren’t making the connection, they are figuring it out. The trick is to learn how to use this incredible motivator for good purposes. To improve performance, motivation, our relationship and to solve problems. I hate to see people throwing out the baby with the bath water. It is not so hard to learn how to use positive reinforcement correctly. However, it is not a part of traditional horse training,,,yet. The behavioral principles are at work whether people are aware of them or not. The more people learn about them the more effective they will be as trainers. All that being said, I would rather not have my horse fed treats by people who were not aware of the relationship between treats and the resulting behavior. I look at any type of reinforcement as a training tool. Would anyone let a child, or adult for that matter, use a riding crop on a horse, all willy-nilly, with no education? Certainly not. I think it is the same with treats. Both reinforcers (the stick and the treats) are changing behavior. I think education is the key

How is Clicker Training Different then “Whoa”?

I try to address Vic’s question regarding positive reinforcement training and training “Whoa”.  It is a basic question and it may be very helpful for those that are unfamiliar with how it all fits together.

QUESTION:  What does your training do that teaching the command “whoa” does not?

RESPONSE:  Hi Vic and thank you for the opportunity to address your question.  The training, which is based in proven behavior principles, teaches a horse so much more than “Whoa” that it is hard to even know where to begin.  I imagine you are talking about the sound of the clicker vs the entire training.  Depending on how it is trained, generally “Whoa” asks them to stop.  While the clicker does end a behavior, more importantly, it tells them they have done something correctly and have earned some sort of a reward.  It is a “Yes” signal.    The click also draws attention to a particular moment in time.  They remember what earns them the click.  So, if I like a canter depart or a flying lead change I can draw attention to that particular action.  I may not be able to deliver a reward at that point in time but I can bookmark that moment in time.  Technically speaking, the sound of the clicker is called a “bridge signal”.  This is because it bridges the moments between the correct behavior and the and the moment when I can deliver a positive reinforcement.   Another example of the clicker at work happened with a women who was teaching her filly to lift her legs.  She had the idea to use carrots as a reinforcement when she was good.  She did not use a bridge signal (the clicker).  Instead she just fed when she was done holding her leg up.  The women reported that her horse seemed to be pulling her leg out of her hand and placing it back on the ground.  I asked what her horse was doing when she got her carrot.  She told me that it was when her leg was back on the ground.  The horse had made the association that her foot back on the ground equals reward.  We fixed the problem by introducing the clicker into the equation.  That way she could click when her foot was in her hand and communicate that this is the behavior that has earned the reward.  I think it is important to note that she was still feeding the filly when her foot was on the ground but she now had a way to communicate which part of that equation she was rewarding.  She quickly and easily changed the behavior.  Better yet, she opened up a new way to communicate with her filly.  I hope this answers your question an clears things up a bit.  If you have more questions please let me know.   This barely scratches the surface.   If you would like to learn more about positive reinforcement training there is a lot more information and even some video sessions on this blog.  A good place to start might be a clip that Rick Lamb did for his television show.  If you are interested you may go to this link:  http://shawnakarrasch.com/blog/2011/11/08/the-horse-show-with-rick-lamb-2/ or enter “Rick Lamb” on the blog’s search bar.

Teaching a Foal: Starting Them off Right

Stephanie posted a question about her colt. When to start training and behaviors to work on to prepare him for adulthood. I, as usual, have a ton of ideas and I am know I am just scratching the surface!

QUESTION:

Hi Shawna,
I’ve just purchased your Despooking DVD’s & am excitedly pouring over them. As yet I have not used clicker training with any of my horses although I have fun playing with it with my rescue dog. My 2 questions are , at what age can a horse be introduced to clicker training as we have now have a7 day old colt & what are some examples of uses for a youngster?

RESPONSE:

Congratulations Stephanie! What an exciting time for you!

I am a big proponent of handling them from the moment they are born. There is a lot of conditioning that will help them to get comfortable with people. However, I start a positive reinforcement training plan as soon as they are weaned. After Bridge (clicker) conditioning and target training I teach them to lead. I tend to start with the target so they get the concept to stay with you. Stop when you stop, turn when you turn, etc. Then, I introduce the the halter and lead rope and teach them how to respond to the pressure. You can also incorporate the target at this point so it helps them to know what to do instead of the resistance/fear that most babies exhibit. I teach them anything they may need to do as an adult. Certainly teach him to accept being touched everywhere including the sheath, ears and mouth. You can teach him to accept oral syringes (wormers). Lifting his legs and letting you move his feet to and fro. Prep him for the things they farrier will eventually be doing. You can do de-spooking work with tarps, bridges…whatever you can think of to expose him to. Teach him to soak his foot in a bucket of water. You can teach him to put his head in the halter. This concept carries over to the bridle/ bit when the time comes. You can teach him to be clipped and trailer load. You can teach him to walk with a saddle pad secured with a surcingle. This helps with blanketing and certainly saddling later. The more consistent you can be the better. It would be good to teach him to be comfortable away from other horses and to be in a stall. I know there will be periods of time that his training will take a back burner while he is growing but if you can, set a bit of a schedule for him to have some training exercises on a consistant basis.

The best part of a baby is you can plan ahead and circumvent a lot of issues that tend to come up in adulthood. You may not have a need to do a lot of these tasks yet (clipping, soaking his foot, trailer loading etc). However, teaching him these things now will pave the way for him to progress seamlessly down the road. I also recommend keeping some sort of journal so you can keep track of what he has learned, how he responded. As time passes you may forget some of the details.

These things all serve a practical purpose but they also set him up for a lifetime of learning. You are going to find that he enjoys learning and he will learn much faster then the horses who were not trained with positive reinforcement. He will be more sensible mature(mentally) beyond his years.

I have found that the babies are not too spooky when they are young. They are just full of curiosity and they don’t seem to know enough to be fearful yet. This is a big bonus for the training process. They seem to go through a more reactive phase between one and two years of age. If you play your cards right he will sail right through this without letting spookiness get a foothold. Granted he will still startle at things but his reaction will be minimal.

Keep in mind babies have a lot of energy. Teaching him to be patient and still is harder for the rambunctious little horses. I incorporate some retrieving and targeting further away between the standing still type behaviors. This willl give him an outlet that you get to initiate. They can run after a ball a few times and expend some energy in a safe and controlled manner. It is a reinforcement for them and helps to set them up for success when you get back to standing still. Because you initiated the behavior it strengthens your relationship. This will help to keep his attention from wavering. Start with short sessions. Their attention span is short at first. You can build up the time in between and pretty soon he will be able to stand patiently for long periods of time.

Another thing to keep in mind is they learn quite a bit vicariously. This means he will learn socially, by watching the others around him. His biggest role model is going to be his mom. Things that mom does well, I would make a point of exposing him to on regular basis while he is young and soaking up mom’s reactions . If she is good with clipping expose him to her being clipped (or just the body of the clipper touching as if you were clipping). The more you can do the better. He will emulate her reactions to everything. Including how she reacts when people are around and when they approach her in the pasture. If there are things that she is not so good at, I suggest you try to minimize his exposure to those things.

This is important too! Don’t forget he will also need healthy boundaries as he grows. Babies (both equine and human!) like to test their world and everything in it. I have found if you give him lots of time to play and be a horse he will learn to keep that play for his social situations and not with you. Babies are cute. The ornery little things that they do when they are young are often overlooked or excused because they are such cute little guys. They are learning right away. Young horses are hard wired to play and learn the skills that they will need as adults. This means sparring with one another. It is reinforcing for them. At some point he may try to engage you in this game. Do not fall pray to this by reacting and sparring with him.

I got a little horse who was weaned at four months. At less then five months old he went and did his first clinic with the big horses. He was too small to cross tie so we had to push tack trunks in front of standing stall. He just curled up on the floor and slept! He came right out of the trailer at the clinic with no halter, went right to the ring and stayed with me the whole time. He couldn’t have been cuter.

Okay those are some ideas and food for thought. I certainly don’t have all the answers but I hope this helps you out a bit. Please don’t forget I am here if you ever want some input. What an exciting journey that lies ahead of you! :0)

Target or Mat Training, Attitude is the Most Important!

Video answer. The real take-away from this question is the importance of a horse’s attitude during the training process. A good demeanor gets you a relaxed, focused and responsive horse. Positive reinforcement goes a long way towards building a good attitude and work ethic in your horse. Training is not only easier but your horse becomes as interested as you are in making progress. This carries over to every interaction that we have with our horses. What could be better than that? A sour attitude about training also spills over to our every interaction. As trainers we can and should focus on this as much as we do on training a specific task.

The Horse Show with Rick Lamb

This was featured on The Horse Show with Rick Lamb (RFD-TV and Rural TV in Europe). It ws great fun and Rick was a natural with Mint and free jumping. He did great with the clicker training and he is not too bad at the interview either! Rick is curious and always learning so it made it a ton of fun. I received a lot of great feedback and requests to post it here on my blog. So if you haven’t had a chance to view it, well, now you can. Mint seemed to have fun…He always does. Enjoy!! As usaual, I love comments or questions.

The Great Debate: To Feed or Not to Feed?

I was re-reading my blog post and I realized I have misspoken. My head filled in my line of thinking but my words didn’t express it correctly. I shared a video and blog post called: Should I Reward Every time I Click?. My point wasn’t about rewarding (reinforcing) every click, it was about using food (primary reinforcement) every time I click. I reward every behavior either with a primary reinforcement or what is known as a conditioned or “secondary reinforcement”.

I know this can be like a foreign language to a lot of you, so let me back up and elaborate a bit. Here we go with psychology 101, but stay with me as it will help you to better understand your horse. You will become a more effective teacher both on the ground and under saddle.

First what is a reinforcement? In operant conditioning, reinforcement occurs when an event following a response causes an increase in the probability of that response occurring in the future. It is how we all learn. It sounds technical but it is pretty simple. It is going on all the time in our lives as well as in our horse’s lives. We are either seeking something we want or avoiding something we don’t want. In this post, we are focusing on positive (reward) reinforcement which is seeking something we want.

Next, what is a primary (unconditioned) reinforcer? It is a consequence, such as food or water, that fulfills a primary, unlearned drive, such as hunger or thirst, and thereby reinforces a behavior without dependence on prior learning. These are the things needed for survival. Primary reinforcements are: food, air, water, sleep and procreation (for survival of the species)

Okay, now what is a secondary (conditioned) reinforcer? Secondary Reinforcer refers to a stimulus that gains reinforcing properties because it is associated with a primary reinforcer. That means that pairing the “new stimulus”(clicker) with a “primary reinforcer” (food) results in the “new” taking on the value of food. Think Pavlov’s dogs. The bell brought about the same physical reaction as the presentation of food even with no food present. Are you still with me? This is where the bridge signal(clicker) comes in. You can use any stimuli you choose to condition as a reinforcer. There is nothing magical about the clicker. In fact, with the marine mammals at Sea World we didn’t use clickers. But for this post I am going to use the clicker as the example.

By the way, did you know that we also have a conditioned reinforcer in our lives? It is money! It is just paper. We don’t react this way to all paper. We have come to associate money, the special paper, with the things it can buy us. These are things we need to survive, which are primary reinforcers. If we were to be transplanted to a desert island would we want to take money? No, we would be focused on food and water. Do we work for only enough money to survive or do we go above and beyond and keep trying to earn more money? Of course we could survive with a lot less money but we choose to have more money than is absolutely necessary.

As we now have some basic working definitions, let’s go back to my previous post. I stated in that post that I don’t always reward the behaviors. I misspoke, I do reinforce, I just don’t always use food as a reinforcement. I also use conditioned reinforcements quite a bit. For example I have conditioned patting my horse as a reward. Some horse like this intrinsically but some do not. We humans have a tendency to think they all like it but it is not always the case, as with some horses it is just a little above neutral. I always try to strengthen it’s value by doing some conditioning (pairing it with a food reinforcement).

Let’s consider what serves as a conditioned reinforcer in our horse’s lives. Of course, I am talking about a horse who has been trained through positive reinforcement. In this scenario the horse would have been conditioned to the sound of a clicker or some other “yes” signal. The horse has learned that the clicker itself is a conditioned reinforcer, that is the strongest because that is where we have focused our attention, we conditioned it as a reinforcemnt. But by exposure we have conditioned our presence to be a conditioned reinforcer since we bring the food (primary reinforcement) to the training sessions. Our presence means there is a chance for reinforcement. It is not as strong as the clicker but it is conditioned. Toys and turn out time are also things I have conditioned to be reinforcers. And as stated in the video in my last post, the signal(cue) itself has been shown to have a very reinforcing value. It releases dopamine which was previously thought to occur when the food reward was delivered. Instead they have found it occurs when the signal is given. This seems to indicate that the signal is also a conditioned reinforcer. It has a very strong reinforcement history, it has been conditioned through the pairing of a primary reinforcement. That actually makes sense since the whole process of training with positive reinforcement has been conditioned, an association has been made. That is the beauty of it!

Now back to my last post. There is a big debate on feeding after every click or not. I have heard for years that some people feel you should feed after every click otherwise it is a lie to the horse. I refer to a horse here because this is not the practice with marine mammals. I have found the use of conditioned reinforcers to be a valuable tool for training. I always reward but sometimes it is with a secondary reinforcer. In the previous post I cited why this is so effective. I may use pats, verbal praise, another signal or toys just to name a few. In fact the clicker IS a conditioned reinforcer. That means it has reinforcing value on it’s own. Just hearing the click serves to reinforce them just like a pat. The clicker is like our money. We conditioned the clicker right off the bat by pairing it with a primary reinforcement, something that has an innate value to our horse’s and need to survive, food. The horse’s are getting all of the food they need, yet they still choose to work for the food reward just like we continue to work for more money than we need for minimal survival. The clicker will maintain it’s value as long as we follow up the click with primary reinforcement more often than not. Moreover, the same holds true for other conditioned reinforcers. As stated in the video, the question of what the reinforcer might be has a profound effect on our horse’s behavior. Anyway, thanks for letting me set the record straight as well as bearing with me through psychology 101. There will be a test on Monday.

Should I Feed Everytime I Click?

Robert Sapolsky on the Dopamine and Pleasure by 5minKnowledge

This video has great information for positive reinforcement/clicker training. The findings are really enlightening. These findings show that the release of dopamine comes at the time of the signal for a previously trained behavior instead of at the time of the reward. That is an important distinction. It also talks about how the dopamine level rises significantly when the reinforcement (reward) isn’t delivered for every performance of a behavior.

We used this all the time with the marine mammals. There is a bit of resistance to this concept in the dog/horse world. I have successfully used it to raise criteria and focus for 27 years now. This is where the secondary reinforcer (a clicker, another signal or patting) is great tool, which allows for offering the primary reinforcer (food reward) a little more selectively.

Dr. Sue McDonnell, the head of the Equine Behavior Program at University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center School of Veterinary Medicine, (that is a mouthful) told me that she has found that reinforcing (with food) one in ten times maintains behavior with the Icelandic herd she works with at the school. She adopted these methods quite a while ago. It must have been 2001. I tend to reinforce more often then this but I think that this is a good statistic to keep in mind. The various schedules of reinforcement are amazing tools.

I start teaching them about this pretty early on in training. If you have been quite predictable up to this point, it will take teaching your horse to accept the new routine. You will actually have to reinforce them for their good attitude when they don’t receive a reward following a click. I suggest you start with a simple and well established behavior. When they perform correctly click and then give them another signal for the same behavior. Reinforce well when they respond willingly, even if it is after a hesitation. I find that they can develop a sense of entitlement and can get frustrated with change if we are too routine. It is important to me that the horses be easy going, flexible and attentive. I want them to see change as a good thing.

Just as the video describes, the dopamine comes when the new signal is offered not when the food is offered. The signal itself (with a familiar behavior) is actually a “conditioned reinforcer” as there is a reinforcement history associated with the behavior. We used it ALL the time at Sea World. It was the norm, not the exception. I have found it to be equally as effective with horses. This is a principle not widely embraced during the early years of dolphin training but is now used universally, with marine mammals as well as other exotic animals. It is important to remember that conditioned or secondary reinforcers, such as the clicker, need to be maintained to hold their value.

This is an invaluable tool for raising criteria with an established behavior. For example, say you ask for a behavior such as having your horse lift his legs. He then does what he has been taught to do. He earns the click (secondary reinforcer) which is a reward, but then doesn’t get a food reward (primary reinforcer). He has a history with this task and knows he is doing the right thing. You offer another signal and ask him to lift his leg again. He gets a rush of dopamine from the signal itself and he tries even harder to earn the food reward. This is how simple it is to get them to raise their own criteria. It also helps in establishing a good work ethic.

By using less primary reinforcements you can raise the criteria of the behavior as well as sending the dopamine levels “through the roof”. You can see how useful this is in the training equation. This principle is also at work with something referred to as “Extinction Burst”. In a nutshell, this is when you ask for a behavior that is familiar and has an established reinforcement history, then you quit reinforcing them for their effort. They start performing the behavior with more and more enthusiasm before they quit trying altogether. You may use selective bridging (clicking) to establish this new, higher criteria. It is good to use a generous food reward (primary reinforcement) for this increased effort.

If you were to study schedules of reinforcement, you would see that it has been shown that reinforcing a behavior every time will actually cause the performance of the behavior to diminish somewhat. Conversely, variation in the schedule of reinforcement will raise criteria and effort.

Okay, I hope this didn’t get too technical for anyone. Apologies if this sounds too much like a textbook, but I think it is important to understand these principles. They are always in effect whether or not you are aware of them. By gaining a better understanding them, you can become a more effective teacher for your horse, dog or dolphin!

Ask Shawna: Bolting? Teach Your Horse to Turn and Face it Instead.

Video Ask Shawna answer. Sabine’s horse bolts when he is spooked. A lot of them do! This is unsettling whether you are mounted or on the ground. I address how to change this behavior. The good news is that as you progress through the exercise on the video your horse will soon be applying his new lesson to objects he has never seen before! It is a concept that they learn and practice over and over. Through the use of positive reinforcement (clicker training) he will develop a new association with new objects/sights/sounds. Instead of fearing them he will start to see them as a potential for reinforcement. Your horse will actually begin to seek out new objects on his own. Also, it was tested and shown that through de-sensitization (de-spooking) your horse’s heart rate will stay lower in the face of “scary” new things. That’s huge! It shows that he will feel calmer which allows him to make better decisions about what to do when he is exposed to new objects/ scenarios. With the positive reinforcement your horse will actually WANT to be better about new things. When he is dealing with his fears from an internal place it is way more effective than us dealing with it from an external place. One more perk is that once you start using the clicker training under saddle they want to pay more attention to you and they are way less interested in what is going on around them. This is particularly effective for the horse who is spooking as a way to get out of work. Anyway Sabine, I hope this answers some of your questions and gives you some good ideas of how to progress. Thank you for submitting your question to Ask Shawna!! Enjoy getting your horse On Target!!

Here is a link to the free video series in case you you haven’t seen it yet.
CLICK HERE: Is Your Horse Spooky Under Saddle?

Ask Shawna: “Dropping” While Clicker Training

Okay, I guess I’ll go there! I have seen (and heard of) horses who “drop” during positive reinforcement training sessions. I have tried to find out what other “clicker trainers” have noticed in regard to this behavior and no one really seems to address the subject so I thought “someone should!” I got an Ask Shawna question about a gelding just before I released a short video series on de-Spooking your horse. William, the horse who is featured in this de-spooking exercise has dropped. Actually,he has more of an erection. It is not sustained and everything…well…goes back to normal. I thought the timing of this question was fortuitous. It is a good time to address the subject. Then I received a comment/question about William’s “willie”. Horses dropping during clicker training is the exception and not the rule. I know that dropping is an indication that your horse is relaxed. Okay, so what does the erection mean? I don’t know! I got to say I don’t really care for this behavior but sometimes I don’t even notice at first. Let’s get to the questions and I’ll elaborate as we go.

Question #1:(Cara)
“Hi Shawna,
I was so excited to learn about your website and your new video series yesterday. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s release!
I do have a question. I’ve been clicker training my horses for several years and love it. I do have one horse that concerns me. He’s a big Arabian gelding that I’ve had since birth. He was gelded right at a year old. He’s a very, very smart horse and also very playful.
My concern is he gets really excited during clicker sessions to the point that he is nickering a lot and even dropping out of his sheath. Usually I just stop when he gets to this point because I’m not sure what it might escalate into. He just started this really excited behaviour about a couple of years ago and he’s 13 now. Because of one thing and another he’s been mainly a pasture pet his whole life. He doesn’t get worked with daily or even weekly but I’m wanting to do more with him. He’s not studdish in general other than this. Even around mares he couldn’t care less. Anyway, can you PLEASE tell me how to handle this behaviour?”

Response:
It is funny, I have seen it in geldings but never in stallions. I haven’t even heard of it in stallions (that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened) I haven’t even seen it in studly geldings. That makes me wonder the origin of the behavior. Anyway, I had a horse who would sometimes drop and occasionally have an erection. This was so long ago (17 years) that the clicker training community was not in existence and there was no one else to confer with.

I had never seen this in any of the horses I had worked so I assumed it was an isolated case. I would do demonstrations in front of hundreds of people at expos and I didn’t really want this to be a part of my demonstration. Me, being the trainer that I am, decided I would address it with behavior modification.

I used three tools to manage his dropping/erection behavior. First, my big criteria for all sessions is an attentive and responsive horse. I want the sessions to feel like a 50/50 interaction with the horse as involved as I am. I want to see him trying and putting out energy when I ask for a behavior that requires energy and watching patiently all the while. My horse, Hershey (he is in my book and original DVD from way back when) would give me a pretty big clue that things were askew. His focus and energy would fall below the criteria I felt was acceptable. I wasn’t going to beg him to participate, therefore I would put him home. My horses know this means they have lost the opportunity continue this session. This has proven to be quite effective. I would then go back in about 10 minutes and try again. They usually returned to the sessions fully focused and ready to go. The decision to take him home was based on attitude and not the act of dropping. But these two things often go hand in hand. This helped quite a bit. This was tool #1.

Pretty soon I recognized that when he was starting to drop it was because of his focus. This leads to tool #2. I would ask him to trot off to another area, in a circle or even just a few steps. As soon as he decided to trot he drew himself back up. I had to focus on teaching this bright response to trot with a high ratio of reinforcement for a while. But this worked great for preventing this awkward behavior. Preventing is always easier than correcting. Tool #3 was to draw attention to the times when he was doing something requiring low energy without dropping. These three things really helped to manage this behavior.

So Cara, If he gives you any indication he is getting wound up(it could be that he nickers before he drops) I would address it with one of the first two tools. Try to prevent it by moving onto a higher energy behavior. If he loses focus put him home or leave the paddock. This will take little bit for him to recognize that you are ending the session and then to figure out why. So you need to be consistent…very important! Plus you have to be paying attention to the little nuances if you can detect them, if you can’t than keep an eye on “things”. The third tool is more of an add-on. I feel it is a little muddled and may not be as clear for them. I hope this gave you some ideas. I have limited experience with this problem but this is what has worked for me…now onto William…

Question #2:(Valerie)
“Am I the only one who noticed this horse has dropped. My first reaction is to think, he is sedated…but he doesn’t act sedated. I would have liked to have seen Jen mounting the horse. Now, he is walking but still dropped. What is that all about? Ok now he is t rotting and has pulled up! It did have me concerned when this video started but I do look for minute details in everything. I wish I knew about this training with the horse I had years ago. This William horse has the most amazing markings! He looks as though he has star bursts on him. I have ordered Shawna’s book and am eagerly awaiting it. I will be taking the clicker training method out of the paddock in the next few days…weather conditions pending…thanks so much for these great and simple techniques!”

Response:
I am really glad that you brought this up. He is not sedated. William drops quite often (in many situations whether clicker training or not), sometimes partially sometimes all the way, It doesn’t seem to have a pattern that I can tell. He has done it a couple times in our relatively small number of sessions. I am still getting to know William and figuring out what is “normal” for him. Another thing is he isn’t my horse so I don’t work with him consistently. In this video clip, when I am asking him to come forward and he doesn’t really move at first…That will be a red flag for me from now on. I couldn’t see what was going on down below so I didn’t put the two together. I thought he was just being a little apprehensive because of the milk jugs. Now I can start to recognize this type of behavior and double check. If he has dropped and has choses not to respond I will ask him to do a new higher energy behavior which does not seem so compatible with dropping. I will have to build a strong reinforcement history with this behavior when he is not dropped and is more apt to give me the correct response. Ultimately, he will have a decision to make, stand here unresponsive or put it away and trot on with me. The early stage is when I might need to put him home if he chooses to remain unresponsive. After a few trips home he will get the idea. With the correct training he will decide that the trotting on is the more rewarding of the two behaviors. Down the road he will readily move on and kind of break the habit and it will turn into more of a non-issue. Well, I certainly don’t have all the answers to this situation but I am sharing what has worked for me so far. I hope this helps!!

Addendum:
I also want to point out that, upon further research, I have found a trend with this behavior. From my own experiences and from conversations with other clicker trainers. It seems that this behavior is mostly encountered with cross over horses and in particularly with the more worried horses.

Is Your Horse Spooky Under Saddle?

Hey Everyone!!

YAY!!! The last FREE video on de-spooking your horse is up! Today William goes under saddle with the cluster of milk jugs. He is getting bolder with every session.

This next video will really help you tie it all together. You are well on your way to having the bold horse you always wanted. I love that so many of you have jumped right in with this exercise. Thank you for sharing the stories of the success you have had already!!

Enjoy getting your horse On Target!!

P.S. If you know of someone that could use some help de-spooking their horse or building boldness and confidence, please feel free to pass this link onto them too!

CLICK HERE: Is Your Horse Spooky Under Saddle?

Is Your Horse Trustworthy?

I am so pleased with all the interest in the De-spooking video series. I know you are on your way to great success and it will result in a more confident horse. If you haven’t had a chance to check out these complimentary videos, go here now:

CLICK HERE: Is Your Horse Trustworthy?

In the first video I work with Lucky Jack to demonstrate the basics. In the next video I move to ground work with William. I switched horses because William already knew the early part of the training and I really wanted you to see how to teach these manners with a brand new horse. After all, that is probably more what you will experience with your horse. I knew William would be more reactive to the ground work so I wanted to work through the more challenging lessons with him. So stay tuned.

Video 2 – Ground Work will be posted tomorrow, September 29. I would really love to hear your thoughts or questions as you follow along. Also, if you know of someone who may be interested in teaching their horse to be bolder and more confident please pass this on to them! If you haven’t had a chance to watch yet you can still join in. Just go to the link above.

And a big “Thank You” to you for tuning in. Pretty soon you are going to have yourself a trustworthy horse….what could feel better than that?

Remember, enjoy getting your horse On Target!!

Shawna

Ask Shawna: Proper Paddock Manners & Relaxation (w/Overview of the Basics)

Video answer: I address how to teach a horse to walk quietly on the way to the paddock and when being released for turn out. Jeffery has an Arab who gets too excited, bolts and doesn’t know to rein in her energy. This is an issue that comes up often with horse owners. The good news is: This is very easy to fix using positive reinforcement (clicker training). By putting something into the training equation that your horse truly values, you will get her to be an active participant in the re-training process. If you are there most everyday you can get it under control in about a week once you have the basics trained (clicker and target). If you go to the barn less often it may take longer for the reinforcement history to be established. It is really a matter of repetition vs. duration when it comes to this type of training. The horses remember these lessons for years. So she won’t forget what you have taught her if you get to the barn more sporadically.

You can also work on her relaxation in all that she does. Focus on reinforcing her when ever you feel or see her relax or soften, even the slightest bit. The beauty of the clicker is that it is a great tool for communication (at Sea World we used a whistle). While you will most likely not be able to offer reinforcement her at the exact moment she does something you like, you will be able to book mark that moment with the sound of the clicker. Once she knows the clicker it will be a sound she will strive to hear. The clicker tells her “yes, what you just did is correct and you have earned yourself the potential for a reward” So always click on the behavior that you want to see more of and follow it up with a reward. If you always click when she is relaxed or in the process of relaxing she will put together that all clicks(read: Reinforcements) come when she is calm. That is the attitude that will soon be the norm for her. As you see this change in her demeanor you can then begin to fade out the clicker and the high reinforcement schedule.

If you don’t know about the clicker or target portion of the training don’t worry it is simple and your horse will enjoy it. It teaches your horse to be patient about the reinforcement, establishes a solid form of communication, the target gives you a way to help set her up for success when walking to the paddock. In addition, the task of targeting teaches her to think and become engaged in the learning process. This early training also strengthens the trust and focus that she has on you. This new focus and desire to please you will have a profound impact on your relationship with your horse. It doesn’t take long, about 10 minutes a day for 3 or 4 days. You can do the training where they live whether it be paddock or stall. For more on this watch for a FREE 3-part video series I have coming out in the next couple days. It is on spookiness and shying but it also addresses the basic lessons of clicker and target training. The first video is the one that covers this simple and fun process. If you are on my mailing list you will get a link for the video sent to you. Okay Jeffery, I hope this has helped you out. I know that you will be quite pleased with her progress. Thank you for letting me offer assistance. Please keep me updated and if you have more questions as you progress, please don’t hesitate to ask. Enjoy getting your horse On Target!

An Update and Important News!!

I have missed being in touch with you and working on the Blog! I love answering the Ask Shawna questions so I am feeling a little out of sorts. But… I have been working a a couple projects that I am really excited about! There is just not enough time in the day.

Keep Asking Shawna!

I have been getting some great questions in the past few weeks. I have resumed filming the answers and I am going to try to get a bunch of them out in the next couple weeks so I can get caught up a bit. I try to be as timely as possible but due to the nature of the technology there is always a lag time in getting them posted. This drives me crazy since I excitedly answer the questions in my head as soon as I read them. I don't want to wait the time it takes to get them posted. It's funny I am so patient with the animals but can be so impatient when it comes to other stuff!

FREE VIDEOS!!!

Over the next week or so I am also going to be sending out some FREE video content. It is a three-part series that addresses de-spooking your horse. This exercise will help your horse to remain calm in new situations. As a result your horse will become much more trustworthy! I know you are going to be tickled with your horses’ progress when you are done, so keep an eye on your email if you are signed up for news from me. If not please go to the box in the corner. Enter you name and email address….You are not quite done yet, be sure to check your email account for a confirmation, click the link and your done! Then you will receive the free video series on de-spooking your horse! If you know someone who has an issue with spookiness or shying please feel free to share.

As always, enjoy getting your horse On Target!!

P.S. - Many of you have asked about Bugs and Mint: they are doing great. Bugs has been working on his flying changes. We have been going slow since he is eager to do his new behavior. He really is enthusiastic and seems like he wants to please. He was anticipating a change of lead as I would come to a jump on the diagonal so we are working on him waiting until he is asked. Counter bending and counter canter seem to be helping Bugs to pay attention. He is doing great and has a stellar attitude.

Ask Shawna: Clicker, Target, Timing, Rearing…HELP!!

Video critique of training session. There are two videos posted. One is the session sent in by Amy. The other is my observations and advice for Amy. She is off to a great start. This is the second horse that Amy has clicker trained and this mare has a different personality and different response. Her mare is doing great about standing quietly and patiently between targeting. This is such an important behavior. People often take standing still for granted forgetting that this is a real challenge for some horses. I suggest that she draw more attention to this behavior. The more she gets reinforced for this the more she will stay on the ground. You will see the rest as you watch the video. Amy you are doing a great job. Keep up the good work. I would love thoughts and comments!!

Ask Shawna: When Do You Stop Using the Clicker?

This video answer was sent in by Lisa. It is a great question and one that a lot of people ask.

Some people think that you (or your horse) will be lost without the clicker. This is certainly not the case. The clicker is a small part of a much bigger equation called “operant conditioning”. The principles of operant conditioning are working in our lives all the time whether we are aware of this fact or not. Just so you know, these principles are not limited to animals. They are proven behavior principles which also apply to people.

The clicker holds no magic. It is a conditioned reinforcer. Once trained, the clicker serves as a “bridge” signal to tell the horse “yes, what you have just done is correct”. At Sea World we didn’t even use clickers! We used whistles and verbal signals to tell the animals when they did something right. I like to use a clicker for a couple reasons:

1) It is a distinct sound that is new to the horses. This makes the sound more significant to the horses.
2) It sounds the same from person to person. This makes it clearer for the horse when you have more than one person teaching or implementing a new behavior.
3) It is loud enough to be heard while cantering, or from a distance.
4) It is pretty inexpensive and easy to find.

I do use a verbal bridge signal quite often but when I am working on something new I prefer to go back to the clicker since it holds a stronger value. The drawback to the verbal bridge signal is that our horses hear our voices all the time, especially mine since I have the gift of gab! A large majority of the time our talking is not meant for our horses. We are talking to other people. So they get a bit desensitized to our voices. Also the pitch of our voice cannot always be heard from far away or in the midst of physical exertion.

The point I make in the video is that the clicker serves as a training tool. It is a clear source of communication for our horses. I often fade the clicker out of the equation once the behavior is trained. Same thing for the food as a reinforcement. Soon they just know how to do the behavior. They have built up a good reinforcment history and they seem to trust everyone. People often groom and ride my horses who do not apply positive reinforcement. My horses are responsive and compliant with everyone.

I hope this helps to clear some things up for you Lisa and the other people who have the same question. If you have any questions about this, or any other topic, please feel free to send it to my Ask Shawna page! Enjoy getting your horse on Target!!

P.S. In the video I say “…draw attention to unwanted behavior”. OOPS!! I meant ignore unwanted behavior. It is best to ignore undesired behavior as much as possible.

Ask Shawna Answer: Picking a Trainer for your Young Horse

Okay, I almost called this “Traditional Training vs. Clicker Training.” The verses part of the title didn’t really appeal to me but unfortunately people often think that it has to be one or the other. This is obviosly a multi-layered question.

When I was at Sea World we only used positive reinforcement training. Then as I looked into horses I realized only removal reinforcement was used. My goal has always been to integrate the two principles to maximize our effectiveness as horse trainers.

The question sent into me really was in regards of how to work with a trainer who prefers to use only traditional training, and how to balance out the equation once the horse is started. I address that in the video clip (below) but found my mind kept going to the bigger picture. The good news is that positive reinforcement training can easily be adapted to any training program. The methods don’t compete but instead complement one another. As the training moves along you will find that you will probably use less of the traditional training aids. That is because your horse will be much more alert and responsive. Your horse will be looking forward to the interactions and will be more involved in the training process.

It is not always easy to find good trainers regardless of their disciline or method. Here are some things to watch for as you consider a trainer for your horse. Do the horses that the trainer is working seem to be comfortable and relaxed with their handlers or riders while they are engaged in work? Do they seem bright and eager or are their ears pinned? Do they have a crabby or fearful demeanor, or instead do they have a soft expression? Watch more than one horse to get an overall feeling. Talk to the other owners who have their horses in training. Have they seen good progress? Do you understand what is being asked of the horses or ask the trainer as he/she is working with the horses. You will ultimately be the one handling/riding your horse and that means you will need to understand how to implement the training as well. You will be dealing with the work ethic that is established by the trainer that you choose to start your horse.

As we learn about horses and how to handle them, it is really important to have a knowlegable trainer to turn to when you have questons. There are some great trainers out there but unfortunately, there are also some not-so-great trainers out there too. The horses will really tell the story. Trust your gut feelings and I encourage you to continue to learn about behavior principles. These proven principles are at play whether you are aware of them or not. The more you know the better you will be able to guide you horse through his journey. I will always be here to help as well!! Please keep me posted.

Mounting: Look No Hands!!

There is nothing more annoying than a horse who walks off, or worse, acts up, while you are mounting. Bugs, being a bit of a fuss budget was not the worst, but he wasn’t the most accomodating horse to mount. He would turn to face me, refuse to give to the pressure of the reins and wouldn’t move up or would just be fidgety. I could always get on him but it wasn’t always pretty. Athletic? Yes. Pretty? Not so much!

Sometimes these issues need sessions devoted to improving the situation ASAP. But in his case, I simply addressed it a little bit every time I mounted. I started by clicking when he would follow me to the mounting block. I’d click once more when he would happen to be lined up nicely, and again when he would be still. I would really draw attention to reinforcing him once I was in the saddle. Pretty quickly they start to figure out that the sooner you are in the saddle the quicker they can get reinforced. I would proportionately feed more once I was in the saddle. Horses figure out pretty quickly how to accommodate and expedite the process. Next thing you know, they are bounding right up to the mounting block with hopes of you getting on!

Super Simple Flexion Exercise

This is so simple but very effective. It is actually a byproduct of offering reinforcement under saddle. Being a positive reinforcement based trainer, I feed from the saddle. Often horses demonstrate a favorite side. It may not be so much their favorite as the more limber side. They will turn to take the treat from the easier, more flexible side. I immediately start to balance out the two sides by feeding (usually) from the side we are bending towards. For example, if I am going to the right with a right bend that is the side I will feed from following the click or bridge signal. I often find that one side is noticeably more rigid than the other. This usually coincides with the them being more resistant to bending in that direction as well. After a couple weeks I will notice a huge difference in both the turning to take the treat as well as the softness in the bridle when asking to bend. They are actually stretching and improving their own range of motion. Super simple, super effective!!

Photos of me from my Sea World Days!

I was going through some old photos and came across these pictures from my days as a whale trainer.  This is what lead me to training horses and applying the positive reinforcement (clicker) training to horses.  It is fun to look back on that unexpected journey from marine mammals to horses!  These photos are from the Shamu show at Sea World in San Diego back circa 1990??  I started taking the positive reinforcement(clicker training) to horses  back in 1994.  There is still a lot to do!!  I hope that you enjoy the photos!

Speaking of Trailer Loading… Another Success Story!

The real success is when the training carries through to other people and situations. Lorelei is such a story. She is a young horse in Hap Hansen’s string of horses. I initially began working with Lorelei to address her attitude about getting injections. She was intolerant of the whole process. She did quite well with the training and now stands quietly for her shots. It turns out she is allergic to just about everything and needs shots on a regular basis. Luckily, we got that sorted out just before we found out about her allergies, which require regular injections.
 

Well, it turns out she also has an aversion to the trailer. Not the little two horse kind, which is more common, but the big sixteen horse type. Usually horses view the larger trailers more like a building and walk in rather easily. The smaller trailers seem to create more problems. Maybe it’s the confinement and feeling trapped or claustrophobic, who really knows? The good part of having issues with the little trailers is that they are more readily available to practice loading and unloading. This is not the case with the big trailers.
 

With the help of my friend Lisa, who is Lorelei’s groom and primary caretaker, we addressed Lorelei’s trailer loading issues. I wasn’t there everyday but Lisa was with her and implemented the training techniques. I would try to be there as often as I could for loading in the big trailer to go to shows. Since the discrimination was with the large trailer it was difficult to actually practice on a regular basis. Lisa continued to work with the little trailer when she could. Even though the problem wasn’t the two horse trailer the reinforcement helped the whole process and association to become more positive.
 

Because Lorelei is young she doesn’t go to every horse show, so a couple weeks ago she was scheduled to go to a show and Lisa reported that Lorelei loaded up like a trooper with no hesitation. Then it was time to go home and Lisa wasn’t able to be there. Lorelei got right on with a person who had not even done the training with her. Not only did she load right up, she actually initiated the loading process so the groom/handler just went along with her. He wasn’t her regular groom but she responded just the same. He reinforced her once she was in the trailer but the real success comes when a horse just does the behavior without discriminating between handlers.
 

This reminded me of being at Sea World and bringing along baby sea lions. I usually had a young charge to train and prepare for the show. There is a lot for a young sea lion to absorb. Since the person who trained them has the best rapport with the young sea lion and a greater chance for success, they would also be the trainer who worked them through their first few show segments. I always felt proudest when I would eventually watch them successfully do the show with someone else. I knew at this point that they were solid on that segment of the show.
 

This is what makes Lorelei’s story so reinforcing for me. I know that I can train any horse to go into a trailer, but the real success comes when the training is done by the people who are with the horse everyday and it’s even better when the horse does the behavior for someone else all together! Not only did Lisa get Lorelei responding and succeeding at trailer loading, she really changed Lorelei’s mind about the whole thing. Now Lorelei will load for anyone, any place, any trailer and anytime. Well done Lisa!!
 

If you have stories of clicker training success I would love to hear them and share them with others. Please post your stories or send them to me and I will post them.

Ask Shawna Question: Clippers, Vibrator…?

This question was posted by Marjorie at Askshawna.com. I address how to teach your horse to stand quietly for clipping. Even if they are terrible with clipping, with these methods you can change their minds without resistance. Next thing you know they are voluntarily participating in the clipping process. Thank you Marjorie for the question and allowing me to be part of your success. Enjoy getting your horse On Target! If anyone has questions about horse training or horse behavior please don’t hesitate to ask.

Ask Shawna Question re: Continuing After the Click

Hi Everyone,

This question was posted on my Facebook page by Lydia. In this video I am addressing how to teach your horse to continue on with a good attitude following the click. I focus on teaching this under saddle but the same techniques work from the ground. Simply ask for a behavior that has a well established reinforcement history. In other words, a behavior that your horse readily offers and seems to enjoy doing. Anyway, Lydia, I hope that this helps you to move to the next level. Thank you for the question and the opportunity to help you progress! Enjoy getting your horse On Target.

Now, THAT’S a Back Up! (2nd session-ongoing series)

Okey dokey, here is the second video in the back up series. I discuss a bit about the targeting and how to strengthen this behavior. The stronger your horse gets at following the target the more willing he will be to follow it when it gets a little tougher. This goes back to the reinforcement history. In a nutshell, our horses make decisions constantly. They will opt for the things that have a good association. The more positive reinforcement associated with a task or behavior the quicker they will choose that behavior. So the better they know the target the harder they will try. Really pretty simple when you think about it.
 
I decided in this video to practice backing up with the target myself. Bugs association with me is stronger (more positive reinforcement) than his association with David. Therefore he does try harder for me than for David, at this point anyway. The target is the common thread so I want to help him understand what to do when the target moves towards his chest. They were both kind of hesitant and I want to minimize undo confusion.
 
Confusion can lead to frustration. I know it is a breakdown in communication and that it is my job to take smaller steps, to somehow figure out how to make it clearer. Training is never a recipe with precise measures but more a set of guidelines. Horses being individuals means things need to be adapted to the individuals’ personality. That is the best part of the new technology, we can work through things together and share insights.
 
Anyway, Enjoy this session with Bugs and the back up and let me know how it is going for you Mandy (and anyone else who is following along). And yes, our barn has an outdoor pizza oven!! As always, I love thoughts and comments.
 

Stall Manners-Stationary Target/Trailer Loading

Just a quick little video (30 seconds) to show you Bugs targeting on his Stationary target in his stall. This helps when I point out the stationary target mounted in the trailer. This session was done right before we went to the trailer to serve as a fresh reminder for Bugs. I want to reiterate this is an easy behavior to train. If you have questions or want more info please don’t hesitate to ask.

Bugs First Tarp Session

This video is from my helmet cam and shows Bugs first exposure to the tarp. The positive reinforcement training has gone along way toward building his confidence with new objects. How is your horse with new objects?

Teaching Your Horse to Stand Quietly for the Farrier

Well, it is high time I get started fielding some of these great questions that keep coming to me through Ask Shawna. There are so many great topics that I wasn’t sure where to begin, so I just pulled from the top. Here is today’s question sent in by Susanna:

“I have a one year old filly who hates it when her legs and feet are handled. Especially hind-legs. I’ve tried to let her get used to it slowly and she gets a click and treat for it. Short touches are ok, but she has to cope with trimmings every couple weeks and gets very nervous and you have to start all over again.”

Hi Susanna,

You are off to a good start. That she will let you handle her legs and feet even for short spells says that you are making progress, so kudos to you for that. Now we need to focus on longevity and acclimating her to the tasks that the farrier performs during the trimmings. Keep in mind that all of our horses learn through operant conditioning. This means they are constantly trying to figure out how to either get things that they want or how to avoid the things that they don’t want. They build up is what is referred to as a reinforcement history. They form associations with the things that they experience. The good news is, with the correct amount of reinforcement we can change these associations for the better. I think of them as scales that are out of balance. With the use of reinforcement we can put more weight on the side of the scale that represents the desired behavior. You are certainly on the right track.

Be sure that you have taken the time to really be sure that she understands the clicker and it’s significance. She should always stand with her head forward with proper manners without getting pushy or mouthy when food is present. Also, I recommend target training. I recommend it for every behavior even if it will not physically be used for a particular behavior. The process teaches them how to engage in the learning process and is, in my opinion, an essential part of teaching our horses a work ethic. In this particular case I recommend using the target as we build up her tolerance. The target becomes a familiar object with a very strong reinforcement history. It can serve as a pacifier of sorts. We will want to fade it out of the picture later but for now it will help serve our purpose. So be sure she is strong with touching her nose to a target. I am making an assumption that you know what the heck I’m talking about but if you don’t just let me know or check out the web site or video for more instruction about proper clicker or target training.

I also recommend doing the sessions right before feeding time if your schedule allows. The food will have a higher perceived value for her at this time. I also recommend using a mix of reinforcements. Choose several treats that she likes. This changes up the anticipation of what comes next. Volumes have been written about schedules of reinforcement. It has been proven that the more predictable is not always the best way to raise criteria, and  what we want to do is to step up her eagerness to stand still and be patient. By changing how much and what type of treat, we will peak her interest. I want you to sometimes feed a small handful and sometimes feed a couple handfuls. She will work harder to achieve her favorite and to get the larger amount. On those days when you don’t have a lot of time I would, at the least, ask her to lift a foot  or two before each feeding.  Also, be sure that she has had some exercise or turn out before her training sessions so she isn’t a ball of energy, this will help set her up to succeed.

I suggest to work her as much as possible in the same place where the farrier is working with her so she builds up a desirable reinforcement history with this spot. Also, to mimic the things that the farrier does. Go slow and build up her confidence with each of these tasks. Sometimes they can feel insecure about not being able to have all four feet available to flee so we need to build her trust. I may be reiterating a bit here but I don’t really know what steps you have taken so I’m just going to cover some steps. Start by making sure that she is comfortable with you handling her all over her body not just her legs. Start where she is most comfortable and click and treat when she is standing still AND relaxed. Relaxed is really our focus. We can teach her to stand still but if she is not truly relaxed then we may be reinforcing the wrong attitude and it will come to a head somewhere down the line. Only move on when she is relaxed and calm. Watch her eyes, ears, body language and feel those muscles. When she softens click and feed. Continue this process to the legs and feet. Remember to go at her speed. At first short sessions with a lot of reinforcement will be the best. Quit while she still wants more. Again this will peak her interest and anticipation. In her head we want her thinking… “come back and touch my legs!!” I have found I make MUCH more progress with three 5 minute sessions than with one 30 or 40 minute session. Build up the time once she is comfortable with this phase. Then vary the length of the sessions sometimes quick and sometimes long.

Next is handling her feet. Begin each step by reinforcing the smallest steps. As you begin to teach her to pick up her feet or to allow you to pick them up, think of the small steps in between. For example look for her knee to bend. This indicates that she took the weight off of this foot. This is worthy of a pretty good sized reinforcement. Give her a couple handfuls. The more she participates the faster the progress. Once you have the foot try to put it down only when she softens and relaxes the foot and leg. Remember to click while you have the foot in your hand. You want to click on the behavior that you want to see more of, she will remember what she was doing when she heard the click. If you click when she has her foot on the ground she will try to get her foot back on the ground so she gets the click. Once she is relaxed with this behavior begin to move the feet around a bit. Your farrier will stretch her out pretty good but we want to build up to that degree. Again click and feed small steps and relaxation. If she gets tense back up a little and rebuild the step before and go a little slower. Try to hold until you feel relaxation. When she is good with this and trusting you to do this I would introduce someone else into the equation. The point is to mimic the farrier in this equation. I would choose someone who is familiar with horses and their body language. Start back at the beginning, even though she has been good . This way you set her up for success by going back to her most comfortable place. You will quickly move through the paces. I would use the target at this point. You work the target while your friend handles her legs. This will give her something else to focus on and often helps to prevent horses from getting too wound up. If she is doing good I would suggest intermittent use of the target. This sounds like a lot of steps but I suspect she will go pretty quick.

Just when you get it worked out, get her nice and calm… here comes the farrier! Talk to your farrier and tell him/her what you are working on. After all, this investment of time will make his/her life easier down the road. Farriers want our horses to be good about trims and shoeing even more than we do! As he steps up to her ask her to target and click and reinforce. This will put her in the “work” mode. The target will be like an old familiar friend and will help give her a place to put some of that nervous energy.  I have found that the target helps the farrier become more of an incidental just like in her sessions.   If she is pretty nervous stay close and ask her to target now and then and reinforce. If she is somewhat calm I would stay nearby but not right at her head since she may fidget just trying to do something to please you. As things are going good with the farrier ask if it is okay to click and reinforce. Make sure that she is doing something worth reinforcing. Feed her well. If possible I would maybe do a foot or two, have him/her work on another horse and then get back to her after she has had a break. As time goes by she will get better and better and you can fade yourself out of this equation. She will realize that there isn’t anything to fear and it will just be part of her routine. Taking the time now will build her confidence.  Continue the sessions between the farrier visits even if she is perfect.  Remember the scale illustration?  This will build up the reinforcement on the correct side of the scales giving her a reason to want to stand still.

Well Susanna, I find my self wanting to go on and on but should wrap it up.   I hope this helped give you some ideas for making progress with your filly.  Thank you for sending in your question.

I will continue to answer some of the questions sent into Ask Shawna. There is much more to come so stay tuned and enjoy getting your horse On Target!

Question about treats, mounting and progress with a worried horse

This question was sent to me in FaceBook and I thought I would post it here for others who may have similar situations. I am glad to have a place to share. I removed her name just in case she wanted anonymity!!

So here is the question and response:

Hi,

I hope you don’t mind such a silly question in your inbox, but I was just wondering what size treats you use and if it matters as long as the horse can smell/taste it and take it from the hand without problem. Also, how can you tell if the horse is being motivated?

I cut my carrot treats pretty small for one horse…My clicker practice horse, a horse that is extremely sound and quite loving/affectionate. I wanted to gain some experience with her first since she is an easy horse to deal with. It was obvious that she thought this new game was just too cool and she was clearly motivated. We got down target training easily along with some basic ground manners, ground tying, backing up without contact, and better leading She does not belong to me, but my neighbors kindly let me borrow her for this experiment.

I recently started working on my own horse, who has many problems, is overall high strung, and is extremely nervous in general from past abuse from a previous owner. She’s a much different horse temperament wise than the one I started out with. I really can’t tell if she is motivated. I did make progress the first day unless it was a fluke. She won’t stand still for mounting and I have neither a mounting block nor a saddle. She just dances around nervously and then takes off as soon as I get on. I tried to target train her first so I could clearly tell that she was understanding, but she didn’t seem interested at all.

I decided to try again with mounting and told her to stand, then rewarded her after just a couple seconds. I gradually increased the time and started touching her, then moving towards her side, putting a hand on her back, arm over her back, and I finally got to being able to stand on one foot and have my other leg completely over her. This was all in a matter of 10 minutes. I’m not sure if she was more motivated by the treat (small carrot pieces) or by the fact that she is desperate for two way communication after being abused and misunderstood. I just can’t tell with her, she’s always so nervous and stand off-ish. She wasn’t reaching back for the treats or turning her head much either, I was just basically putting them in her mouth. It doesn’t sound like she’s really that motivated, yet, she stood there completely still and about as relaxed as I’ve ever seen her in the round pen.

Am I doing this right so far or do I need to find a treat that she is more enthused about? It would be nice if she could act like a normal horse for once in her life lol.

Shawna Corrin Karrasch July 31 at 7:29am:

Hi,
I am glad that your horse is with you. I would suggest that you try other treats and see if you can find something that she seems to respond to with more enthusiasm. Size and flavor can make a difference for some horses. Sometimes just peaking their interest at first and then they become more interested in the training process and you can then vary treats or just use some of their grain. When I am working with a bit in their mouth I recommend using something that will dissolve, like pelleted grain or sugar. Carrots will stay in chunks and they may not be able to chew thoroughly before I ask them to work.

However, I think the real issue is her sounds more like internal worry than the actual treat. You are making good strides with her relaxation but her apprehension may run deep. I recommend making the sessions be shorter and easier. Move a little slower and expect a little less with more reinforcement. Your on the right track but I suspect that she still feels a good deal of suspicion. Be patient and only move forward when you feel more boldness on her part. Often times horses won’t embrace eating treats when they feel some anxiety. The choice to take any treat shows some relaxation but that she doesn’t just get right to enjoying them could be a sign of some conflict in her psychological state. Maybe it is as simple as a better treat but I suspect not. I have also seen a number of horses be great on the ground but when the rider gets on they can shut down a bit. Take itty bitty baby steps (called successive approximations) Also it may help if you have someone get on with you on the ground doing target work. Essentially you are saying don’t worry about the rider just focus on me and the target and ignore the rider. This can help to change her association and to rebalance an established history and to re-establish a new, more positive reinforcement history. I suggest you move forward only when you have a enthusiastic attitude during the target sessions.

Shorter and more reinforcement per attempt will help. Also doing sessions before meals (or even using part of her rationed food) may help her food motivation. Eventually you will be able to do the sessions anytime or place but at first this may help you to set her up for success.

I also think that, if possible, using some kind of mounting block, step ladder, fence, something safe for her, will take a lot of the physical challenge out of the mounting process and can allow you to gently place your weight on her back. It can be very taxing on our horses. Also be sure there is not some sort of injury or pain adding to her discomfort. Check with your vet to rule out physical causes. Even though she may get a clean bill of health it doesn’t rule out the possibility of some past association with pain making her worry every time someone gets on her back. Fearful that the pain will return.. Whether it is physical or psychological, you can rebalance the scales for her and teach her to stand quietly.

You are on the right track. They are all such individuals. You will get there. If it is any consolation, my main horse Mint (he is in lots of videos from my website and in the book and DVD) was one of the worst horses I had ever worked. He would walk away from target training. He was very indifferent and a real quitter with no heart. You see quite the opposite now. Well, I hope that this helps you out and gives you some new ideas. It is hard sometimes to evaluate without physically seeing the situation. Let me know how it goes for the next step. I look forward to hearing of your progress.

Bridge the Horse Training Gap

In this clip, Shawna explains the reasoning behind using a ‘clicker’ or bridge signal and why it is an essential step to getting your horse On Target.