Time to get geeky. In this video I am working on a new reinforcement loop with Baloo. A reinforcement loop is what happens between the click (or other marker) and the food delivery. It helps you set up the next repetition of the behaviour you are working on by strategic food placement. This is easy with dogs as you can just toss the food to reset but takes a bit of thinking about with horses. I am sure they could be trained to follow the food as you toss it - something to explore I think.
#clickertraining #clickertraininghorses
If we can train cats (and various zoo animals) to ‘load’ with positive reinforcement, why do we resort to force with our horses? What is it about the horse that makes us think we need to use pressure to get them to comply? Wouldn’t it be great if your horse loaded like little Oreo the cat? 🐈⬛
But I can’t train my horse with food, he mugs me…. Yeah, so does mine! Setting up the environment makes a huge difference for horses like Harry. I currently train most behaviours with scratches. Thankfully (?!) he has sweet itch so he is happy to work for them as long as I don’t ask too much. Today I thought I’d have a go at using food to reinforce him stopping grazing and then standing with his head forward. As you can see there is lots of yummy grass (he is restricted most of the time so that’s a treat) which is way more reinforcing than my hay cobs. This means he doesn’t feel the need to raid my food bag. In this video I am marking (clicking) for head up, he gets a treat and then I give my cue to graze. The fact that I can walk away from him, whilst wearing food on me, is a huge step in the right direction. It’s baby steps and short sessions but finally feel like we’re making progress. This boy has taught me so much 😍
Harry learning to back up towards a hand target using scratches as a reinforcer. Apparently my nails aren’t scratchy enough so 💩 scoop it is!! I’m toggling between ‘wait there’ and ‘back up’ so he doesn’t just try to follow me around demanding scratches all the time. Also, for a behaviour that involves Harry stepping towards me, in any direction, it’s important it is ‘on cue’ so he doesn’t do it unless asked. I don’t want those big dinner plate feet stomping on me!!
We’ve had Harry for a year now and I finally feel that I am getting to understand him. I don’t think he is ready for ‘formal’ training yet. Working with him with food causes a lot of frustration and by doing so he was just practicing being frustrated! Working with pressure causes dangerous reactions from him so that is not an option. Putting hay out in the field or taking a bucket into his stable caused him to go over threshold. This now seems to be improving as he is working out that food is plentiful. I have had to separate him from B as she would resource guard not just food but also me, getting them in from the field was becoming a challenge. Now he is out just with Teddy and his demeanour has changed so much. Going into the field no longer puts you at risk of being bowled over and he follows me around like a puppy when I’m poo picking. I am using scratches to reinforce behaviours at the moment and have just started taking him on walks around the field looking for preloaded buckets. This way he is learning that having the halter and rope on with me attached is a positive experience, he is working with food but without the frustration. I am beginning to be able to guide him in the direction I want. I feel that I should point out that in this video I am using a rope halter. This is not for control - if he decides to tank off I would let go (the field is secure), but because it is different to his flat headcollar. I am working on a history of positive associations with that one and will reintroduce it when he no longer finds it aversive. This horse has made me take a totally different approach to training and has made me realise that managing the environment and his emotional needs must come first. I try to make every interaction with him a good experience. I so hope that in the future we will be able to get back to ridden work, but for now it’s about building our relationship and trust in each other.
I’ve been working on ‘lunging’ with my horses recently. Got to get their fat behinds moving somehow!! This was Harry’s first go and gives you an idea of how I started with the others and how it is progressing.
Working with multiple dogs has really got me thinking through how I train. It’s made me realise how important a default stationary behaviour is. Something that I need to revisit with the horses.
Imagine you’re watching a scary movie with your friend, you didn’t really want to watch it because you hate horror, but you did it for her. Then out of the corner of your eye you spot what you think is a massive spider, you’re petrified of spiders. Your friend tells you to shut up, the films just getting good, she knows it’s a dirty old sock that she discarded earlier. You’d rather investigate the sock to make sure that’s all it is but she won’t let you. How are you feeling?
What’s this got to do with horses you ask? Watch this video of B out on a walk this evening. Leaving her herd mates is the scary movie, she’s already a little anxious, the sheep she’s spotted over the hedge is the spider, I know it’s a sock but she wants to check it out. I’m the friend, but instead of telling her to ‘shut up’ im going to let her see for herself that it’s just a sock.
Try to see the world through your horses eyes, there are spiders everywhere, even if they look like socks to you🕷 🕷 🕷 🧦
#sfequine #equinebehaviour #scarymovie
It’s so nice to be out hacking again. B is getting more confident each time but.... urgh teenagers 🤣
Here’s a short video of an impromptu training session with Harry in the field today. I think it’s important to point out his todger 🍆 🤣. Penile dropping is believed to be a sign of overarousal (not necessarily in the sexual sense), I think in Harry’s case it is frustration - he really wants the food. It is interesting to see, having watched the video back, that he withdraws it when I start feeding on the ground rather than from my hand. This could be a coincidence of course and I would have to experiment to see if this is the case. I was very pleased with how this session went. It was only very brief - about 3 minutes in total - but I managed to have a good rummage around his fetlock without him lifting the leg. Poor boy has ice balls on his feathers 🥶
#sfequine #clickertrainingforhorses #equinebehaviour
Today I am going to expose myself (not literally, don’t worry - nobody wants to see that and it’s way too cold 🥶!!). I love sharing videos of training with my horses when it goes well, to edit out the bad bits and make me look like I have a clue about what I’m doing! However, that’s not real life. Whilst it is positively reinforcing for me to get comments from people who are impressed with what I have achieved, it is perhaps not very useful for the observer. How can you learn from watching it go well when we all know that it doesn’t alway go to plan? Harry came in yesterday with another abcess and unfortunately this time it’s a hind foot. Let me tell you something about those hind legs, those bad boys kick, and they kick hard! This isn’t great as I have not put much work into hoof handling them, I admit I have been avoiding it and it’s way more fun playing with his fronts - he picks those up on his own don’t you know? 🤣. I’m now in the position that I really need to, at the very least, lift them enough that I can place the poorly foot in a bucket so I can tub it. Training a horse who is in pain is not the ideal situation but needs must. I set him up in an environment that that he has previously been relaxed in - see my last Harry video - to have some hope of a successful outcome. In the last video I was asked what I would do if he moved away when I go to get the food. Well today you get to see! I start on his foreleg and you may notice that I don’t give the cue to lift it (my hand a little way from the back of his leg) as I don’t want him in hoof lifting mode. My criteria this morning was just to be able to run my hands down his leg and him keep all 4 feet on the floor. To ask for hind leg lifts at this stage would be asking for trouble. Over the next few sessions, which will need to be closer together than I would normally do, I will begin to ask for him to lift the leg with the abscess. He is not as relaxed in this video as he was in
We were very lucky to come across this gorgeous herd of Exmoor ponies on our dog walk today 😍🥰
Equine behaviour consultant and positive reinforcement trainer. Ridden coaching with a focus on behaviour and biomechanics. Covering Devon, Cornwall and Somerset
