So if you guys remember, back in November I was teaching Quince to go " IN " the round pen for his food.
After the 3rd or 4th session (in November) , he learned it.
Here is a quick clip of him going " IN" the round pen for his alfalfa.
He was slightly resource guarding the food from Phantom (as you can see from his body language and how he has his ears).
I had to reposition myself on the other side of the gate so that Quince could "confidently " go in and not worry about Phantom coming for his food.π€¦ββοΈππβ(Sunday, December 12, 2021) 2:26pm
I had to turn the video off once he was in so I could give him his foodπ
Thurs. Nov 18, 2021.
I went out to feed the horses today and Quince always tries to snatch some food before I have placed it down or put it in the food bin/bowl.
To fix that problem, I have taught Quince the word AWAY, using positive reinforcement and giving him his alfalfa or grain as the reward. My Reward Marker is the word " YES" instead of a clicker. (It's just easier).
As you can see, Quince has his ears back and is giving information through body language to Phantom and Ajax there in the background to NOT come near " His" food...
He was being respectful and is giving me the correct behavior eventhough he would rather not for fear of the others coming for the alfalfa.
As soon as he was far enough away, I said " YES!!" and his ears perked forward because he Knew he did something Correctly and his Reward was the alfalfa. ππβ
I was feeding the horses and I was trying to get Quince to go through the gate.. he was holding water in his mouth and let it fall out as he was trying to figure out what I was asking him to do. He was even biting the fence and trying to get to the grain by sticking his head through the fence.(he was trying to figure it out..lol)
Quince thought that if he went in the opposite direction of what I was asking, that he had figured out what I wanted, but Phantom was watching and paying attention and figured out what to do... animals learn from watching eachother..its all about body language..
(Nov. 6, 2021 Saturday)
Calling the horses to come for their hay. ππ
I had whistled(i didn't get that on video) then I said HERE! The moment I saw Quince pick his head up and look, I marked it with YES... as the others looked and began to come, I marked it with YES and kept using encouraging words and energy to get them to continue to come my way for their alfalfa, which I had already put down for them.π (Sunday, may 23, 21)
Happy Easter 2020! I hope everyone is safe and well and finding time to work with their horses and ride where and when they can!π°π£π₯ππ
Today before I fed Quince and Phantom their hay, I worked with them to get them desensitized to having random objects on, around/near them. (It was Quince that needed it more than Phantom)...I rewarded with some "One and Only" pellets at first and then when I was Only working Quince, I was using the TOUCH behavior that I have been working on(since the last video I posted working Touch), as the Reward for Allowing those items to be On and Near him.π
π΄π΄As you notice, this video isn't very long and hence the training session isn't very long...and that's OK. Keep training sessions Short, ending on a GOOD note and try to work them a Bare Minimum of twice a day.(example: morning feeding and evening feeding).π΄π΄2/20/2016
(Video 2)....Hang with me, everyone. Its just me again working Quince and trying to take the videoππ.
So in the First video, I was working on shaping the behavior of touching my hand and marking the behavior. I had not shaped a Verbal Cue to the behavior.
In This video, I am shaping the Verbal Cue with the behavior. The word I'm using is " Touch".....So now, when I ask Quince to TOUCH, I will Mark(bridge) the behavior and treat. I will work on TOUCH throughout the week, working small sessions once or twice a day and when I feel that he is doing Well, I will begin to Increase the criteria.ππ
(Video 1) Target Training is a Great way to build confidence in the animal you are working with. Its a Force Free(and fun) way to teach new behaviors through Classical and Operant Conditioning using Positive Reinforcement because the Animal is making the choice as vs. You using Negative Reinforcement(or Pressure Release methods) to get the animal to do what you are asking.
(bare with me on my video, as it was just me trying to take the video and work with Quince and Phantomπππ). ...
As you see, I extend out my hand and wait for Quince and Phantom to take turns touching my hand. I am not adding a Verbal Cue at this point.
All I am doing is waiting for the behavior to occur , mark it with YES(ie. Bridging the behavior) and rewarding with a treat.
I will do this several times over the week to ensure they are offering the correct behavior.
I will add my Verbal Cue later when they have gotten good at offering the behavior.(I will show that in Video 2).
Working on desensitizing Quince to the green ball being tossed around him and bounced off of him...
I know he will not encounter items such as these out on the trail, but it will help to desensitize him to "unusual" things brushing up on him once out on the trail, and such..
I've already been working with the ball with him, but I haven't worked the ball with him with the saddle on.ππ
This was in 2015..this was the first time I had the fake rider ON the saddle. Quince was a little hesitant to move and I had to verbally encourage him to move and use negative reinforcement with the lead rope and verbally reward him when he moved because I had to use my one hand to hold the camera and the other to lead him. The more steps he took, the more he got used to the weight in the saddle and the awkwardness of the shifting and sloshing of the water in the bottles.
Quince did Well walking past barking dogs with the "fake rider" in the saddle.
We were working on desensitizing along with counter conditioning to distractions.
I am shaping the word COME through Classical Conditioning with Ajax.
I said COME, shook the grain bucket to entice him to come and when he took the First step towards me, I marked it(bridged it) with YES and then offered him the grain once he got to me.