We love watching Ira the Mustang slowly letting go of her reactivity toward whips. Ira sets the pace here, and she may feel differently toward the whip tomorrow. We adjust accordingly as we work to change her feelings about it as she starts to understand she is safe. You can tell how hard she's thinking - but it's good to see her thinking now instead of reacting and switching into flight mode! She is a sensitive little mare.
Your horse shouldn't be hard to catch. In fact, ideally they should come when called!
It can be disheartening when your horse acts like they don't want to come interact with you, or frustrating when you have to play chase around the field. Maybe it even feels discouraging when you turn your horse loose after a ride and they take off like they want nothing to do with you.
I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to settle for a relationship with your horse that feels begrudging or reluctant or frustrating.
The answer to having a better relationship with your horse isn't being dominant over them. You won't suddenly succeed by convincing them to see you as their leader, or getting them to accept you into their herd. Those ideas are relying on outdated misperceptions of horse behavior.
There are two things we can do that will deepen our relationship with our horse and result in them feeling excited to see us - the kind of excitement that brings them running when called.
We can make being around us a rewarding experience through positive reinforcement training. As their learning history with us builds, these good experiences bulk up savings in our relationship bank and encourage trust over time.
Speaking of trust, making our horse feel safe by being attuned to their emotional needs - by not pushing them over their stress threshold, by helping making training a good experience for them through R+, and by listening to and respecting their boundaries while also meeting their needs - will also deepn our relationship with them.
If our horses feel safe and have fun when they interact with us, they will look forward to time together.
If you look at the activities you do with your horse now, can you tell how your horse feels about them? It can feel discouraging if we are recognizing that our horse acts like they don't want to do what we are asking or be around us.
But it doesn't have to be this way. We have strategies at our fingertips
Horses were not domesticated out of their biological need for movement, trickle-fed forage, and the companionship of other equines.
Yet, equestrians act like the domestic horses just somehow don't need these essential things. As if isolated stalls and meals with hours between feedings are desirable to horses and not just a design of human convenience.
When people encounter issues with horses that "don't like turnout" or "can't get along with other horses" or other reasons along those lines, the reality is that there is an underlying issue that needs to be solved. More than likely, the turnout environment is not appropriate and enriching enough.
I can't tell you how many barns I've been a stablehand for that have told me their horses "prefer" stalls, then turned them out in boring little turnouts with no forage or enrichment, either no horses or horses they didn't get along with, and a single water trough or other resource the horses fight over.
If your horse gets fed in their stall and has nothing to do in their turnout and lacks appropriate companionship, it is sure going to look like they prefer their stall - because they probably do compared to that! Just being outside isn't enough. The turnout environment needs to meet their needs.
I've seen "turnouts" that are not much bigger than a good size stall, with an electric fence and a bucket of dirty water, and the horse is bored and starts pacing to come inside after ten minutes. Therefore everyone concludes that horses only need a few minutes out of their stall to stretch their legs and that's it. This mentality is simply misinformed.
With the help of track systems and paddock paradises (and a little ingenuity), we can transform turnouts into enriching and fulfilling spaces for horses where they will be less likely to stand at the gate all day and fight. But we have to be willing to recognize that a small square plot with nothing but a bucket of water and an electric fence is not turnout, it's just a recipe f
I am always pushing back against the pervasive belief that horses misbehave on purpose because they "feel like it" or they "lack respect" for their handler.
All behavior serves a function for the organism. But when we apply problematic labels like "dominance" and "respect", which are human constructs with little real application to horses, we will perceive problem behavior in a way that is more about us than the horse.
There are many reasons a horse would behave in an undesirable way, such as:
โ๏ธ Pain and discomfort from a health issue or ill-fitting tack or even unbalanced hooves
โ๏ธ Lack of an appropriate lifestyle that incorporates the companionship of other horses they can touch, freedom to move around freely outside of the confinement of a stall, and trickle-fed forage
โ๏ธ Inappropriate diets such as those high in sugar and lacking appropriate nutritional balance
โ๏ธ Fear of the handler or environment due to lack of exposure or even traumatic experiences - horses need to feel safe
When a horse does something we don't want, our instinct is to immediately correct and stop them. Although this may yield instantaneous results (the horse stops doing it in that moment) and we can get on with our plan for the day, this ignores 1) the horse's attempt to communicate with us that something is "wrong" in their eyes, and 2) we don't address the reason the behavior happened in the first place.
I sometimes encounter people who push back against this with "but sometimes horses are just testing us and need a reprimand". There is no real evidence to support that horses are just making up reasons to subvert your authority. That's a very human-centric, egotistical belief.
We have to be willing to set ego aside and see the world from the horse's perspective. Everything we are asking horses to do is pretty unnatural. The least we can do is pay attention to the way they communicate with us and try to get to the root of any issues that come up.
๐ธ Alula havin
Are you participating in the #whatspossiblewithrplus challenge this month?
Try replacing pulling on your horse with hand targets!
Prerequisites:
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Your horse understands the clicker/food rewards
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Your horse has targeting under stimulus control
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Your horse has good food manners trained
If you aren't carrying a target around with you around the barn, you can use your hand in a pinch if you teach your horse to target it. I like hand targeting 1) if the horse has good food manners established (since you're going to be clicking for them touching your hand), and 2) in case I forget or don't have a handheld target on me.
I use a hand target around the barn to redirect my horse if she gets distracted, concerned, or a little strong.
Hand targets can also be useful for teaching other targeting behaviors, like moving your horse over!
Are you going to try this behavior? Let me know in the comments โฌ๏ธ
Questions about getting started with clicker training? See my previous reels for short video introductions ๐ฅ
Check out my student and her amazing Arabian mare, Adora, who have been learning to do liberty together ๐ค
I love to teach a halt cue right away with the clicker and Adora is a typical super smart Arabian. Already excelling at these new behaviors!
I love liberty and I take a somewhat nontraditional approach to it. Adora is trained with pressure/release so we can use cues she already knows while utilizing positive reinforcement to teach new behaviors.
With liberty I take an individualized approach with each client depending on their goals, how heavily they are into (or not into) positive reinforcement, and what works best for the horse.
Adora's owner wants to have enriching and fun activities they can do on the ground while they're not riding. Liberty is a perfect match for them to have something enjoyable to do right now. I'm so glad to be able to facilitate their learning process.
It's very rewarding to see clients having fun with their horse and making progress together!
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#horsesofinstagram #libertyhorse #horses #horsetraining #equestrian
Alula and I are working on her willingness to leave my side to go touch a stationary target (the orange cone).
Oftentimes what happens with R+ trained horses is they get a little glued to you if you're the food dispenser. Teaching them that they can do something at a distance and you'll bring the food reinforcer to them really helps with this issue.
Protected contact and feeding in pans and buckets can help reduce feelings of frustration about you being the cookie dispenser too.
Alula tends to get frustrated if she is asked to leave my side and will often hover a little too close. This is just due to past training mistakes, and we are always working on improving ourselves.
I care a lot about how my horse feels during training and it's interesting to me what Alula expresses she doesn't like versus when she has happy, neutral expressions. It's good real-time feedback for what I need to change and do better with.
Might not look like much, but this kind of training is super important because it's so foundational!
At the end of the video you'll see me bend down to leave a pile of pellets in front of Alula (her jackpot) indicating the end of session and giving me a chance to hide the cone so she doesn't continue to target it.
Welcome to another "learn clicker training in under 60 seconds" video! Today's topic is on teaching your horse to follow the target.
After my last episode, you might be wondering, what's the point of reaching targeting? Targeting is the foundation of R+ based training and is utilized in countless ways - lungeing without pressure, leading at liberty, riding with R+, etc.
When we teach following the target, you can also do this by holding out the target between the rails of a fence and work in protected contact. This helps us remember not to try to correct the horse if they rush ahead or get frustrated, which can easily happen when we first start this activity. Remember, correcting/punishing your horse for doing the activity "wrong" will make them more frustrated!
It's up to us to shape the behavior that we want with small steps our horse can understand. Click frequently, feed big handfuls, give your horse time between cues, keep the target away from them when you're not cueing with it, and be generous with them. When Alula gets a little ahead of me I feed her slightly back, helping her stay beside me so she doesn't rush too far. I usually don't have to do that but she was a little off today due to just having lost the last of her baby incisors!
So keep in mind, you're just having fun doing an enjoyable activity together - don't get frustrated at each other! It's a learning process. I like to keep a bucket nearby so if my horse seems like they're having a hard time, I can toss a handful or two of their food into it and let them go munch while I rethink my training plan. I also encourage reinforcing them for standing still and patiently waiting for their cue; it's important to reinforce stationary behavior when we are training movement, to help the horse stay calm and relaxed. Wait to cue your horse to target when they are calm and paying attention.
It's okay to be imperfect. This video is imperfect! If you notice your horse looks frustrated while doing this ac
Practicing with the handheld target without a barrier between you and your horse โฌ๏ธ
When your horse is calmly performing the targeting behavior with a fence or gate between you, then you can introduce the targeting behavior while standing next to them.
If your horse is so psyched to touch the target that they can't stand still, they're too focused on mugging you, or getting frustrated quickly, then go back to protected contact. Feed them in a bucket instead of by hand if necessary, make sure they have hay or other food available and aren't too hungry, and consider switching to a lower value food reinforcer (like a type of pellet you can feed in handfuls rather than a single, super delicious treat).
Oftentimes treats are a little too exciting and they chew them very quickly. I like to feed handfuls of teff hay pellets to promote chewing and give the horse more time between cues.
Speaking of time between cues, this video is shortened for the sake of Instagram so everything looks like it's happening very fast. Give your horse time between cues - not so long they get impatient/distracted, but you don't be moving so quickly you have them scrambling and anticipating.
There are a lot of moving parts and things to remember, aren't there? Until you have the mechanics of feeding, clicking, and cueing with the target down it's best to stay in protected contact to avoid accidentally making your horse frustrated.
Also, you will notice in this video that Alula moves her head around a lot - she is distracted watching beyond the arena as horses are being led in from the pastures. Even though her nose turns where she's looking, I use the handfuls of pellets to guide her back into that default position I want rather than feed her where she is.
We want to promote calm, patient horses as we train. This skill comes with time and practice. Pay attention to your horse's body language and behavior, and adjust accordingly. They give us very helpful real time feedback.
Good luck
Targeting is a great way to introduce your horse to the concept of clicker training! Most horses pick up targeting very quickly, but it definitely depends on their personality and learning history.
It's also great for practicing your timing with the clicker and the mechanical skills of feeding your horse. Remember, feeding them away from their body and their head facing forward in line with their chest is a great way to teach them manners with food.
We use protected contact with the horse behind a fence or stall door or barrier of some kind to prevent them from mugging us. If the horse gets overstimulated about the food, we can just drop some food in a bucket or even just on the ground and walk away.
It's important to keep in mind that walking away from this activity may be punishing for your horse, so at the end of your short training session give them a big handful of food and tell them "all done!" to let them know clicker training is over. Put away your feed pouch and clicker and food. Otherwise they may continue to try to earn food or even mug you.
If you feel yourself getting frustrated or wanting to correct yourself, if you find yourself saying "No!" to your horse, something is going wrong! Take a break and reevaluate your approach. Reach out to someone experienced for help. Record yourself practicing your session and see if you can spot any mistakes.
Good luck and have fun out there! ๐ฅ
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#horsetraining #horses #horsetrainer #clickertraininghorses #positivereinforcement #clickertrainer #horsebehavior #horsewelfare #horsetrainingtips
