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| Unsuspecting test subject: Bubba |
Materials needed:
-horse
-treats (lots of treats!)
-clicker
-target (orange cone)
Check, check, and check!
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| Target, clicker, and treats (carrot coins). |
First step: I started by transferring value from the treat to the clicker. This may sound complicated but it's really quite simple. You click, feed treat, click, feed treat, click, feed treat, etc. Do this about 10 times. When you can click and your horse starts looking to you for a treat you know he understands the game.
Second step: Add a target. Put your horse facing you on one side of a fence/stall guard/etc with you on the opposite side. This way the horse can't invade your space and doesn't just mug you for treats the whole time. VERY IMPORTANT! Be ready!!! Have your treats in your pocket or on your person somehow and your clicker in your hand. Hold up the target (you can use almost anything for a target, but to start out it's good to use something big and easy for the horse to see), most horses are naturally curious enough to sniff it (as long as they aren't afraid of it, in which case you should use a different target). As soon as your horse starts to move his nose toward the target, click & treat! Move the target away when you feed. Repeat this until your horse actually touches the target with his nose.
Things to keep in mind: Don't move the target to the horse. To start with, you should hold it reasonably close to the horse so he understands it is something to investigate. If your horse stops touching the target don't try to make it easier by moving the target closer to him, just wait him out and make sure he knows you have treats.
What to do if....
Your horse doesn't sniff the target out of curiosity?
Do not touch the target to your horses nose, this sets a bad precedent! Make sure it is close enough that he can see it and touch it easily. Wait him out. Eventually he will turn his head or look around and bump the target by accident, click & treat! You might have to wait even longer the second time because your horse hasn't yet connected the dots between what he did before he got clicked & treated.
Your horse loses interest?
Keep training sessions short. I count out 10-20 treats and only do that many repetitions in each session. In the beginning your horse won't have the attention span to do more than that. Also, be sure the horse likes the treats you are using. Don't use peppermints unless your horse loves peppermints, don't use apple chunks if your horse doesn't think apples are all that great. If your horse goes crazy over his feed then you can use handfuls of feed as treats.*
*If you use feed as a treat make sure to subtract the amount you used as treats from his next meal to avoid overfeeding.
My session with Bubba today was pretty short, about 15 treats worth. I stood on the opposite side of the hitching post so we were facing each other. I held up the cone so it was nose-level and about 12 inches from his nose. He's a pretty curious guy so he immediately sniffed it. I clicked & treated and then held the cone back up. The second time took longer and I only got a touch when he turned his head to watch another horse in the neighboring pasture. But after that I could see the wheels turning. He tried sniffing me, nudging me, sniffing my hand in my pocket, etc. After that didn't work he turned and touched his nose to the cone, I immediately clicked & treated.
Next session will go much the same but I may put the cone a bit farther away next time as he starts to understand the game.
Good luck with all your training endeavors!
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| Not clicker related, but here's a cute baby born about three weeks ago at the farm! |
