THE LONG WINDING ROAD

A story in which we sit down to reminisce about stuff...

Sharon: I have to say, I think you started it. It took me a few years to catch up with you, but now you've pretty well turned me into a monster! Any regrets?

Laurie: About turning you into a monster? Ha! <grin> No, I know what you mean. No, regrets, not really. I mean even the time I spent 90-bucks for one day with a clinician in a wheelchair--about which I do occasionally question my sanity--even then I learned a few things I've never forgotten.

S: S: Hey-- I got a lot out of that clinic!

L: Yeah, but you didn't spend $90 for it! But, hey, that's okay--payback time is coming. <grin>

S: You're such a trouble maker. If I recall correctly, you started trouble again with the clicker training! And you call me crazy.

L: I may have started it, but you refused to let it go! Had to go experimenting on the horses, didn't you!

S: Yes, but was I right? You have to admit we've come a long way since we started with the clicker. Personally, I consider the clicker connection to be one of the most profound turning points in my horse training experience. I know that's weird, being that it is so far from the mainstream, but it is true!

L: And it all began with me! Seriously though-profound in what way?

S: Well, you heard about it first on one of the dog lists. But, the minute you explained the concept to me, I just knew it was Something Important. Still, it took me a year of playing with my dogs to finally get it and begin to see that what I was learning was central to resolving my problems with Tulsa. Duh!!

L: What do you mean "get it"?

S: Remember when we taught the horses to do the Spanish Walk? Oh, if we'd known then what we know now. Anyway, what clicker training did for me was elevate my awareness of reinforcement theory--you know, a la Skinner--especially positive reinforcement. Also, since clicker training is about shaping behavior out of the tiniest flickers of a possibility of a behavior I learned to recognize even the smallest of efforts and learned to consistently positively reinforce those efforts. I also learned more about how animals learn and that we humans often make huge erroneous assumptions about what we think they know.

L: And, uh, what does the Spanish Walk have to do with all this?

S: After I taught Tulsa the SW, I kind of put it aside. Meanwhile, I was learning more and more about operant conditioning. One day, I was working on, I don't know, I think it was turn on the haunches. Whatever it was it involved collecting the walk. And then, out of the blue, Tulsa offered the SW.

L: And, this was significant to you? Why?

S: Because in a flash of inspiration I knew that she had no idea what I wanted from her, and this was her best guess. She thought about it, figured that the collected walk was preparatory to SW and not knowing what the point of all my other fumbling <grin> was about just...guessed.

In an instant, I realized that all the foot stomping and little "hissy-fits" in the past were not about "don't make me" but rather signs of her frustration for not knowing what the heck I wanted from her. My entire point of view changed in that instant.

L: Has that change in view point altered your relationship?

S: Oh, enormously! It seems simple now, but after that I realized how unaware of what I was doing and why. And also what she knew and how well she knew it. I was making a lot of assumptions. When I started to really pay attention, I started to see the holes. No wonder she was confused and "not listening." I wasn't saying anything of value!

L: So, was this just an attitude change or did you actually start doing clicker training with Tulsa?

S: Well, of course, there was a big attitude change, but I also did start clicker training as well-which was a pretty illuminating experience. People make these assumptions and then work around the horse with all manner of man-handling just to get going. However, it isn't supposed to be like that! When I looked at Tulsa as a clean slate and asked her "What do you really know?", she said, "Not much." So, I started Tulsa over from the ground up.

L: And you used clicker training to do that? Why? People have been successfully training horses without clicker training for thousands of years.

S: I realize that it isn't necessary. But, now that I understood the technique there was no reason not to use it. In fact, I believe it actually puts me closer to what all those great trainers really do but don't realize it. Clicker training is based on simple rules of reinforcement. All training is about some sort of reinforcement anyway, and knowing the rules actually makes it easier to understand how and why any successful training technique works.

L: So, then if clicker training is about reinforcement and so are all other training techniques, what's so special about clicker training?

S: It is a way to point out to the horse exactly what you want. The click of the clicker tells the horse, "YES! That is exactly right!" So much of riding and dressage is about all this big picture stuff like, balance and rhythm. Most regular-folk just fumble around not really all that clear about what they are doing or why. This has to be confusing to the horse!

In clicker training you learn how you have to break a problem down into small achievable pieces and then to reward even the smallest effort. When you start trying to do that you realize that you'd been skipping steps for a really long time and it is no wonder progress is slow. Of course, the best of the best somehow manage to do this without thinking and don't "need" clicker training. We mortal people can use all the help we can get.

L: What do you mean the click tells the horse "yes that is right." And, for the really important question, how do you coordinate the clicker and ride at the same time?

S: Just talented I guess. <grin> Just kidding! Seriously, you don't actually have to use a clicker for clicker training. The click of the clicker is simply a conditioned reinforcer (CR). You can teach the horse any signal as a CR. I use the word "Good" for example. Other people make a click noise with their tongue.

The clicker itself isn't important, what is important is the idea of marking the right answer with some kind of signal so the horse knows what you want. I will say though that the clicker itself is a particularly good CR because it perfectly fulfills the requirements of an ideal CR, that it be unique, distinct, consistent. The voice works but variations in tone actually make a difference to horses and that can be a potential point of confusion. I actually use both.

L: Yeah, but people have been saying Good Boy for a thousand years how is that different?

S: Good question! It really isn't hugely different. That's what so funny about people's reactions to clicker training-they think you are totally changing the rules of classical training. When if fact it is about as classical as it gets. In practice though, there is a subtle but important difference. Most people do say good boy or pat the horse or give it breaks or treats to tell the horse he's done a good job. However, because it isn't done in any sort of systematic way it doesn't have the focused power of clicker training.

L: So it takes a longer time for the horse to understand what you want?

S: That's exactly right. What I've done with the clicker training is make the CR signal (like "good" or the click) into a laser sharp reinforcement tool. So, as we are going along I can pick out particularly spectacular responses andÉ underlineÉthem, so to speak, which says to the horse do that again.

L: So, how exactly does the horse learn that the "click" means "Yes, that's it?"

S: Pretty simple really. You just pair the signal, with a reward the horse wants. So, you'd click then give a treat, over and over until the horse comes to expect the reward upon hearing the click. The best thing is to start with tiny bits of a favored food, like sugar cubes because the horse makes the connection very quickly. As you go along though you will vary the food with other rewards like rest breaks, or releasing the rein or scritchies.

Once you've established the conditioned reinforcer, in other words the horse is conditioned to expect a reward when the signal is heard, you can go to step two which is teach the horse that his behavior controls theÉ ahÉ "reward vending machine". <grin> In other words, he can have the reward, but he has to figure out what behavior of his pushes the button. To get this far may take as little as one or two short sessions. Once you are at this point, you can just simply start to integrate the CR into your daily work.

L: And that's it? Problems solved?

S: Yes, and no. Remember it isn't just about the clicker and the rewards, but what is reinforced. I learned from the dog training how important it is to be observant and to watch for even the slightest hint of a behavior. This I think is where many-many!-people go wrong in general. They keep expecting it to be perfect so they don't reward the slightest hint in the right direction.

L: That requires that you be able recognize the slightest hint in the right direction, wouldn't you say?

S: Absolutely! The problem with the standard approach to training is people think of things like Balance or Rhythm as the smallest increments into which you can break the training program. Those, in my opinion, are more what you might call directive aspects. But they aren't the basic skills or responses the horse has to learn. To me, the horse has to understand simple requests first. Here's what the right rein should mean to you, here's what you should do if I squeeze with both my legs. Stuff like that. Simple. Simple.

L: Like Krya Kurkland says, "Reins mean stop. Legs mean go."

S: Yes! Unless the horse recognizes these basic fundamentals, how can you even think to worry about something like Rhythm? That isn't to say that you don't get to that pretty quickly! But, a lot of people would benefit from spending some time thinking about just one rein or one leg. Does the horse understand that one single request? And, equally important would the rider recognize a correct response if the horse gave one?

That's why going all the way back to square one-to the groundwork-was a useful exercise. I had to start to learn to recognize one thing at a time. As I've gotten more skillful, I can keep track of several things at once. I think a lot of rider frustration is the result of thinking they must do everything at once and feeling like a failure when it isn't possible. I would urge everyone to find out just how clear they can be with just one thing-say like, "whoa!"

L: Or, Spanish Walk! That was a really beneficial exercise because it sure made it clear just how hard it is to teach the horse to do one simple thing. It took, what, 4 days for the horse to realize he was to lift his front leg? Then two weeks to get it under saddle at walk!

S: Yeah, coordinating the collected walk with the whip aid at the shoulder for the SW was the hardest thing. But, all in all a great exercise in observation, feel and timing.

L: Isn't that what it is all really about anyway-feel, timing, consistency, clarity? If clicker training can bring trainers a step closer to realizing those critical factors then don't you think they owe it to themselves to do it?

S: Absolutely. And, to their horses, too.