Editor’s Note: Laurie Grann is a dear friend and a most excellent horse woman.  She recently participated in a week long clinic with Mark Rashid.  She wrote up her thoughts about how she is working his ideas into her every day riding.  The result is what follows.  Perhaps if we are all very nice to her she will contribute again!

Laurie and Dulcie

Today, my sister and I went on a 14 mile ride–2 loops of about 7 miles each.  The first loop was mostly flat and good footing and took us 1 hour and 20 minutes.  The second loop was climbing and lots of rock and ledge.  Quite challenging so there was lots of walking.  That loop took 2 hours. So plenty of saddle time to think about all the concepts and doors Mark Rashid showed me.

I guess I can sum it up to 2 major areas:   Starting with softness and Breathing.

On starting with softness, I need to start with a thought and offer that as my first cue and remain soft inside and outside.   Mark would say, from your inside to the horse’s inside.   I just never thought to start that far down the scale.  I could get work on just a thought before but always with a lot of preparation that involved aiding and sometimes quite strongly.

My mare, Dulcie, had a real strong desire to go forward on this ride so I had to monitor my thoughts carefully!   If I said to myself, “well maybe we should trot now,”  hup, there we were trotting along.   Very neat.   Also getting into the canter  was pretty easy with all the long straight lines on dirt trails, roads and fields.  Just think 1,2,3 & exhale.   We would flow so nicely  into the canter.  And, it was  mostly a smooth canter with good relaxation which was amazing considering the level of tension she used to carry–all balled up and tight.

Several times in the ride as we were  trotting along, I felt Dulcie take a Real Deep Breath.  I could feel it in my seat and leg.  She can be pretty tight so this was a good sign, and not something I usually notice her doing.

And that ties into: The second Big concept.  Breathing differently.  (For me and my horse.)   I tried to concentrate on breathing deep and rhythmically but also to stay soft even if/when she got tight.  I find that if she tightens then I tighten, especially my back and shoulders and then low and behold she tightens  more.  So keeping that soften in me is crucial.

I thought of the image for our energy the Mark gave us.  He says, if the horse’s energy level spiked to 8 I had to breath deep and try to lower my energy to a 2.   It had amazing effect!   After a few moment she would relax.   At first I thought I just got lucky but I had plenty of opportunities to try it over and over and for the most part it was wonderful.   She could not always respond immediately (what with other horses cantering up behind her and such) but within a few minutes if I stayed soft, relaxed and focused she came back to me.

Sometimes her thought s would fly way ahead and I felt like I was being dragged down the trail.  I just kept offering for her to come back to me and tried really hard not to get tight and tense in my back and shoulders, breathing slow and fully.   Even if I had to get a little strong for a stride or two, after maybe 6-8 -10 strides she would come back.

Related posts:

1. Whole Heart, Whole Horse by Mark Rashid
2. It is NEVER too late!
3. A horse needs to be OK inside

What got me thinking about this topic today was reading Mary Hunter’s blog post about her encounter with Steve Martin (the bird trainer!) at the 2010 Art and Science of Animal Training Conference. I love hearing about how people are successfully using positive reinforcement with all manner of species. Especially species that can just fly away so you’d better be right on the money with your training philosophy. It is a real inspiration to learn that good training practices are Universal.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise (more of a validation) to read that Steve had made the very same point as Karl did:

“A good trainer is able to give the animal power over their environment. This builds confidence and trust. We can do this by taking responsibility for what the animal does and giving the animal the right to say no. When things go wrong, it can be really, really easy to blame it on the animal. The animal is being stubborn, hard-headed, a jerk, pushing your buttons, messing with your mind, trying to annoy you, the list of labels goes on and on.”

It is up to US to take ownership of the situation, to make the right things easy and obvious and convince the horse that he can say — even better wants to say — Yes.

Why do No’s happen? Even if we’re trying hard not to, we’ll sometimes frustrate or block the horse in some way to cause the horse to put up that red flag. But, as Steve points out these little failings don’t need to be a deal breaker if you have built up sufficient reinforcement history. He calls it the Trust Account. Each time the horse needs to say No you are withdrawing from that Trust Account. Hopefully, your training strategy is based on keeping a very large cushion of trust so that those occasions don’t break the bank, as it were.

Check out Mary’s blog where she also has several write-ups from her experiences at both the 2009 and 2010 Art and Science of Animal Training Conferences. All worthwhile reading.

Then ask yourself, what is my horse saying about your training relationship?

Related posts:

1. Are you training with a jackhammer?
2. When Your Horse says “No” it might mean “Can’t”
3. New book by Karen Pryor

Read it here if you want to be reminded about it or missed it the first time.

In her article in Psychology Today titled, Trainers with Jackhammers Need Not Apply, Susan Friedman, Ph.D. talks about this very issue from a slightly different point of view.  And, hearing the same thing said differently is always a useful learning strategy.  She brings up two key points to consider when training (any animal, horses included):

• Identify what you want the horse to DO and reward THAT.
• Consider what is motivating behaviors that occur.

The first point is pretty straight forward and I’ve talked about it a gazillion times before.  The second one is important too but maybe doesn’t get as much play as it could.

Behaviors don’t just happen.  They happen for a reason… the Behavior somehow works for the “Behave-EE”.  By works I mean on some level the behavior is getting reinforced.  And the reinforcement may not have anything to do with YOU.  Horses (as we all do) are driven by needs that need to be fulfilled.  Safety, food, water, sex…  Safety is always high on the list and if often the source of problem behaviors with horses.  If they believe that their safety is at risk horses will do what they believe they must to feel safe again.  This is just one example but when ever stuff is happening, and it keeps happening, you have to accept that something is reinforcing it.  If it weren’t being reinforced it would stop.

What behaviors do you see in your horses that make you wonder, “What is reinforcing this behavior?”

Related posts:

1. What’s reinforcing THAT?
2. My secret weapon
3. Clicker Training: Myth vs. Reality

The topic was what I call my “secret weapon”. Do you want to know the secret to getting along with pretty much every horse? It isn’t a very secret secret since it is available to anyone for the asking. But, still, few horsefolk seem to know about it.

Now, while I did come upon this secret weapon by way of clicker training it isn’t about ‘clicker training’ per se. There are non-clicker trainers out there who apparently know the secret. People like Harry Whitney and Mark Rashid come to mind. But these are, it would appear, rare souls who somehow just get it. The rest of us, mortal folk, need more help. Enter clicker training to open the door to the secret weapon.

It sounds a little ‘new agey’ to say it. But, it is true that you get more of what you focus on. So, here’s Part A of the secret: Always, always, always reward the behavior you want. Part B is to reward the teeniest, tiniest particle of that behavior the instant it occurs and then nurture it from there. Part C is, while all that is going on you Ignore what you don’t want.

Perhaps you are thinking, what? Should I just let the horse walk over me? If that is what you were thinking, that’s not what ignoring means. And therein lies the trouble with understanding this secret weapon! I will try to explain.

It isn’t about letting bad things happen. Ignoring means not allowing a behavior to get reinforced. It is about staying focused on what you want, even as you deal with the other stuff. And, sometimes you are going to have to deal with unwanted stuff. It is about not getting drawn into the drama of the negative. So, yes, you will position yourself to redirect those things that are unwanted, but, always toward the very clear picture in your mind of what you do want.

This is the reason why having that clear picture and focus are so important. When you are focused on what you want to happen, you will see those things starting to happen and your timing of reinforcements will be optimal. If you are busy with the drama you miss opportunities. You’re late! A good horseman is never late because he sees the thing that happens before the thing that happens happens!

Training is a bit like weaving a tapestry and at any moment you need to be able to see (in your mind’s eye) where any given thread (good or bad) is leading. One always must start with that clear picture or else the result will just be a mess. I am talking about horses here–although it would be true of tapestries as well!

To be most successful with this principle you need to recognize when what you want is starting to happen (possibly at a cellular or energy level) so that you can help it flourish with guidance and support. Read that (guidance and support) as some kind of reinforcement which doesn’t have to be food. Sometimes the most powerful reinforcer for a horse is you to go with him.

Important note: If you go with undesired behavior you reinforce it. And this is the main reason why undesired behavior continues. It is being rewarded!

In order to take advantage of a certain shift of weight or a glance that might lead somewhere positive one must be watching for said shifts or glances. This takes “eye training.” Most of us start out not realizing how small a tiny thing actually counts. Quite frequently the problem with our horse training is that we miss the first signs. If we miss the first signs then the horse is left certain that this human isn’t listening and either acts out or shuts down. Which one do you have?

Once you start to observe and correlate tiny changes to bigger changes down the road you can select out certain ones and shape them up into the longer term behavior that you want.

It wasn’t until I started clicker training that I began to see how this might apply to everything I do with horses. Before clicker training I could only be in awe of someone like Harry who’s ability seemed mysterious and unknowable. Now, I can now see that he always sets the horse up for success, always stays focused on what he wants and ensures that only the things he wants get reinforced. All the stuff that clicker training taught me.

Related posts:

1. Are you training with a jackhammer?
2. What’s reinforcing THAT?
3. A Better Way to Deal with Bad Behavior

The truth is, it doesn’t really matter how we word it, if we approach each horse assuming “they would if they could” (rather than looking for ways to make excuses) well, things have a way of working out for the better.

Recently, on the Classical Dressage group on Yahoo, someone posted this quote by Colonel Carde–Ecuyer en Chef (Chief Rider), National Equitation School, Saumur, France: “If I knew where I wanted to go,and was clear and precise in my requests, with my aids, that I would achieve everything I wanted.”

This, to me, is basically the same sentiment as mine only expressed from the rider’s point of view.  It is our clear and precise requests that convinces the horse to believe he can do what we ask.

Related posts:

1. My Book Gets a Shout-Out
2. Horses are big…
3. Everything You Wanted to Know and More about your OTTB

The author, Heather Davis, with Cheyenne

By Heather Davis

I am a certified equine “massage” therapist, applying principles of touch to encourage horses to release old neuromuscular strain patterns and relearn how to exist without previously held pain and resistance. Much of my work is informed by the work of Ida Rolf (known as “Rolfing” or Structural Integration), osteopathy, shiatsu, and myofascial release. Many horses, when asked to “let go” of old tension and memory stored within the body’s vastly intelligent network of innervated structural soft tissue, will take some time to relax into the willingness to release. I am asking horses to tune into parts of their body that may be uncomfortable. These are areas where, often, the horse has spent a great deal of time and energy avoiding. So, it is not surprising to see horses feeling fidgety or anxious about my request for their attention to be brought back into these areas.

Usually, when confronted with this “fidgety” response from a horse, I take it as a message to readjust my approach. It can take a bit of time initially to figure out how to get the horse willing to be with me and make releases. When I began working with Danke, Sharon’s tall and lovely chestnut warmblood mare, we had a little difficulty getting her to settle in and relax into the release process. Even the simple presence of my hand on or near some of her troubled areas would find Danke tossing her head, pinning her ears, and moving her body to avoid the touch. Since my work’s goal is to inspire release, it certainly wasn’t helpful to be battling Danke into demanding that she stand still and be

Danke

present with us. Sometimes those demands would lead to more resistance in her body and it would be the two-step-forward, three-step-back approach.

Sharon asked me how I felt about us clicking Danke for the behavior (namely the relaxed and willing behavior) we were looking for. Would it be distracting? I thought it would. I felt like shifting Danke’s attention “outward” onto the click and reward process with Sharon might take Danke’s attention away from me and my hands and from going “internal” with her attention. But, we decided to give it a shot.

I stood on a hay bale (Danke is a tall drink of water!) over Danke’s right hip area. Sharon stood at Danke’s head and we broke the whole process down into little pieces. First piece: asking Danke to stand next to the hay bale without moving while we briefly place a hand on the area of trouble. When Danke is still for even a moment in this, Sharon clicks and offers a reward. (This step actually consisted of a set of sub-steps.) Second piece: lengthen the time Danke is standing still next to the hay bale and remaining still (and relaxed) for a hand on her hip. Third piece: I wait for the “feeling” in my hands that Danke has shifted her attention to her hip and sacrum area. As soon as I feel this, I click, and Sharon is waiting at Danke’s head to offer the reward. Little by little, we are shaping Danke’s attention by rewarding her when she makes the decision to soften into my touch. It is working! And Sharon and I are so excited about what we have found! Teamwork! Danke is willingly deciding to bring her awareness into her troubled areas and offer release.

As it turns out, the use of “clicker training” was NOT distracting for Danke’s task of focusing inward. Not only was it not distracting, it was actually helpful! It allowed us to prevent instilling yet more resistance in her mind and body with continued requests for her to be still. Once she understood what we were asking (soften into my touch), the physical release process actually seemed much easier for her. The mental brace against the release of her hip was much more of a hurdle than the actual release of the hip itself. That is, once we opened the door with clicker training for Danke to let go of the mental guarding of her hip, the actual hands-on release work for that same area came relatively easily.

What a discovery!! I look forward to continuing this exciting work with Danke.

[Sharon's Note: Heather Davis is an Equine Massage Therapist. You can reach her via email at hdavis1234 @ yahoo.com.]

Related posts:

1. It is Not About the Food
2. How to get a horse OK with clippers
3. Equine Massage for the Performance Horse

The whole pile burning experience was really quite a revelation. And, since I can relate pretty much everything in life to something horse training related it should come as no surprise that I found myself thinking about what an amazing metaphor for ‘taking the time it takes’ the experience was.

I mentioned that the pile of stuff was really wet. So, that meant it was not at all inclined to ignite. Even pouring on lighter fluid only results in a quick flash of flames but was no real resolution to the problem. With some lighter fluid and some bits of paper I got a tiny little fire going. I found that if I walked away at all the tenuous little flame would fade out. The only way to keep it going was to stand there and feed it little teeny twigs continuously. Not too many or it would be overwhelmed, not to few or it would burn out.

We had this HUGE pile and I honestly was having trouble imagining it burning that day at all. But, having nothing else to do that day any way, I just stood there and kept feeding. My husband and I speculated about how long this would take. Would it even burn at all or would it just be days of this one twig at a time business? A couple hours into it I’d managed to burn a small dent into the pile but there was still So MUCH remaining. Come ON! You’re kidding, right? We decided that since we had all day we’d just keep chipping away.

I don’t even know when it happened. I’d resigned myself to being there for days. But, miraculously somehow the larger branches started to burn and after that it was a nice steady fire. By the end of the day what had been a giant pile of brush and branches was a small pile of ash. How amazing was that! In fact, two days later, even with some more rain the ash was still hot and when I moved it around a bit a piece of wood that still remaining ignited.

Heather and Pippen

I guess it shouldn’t be too hard to see where I’m going with this? I’m often asked how it is I can be so patient. But, in reality there isn’t any patience involved. Harry Whitney says it is about Faith. Faith that if you keep at it, putting one foot in front of the other, chipping away, you will make it.

I’m surrounded by these little miracles of ignition. The story that comes immediately to mind is that of Heather and Pippen. Heather started with me a year or so ago as a person who’d ridden a bit 20 years prior but was now 40-something and starting a young horse. When I joined the scene she’d gotten on Pippen but wasn’t really riding him. And there was quite a bit of anxiety about the fact that when Pippen became anxious it became dangerous for her. So we did a lot of ground work with Pippen and for Heather lots of developing of mechanical skills for rope work and riding.

Last week all the ‘twig work’ we’d been doing ignited. Due to weather constraints Heather had not worked much with Pippen the days prior to our lesson. When she got on him she started to feel tension build in him. It was clear that soon he was going to have a melt down. In the past, Heather might have ‘seized up’ due to anxiety about the impending melt-down. On this day, everything changed because instead of seizing up, she kept riding. She lead him out of his anxiety, deflected the tension, and then in a matter of a minute went from near explosion to completely relaxed and focused.

You GO Heather! Houston We Have Ignition!

Related posts:

1. Finding what motivates a change
2. Changing Habits One Step at a Time
3. The Paradigm Shift: How a Different Way of Thinking Can Change Everything

I read a book, years ago, called Don’t Shoot the Dog, by Karen Pryor. One might erroneously think this is a book about dog training. But, it is really about the bigger picture of how reinforcement and punishment work and why reinforcement is always the preferred solution for getting what you want. And, not just from animals. Humans are ‘animals’ as well so all this stuff applies. Clearly the lady at Walmart had not read the book or she would have had some other ideas.

I had another experience recently which got me thinking about punishment. Punishment, by definition is used to decrease the frequency of a behavior in the future. The lady at Walmart used the threat of whooping to try to get the kid to be still. But it didn’t work. The challenge when dealing with people (and animals too) is determining the motivation for certain behaviors. If the kid wants attention and gets it (even though Mother is annoyed) from his point of view, there is no problem. Mom would have to ACTUALLY beat the boy right then and maybe he might ‘quit’ offering those annoying behaviors, but there would be a lot of fall out to deal with. Punishment just isn’t the best solution. OTOH if Mom had put some thought into developing acceptable ways to attract attention then both she and the boy might be having a more pleasant trip to the store. The problem is reinforcing desired behaviors requires that we think ahead to how our actions affect others.

Interestingly, punishment can actually be quite effective in some cases but usually in ways we don’t want! A lot of times people (because they haven’t read Karen’s book?) people are completely oblivious to the ways in which they punish others–for behavior that would reasonably be considered DESIRABLE! For example, let’s say you give someone a small thoughtful gift. It is just a way to say, I’m thinking of you and I care, nothing big or fancy. It might even just be passing on some information which might be of use to that person because you want them to be successful. And the person’s response is, “hmm well, that’s not really anything I can use.” How likely would you be to repeat that behavior (reaching out to that person)? Probably not too often if you feel your efforts are not welcomed. The behavior has just been punished.

So anyway, I just got to thinking how -easy- it is to squash (punish) another’s interest in us with a misplaced word or action on our part. No matter what we can always HONESTLY say, “I appreciate the thought”. It is those small responses to the little things that add up over time to better relationships — with people AND horses.

Related posts:

1. What’s reinforcing THAT?
2. Are you training with a jackhammer?
3. When the grass is greener over there

Several people weighed in with their techniques for biting or kicking back those horses who offered such behavior. I shake my head reading these suggestions. Not because I am against corporal punishment (even though I am) but because in my view the better solution is to avoid a situation in which I get bit or kicked in the first place. Not too many people are even suggesting that maybe the horse is biting for a reason and maaaaybe someone might be missing the forest for the trees in their enthusiasm for ‘showing the horse who’s boss’.

Then, one of the list members, Audrey Summers, wrote of her experience working with some of the ‘rankest’ horses one might ever have occasion to meet on the track. I was enthralled with her story from start to finish! She was in the worst possible position and demonstrated that paying attention to the “things that happen before the thing that happens happens” and rewarding the right thing, yes, actually works to keep you safe.

There are no ‘quick fix’ solutions to real difficult problems. It always involves
paying attention as a life style. Since, I’ve said, probably more times than I can count, that we need to pay attention to the little things, long before they are big things, you can’t imagine how happy I was to read Audrey’s account. I asked her if I might publish her story here and she graciously agreed. Enjoy!

I am a five foot tall woman, and my appearance is anything but intimidating. On the track I had issues with people and horses. In trying to articulate how I was able to work with horses who are all basically big and stalled 24 hours a day except for an hour of exercise. I had a big learning curve, and I certainly got bit and kicked and pushed around (especially at first, when I thought my sympathy and admiration for these horses would keep them from hurting me). I took it so personally, getting bit, kicked, or even just ignored, and I did cry some embarrassed tears, but I had to get past that whole “Black Stallion” thing that so many kids grow up on. But there was no way I was going to be able to go into a stall and take over the space as a big man with a big voice potentially could.

I think for me it is about where you place yourself, body language and timing. And I did develop a certain tone and voice to mean business -but there is only so far I can go with that. Some of this sounds cliched -but there is also respect and being constantly listening to what horses are telling you. One of the first horses I had was one who hated to be bridled, and would practically flip over about it. What was I supposed to do at five feet tall and nervous with a Marlboro Man type exercise rider breathing down my neck to get the horse ready? I used carrots and baby talk, and practiced when things were quiet and took extreme care about how I touched his poll. It worked, and soon he dropped his head and opened his mouth -the formerly flightly flip over backward guy. And it really impressed people that this small girl could get this horse to have his bridle path clipped without a twitch. Obviously, this would not have worked with an aggressive horse, who at that point in my experience would have eaten me alive, but I was tuned in enough to see what this horse needed. I know many folks who would find many things wrong about doing it that way, or don’t want to hand feed horses, or whatever. But it worked, and I have used it again (sometimes having to put on the bridle by opening the headstall, etc) on racehorses that have driven impatient others to almost maddness and abusive by refusing to open their mouths or let it be pulled ver their head. Being only five feet tall means I have to be patient and find other means. I have been harrassed and scoffed at about being sentimental and such (what other think I’m being, anyway)-but a horse can’t train and win races if you can’t get the bridle on…

The last truly dangerous horse I worked with was a successful racehorse who was so rank he could not be galloped and was trained by jogging on a hotwalker and racing frequently. He was highly sensitive, and a cunning and ferocious biter. (He was a brilliant chesnut, with a very refined head -I thought I had met Flame from the Black Stallion series…) The trainer I worked for had more years of experience than I ever will, but he had the mindset that he could handle this horse straight on. That worked for a while until the horse grabbed him by the arm in the stall (when on the tie chain in the back) and shook him and would not let go until we ran in the stall and got the horse off of him. It was a horrible bite to the biceps, and this horse waited days for the perfect moment to make his move.

How did I manage this horse at my size? Timing, timing, timing. And always being aware of where I was spatially. Haltering him in the stall was a very careful dance. I had to wait for the right moment to move in after the teeth gnashing and rearing. I always worked with him with a chain over the nose, even when he was tied to the wall. That way I could brush him (with a very soft brush or rag -he was one of those Chihuahua coated horses that was painfully ticklish) and take my eyes off enough to groom. This was not so I could shank him, but so I could “listen” to him by feeling his energy and where his head was through the leadshank in my hand -and give a little tweak back if necessary. I would drape it over my forearm when I had to poultice his front legs and be vulnerable down there putting on bandages. I could “feel” where he was through the line.

I also adored this horse, I loved his power and honesty-and I respected that he had obviously been through a lot and still had his nobility intact -even if it made him dangerous. And did baby him in the ways I could -I gave treats by hand from outside the stall (just the right distance), lots of admiring (but not mushy) talk, was very careful not to tickle him while grooming, etc. Lots of ego boosting and reassuring stuff, which I think he needed to be a good racehorse. But I never doubted for a minute he would have really hurt me given the chance, and it was essential that I not romanticize his beauty too much. I never assumed, like my boss did, that we had a certain understanding between us, or that I had him figured out. Everyday I had to be at my best. The last day I worked in that barn I finished working on him and was in the aisle picking up my stuff when he just managed to nip me on the back of my ribs. It was a horrible nip that was a blood bruise, the only thing saving me was that I wasn’t closer. I remember looking at him and seeing the gleam in his eye -a very malicious “Gotcha!” So in no way had the rapport changed and we become friends or whatever. I hadn’t changed him or understood him in a certain way that unlocked him or made him better (which wasn’t my job). I just figured out how to be around him without getting killed.

Ideally, he would have been taken out of racing and allowed to be a regular horse and had his behavior addressed in a long term way. I doubt that he would ever be a safe horse, and wonder what happened to him. But I know in that environment, woe to the person who kicked him in the belly or tried to bite back, or really discipline him. I have seen horses get ruined, break through stalls walls and tear themselves apart when someone (usually men, but not always)has enough and isn’t going to put up with what a horse is doing or “getting away” with anymore. I learned a lot and got to take care of some pretty nice horses who drove other grooms crazy because I could work around their issues and they could get to the races. But I had to be very flexible, what where I was, and learn good timing, among all those other little hard to articulate things. How do explain that or recommend things to do -very hard, and one is often misunderstood or seen as cruel or brutish.

And finally (sorry for the long post, my toddler is not going to give me time to edit it down), I don’t work on the track anymore, and I would never tolerate that kind of behavior or continue being around a horse like that if I couldn’t improve him and remove the danger. I wouldn’t ask a horse to be in that state of mind or stay in sport or situation that necessitated him being that amped up or unhappy. Fortunately, I have not run into anything close to that kind of stuff in the recreational boarding barns I now inhabit, but I do see many horses getting away with obnoxious behavior and pushing their owners around, nipping, etc. And, as this thread demonstrates to me, it is harder than it seems to try to explain or show people what you may want to recommend, even the basic stuff. And even in the extreme if a horse needs a more physical response, I am not sure how to endorse it without being misunderstood.
–Audrey

Related posts:

1. Bad Behavior Doesn’t Just Happen
2. What’s reinforcing THAT?
3. When the grass is greener over there

Because I am a dressage rider people seem to think that my use of clicker training is to by-pass the classical process. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is important to state clearly that nothing could be further from the truth–in my world. Clicker training is a method by which we can reinforce behaviors. It doesn’t tell us what to train or the steps to use to get to the end goal. Those choices need to be made by the trainer and they need to be customized for the horse at hand. So the choices that I make may be very different from those made by someone with different goals and experiences. In other words, there may well be someone out there who does want to use clicker training to by-pass the classical training process, but that is not me. My choices will be based on what I’ve learned about the best of horsemanship and the classical process.

My goal is to achieve the result of a horse who is calm, focused, relaxed, freely forward, balanced, and supple in all that we do. I know too much about how little it can take for a rider to interfere with those goals by being unbalanced and stiff. Rather than try to train the horse to ignore these rider errors I will teach the rider to become ‘easy to carry’ by being calm, focused, balanced, and supple herself. In other words, the classical requirement for the rider to come to the training with an independent seat still applies. Any clicker training which might be applied to the situation is on top of all that.

Yes, clicker training is ‘easy’ to do and ‘anyone’ can do it. But the quality of the results will always be directly proportional to the trainer’s experience with the end game–the trainer’s vision of the results. If the vision is flawed or incomplete well then so will be the results. This goes for everyone, me included. Which is why I’m continually pushing myself to learn more. The journey is truly never ending! And that is probably why I love it so much.

Related posts:

1. Bad Behavior Doesn’t Just Happen
2. Does your horse have the right to say No?
3. Clicker Training: Myth vs. Reality