Skeptical About Clicker Training?
Answers to some common questions about clicker trainingIt is Not About the Food
I thought I would follow up with my own observations of the experience with Danke and the massage therapist. As you may recall (and if you missed it you can read about it here) Danke was not OK with having Heather standing on the hay bale while she worked on her croup...
To Rome Via the Scenic Route
I wrote this article in 1998. It appeared that year in the New England Dressage Association's annual "Salute" publication. It is interesting to read it back 11 years later. Although I've grown a lot in those years the core message remains true. I would only make one...
Clicker Training: Myth vs. Reality
I get asked this question a lot: What is this clicker training business and what could it possibly have to do me? My goal in this article is to dispel some of the more common myths about clicker training that have emerged over the last several years as the method has...
Why Clicker Training?
Let's be pragmatic. Compared to horses, we humans can't compete if the test is one of brute strength. We need to enter the training arena with our wits about us and use our brains to get to the horse's brain. The more we can get the horse to want to go along with our...
The Paradigm Shift: How a Different Way of Thinking Can Change Everything
Let me start by highlighting the fact that clicker training in of itself is not a complete system for training, as dressage is. It is not intended to be. Clicker training is a means for reinforcing behavior. It doesn't dictate what behaviors should be trained. This is...
Developing a Soft Feel with Clicker Training
I've been working with a new horse recently. It has been so interesting because it has given me a chance to really think about what I click for in the beginning, especially when the horse isn't "with me". I wanted to write it down while it was still fresh. This mare...
Bad Behavior Doesn’t Just Happen
Having been to numerous shows and clinics I am often struck by how willing people are to put up with problems (like tension, resistance, taking off, bucking) with their horse as if there is nothing that can be done about them. I really do think that the reason this...
Everything counts
Every day I am reminded again and again how every little thing counts to the horse. Horses want to get along with us. They are watching us closely for signs of meaning behind the things that we do. Right or wrong doesn't enter into it. In fact, it is safe to go by the...
Teaching a horse to stand for mounting
OK I'll be honest!! I can't stand watching the little dance of line up horse to mounting block, he moves as soon as rider starts to get on block, so rider stops getting on and repositions the horse, and the whole thing starts over again ad infinitum. Good grief it...
New life for a gaited show horse
This is an update on Pamela, a horse I talked about back in February. Just to remind you, Pamela is a 6 year old Tennessee Walker who had been used as a ’show horse’ prior to being acquired by my client, Michele Williams. In the previous installment of her saga I had...