OOPS, this blog has moved to my website!
Read this article on my own website.
Don’t forget to press the “follow” button, so you’ll never miss any updates!
4 Tips to improve your Horse Training Skills
Tag Archives: fun with horses
“There is nothing wrong with Negative Reinforcement applied properly”
Said someone once to me. I didn’t say anything, but my body screamed: ‘Yes, there is….‘
Although I couldn’t explain in words why I felt that way, now I do. Since it was hard to catch it in words, it is a long explanation, so please get seated.
When I talk about horse training, I like to use the scientific definitions in order to keep the language as clear as possible and to avoid emotional and subjective projection. Let’s start with some definitions because this statement (“There is nothing wrong with R- applied properly”) is one that causes a lot of commotion among horse people. Continue reading
Share with friends:
Tips to make Winter easier at the Barn
Here are some barn hacks that will make your life easier at the barn in winter. This winter is one of the coldest in Vancouver, BC, Canada since decades. We had a lot of snow too. Not the nicest weather to work in if you work at a barn.
#1 The joy of using de-icers
I have discovered the joy of de-icers in water buckets for horses. The only drawbacks are that you need a power point nearby and they are expensive with $70 – $100+ apiece. If you can use them, they are definitely worth it.
The horses had to get used to them, some horses preferred the icy water above the warmer water at first. It took some horses up to a week to get adjusted to the weird things in their bucket. But it is worth it!
All the horses had access to water due to the de-icers. Something very important for horses that are already compromised with a body score of 2 or 3. I work at the SPCA, so most horses are not (yet) in the best shape. If you feed more hay, see tip #7, horses need more water. If they don’t drink enough they can get colic.
It also saves a lot of time, not to peck ice out the buckets multiple times a day. Frozen buckets are more likely to break.
#2 Insulate your water buckets
For some farm animals de-icers are a hazard. For instance bucks and goats with horns. We put their buckets into a bigger bucket and insulate the space in between with straw. You can also use shavings or whatever bedding you are using. As long as it holds air and provides insulation. If the water bucket is outside, find a spot out of the wind. This is not foolproof, but every bit helps.
#3 Don’t provide warm water in order to prevent it from freezing
Don’t provide your horses with warm water in their buckets. Warm water can freeze even quicker than cold(er) water. This is called the Mpemba effect.
#4 Provide more bedding for the horses
I find flax the best bedding, but only if you use a really thick layer (15 cm or more). Take out only the manure and leave the wet spots as they are. The bottom layer becomes stable and provides warmth and good insulation. Don’t poke around in the wet spots as the ammonia will come free.
This kind of cleaning will work with other bedding materials as well, although flax absorbs moist the best. Better than shavings (too dusty) or straw (this will be very heavy to remove after a while and doesn’t make a soft bed).
#5 How to deal with slippery ice patches after spilling water
You can put some bedding on it (shavings work well) or use some Stall Dry (or cat litter). If you have an arena with sand, keep a wheelbarrow with sand in a spot that doesn’t freeze at night so you can use the sand.
#6 Stay warm at the barn
The other day I read the best trick ever to warm your cold hands in a few seconds. Totally safe too. Just put your hand in your own neck (or someone else’s). I tried it on myself and it really works like a charm. It is only cold for a few moments in your neck but then your hands are warm. I read this tip on Pure Cottongrass, one of my favorite blogs.
Another great tip is to keep your head warm. Wear a toque or ear warmers. You don’t want to risk frozen earlobes. On the other hand, if you are working you will stay warm.
Wear lots of layers. Especially when you are working. Once you’re warmed up, you can peel of a layer.
#7 Make sure your horse stays warm
You are not the only one who wants to stay warm in winter. The best way is feeding your horse a lot of roughage. Slowfeeder nets prolong the time your horse eats, it keeps the hay clean (horses don’t waste it) and they are easy to fill if you use this trick. If you have really big ones it can even save you a feeding round.
In some areas the winters are so cold you have to blanket your horse. Do your research before buying a blanket. Make sure the blanket fits your horse properly.
And a no brainer: provide shelter from the elements for your horse.
#8 House-train your horse
Scooping poop in snow is like searching for Easter eggs (only equestrians will understand the happiness of finding manure in snow). If you house-train your horse to poop in a certain corner of his paddock or pasture you know the Easter bunny’s secret when it has been snowing overnight. A big pile of manure doesn’t freeze as quickly and is easier to remove than frozen, rock solid dung.
House-training your horse costs time but think of all the hours you save in the next 15-20 years if you can half your poop-scooping time.
#9 Snow shoveling made easy
Keeping the pathways you use often snow free is essential. Spray cooking spray or horse detangler on your snow shuffle to prevent the snow from sticking to it.
#10 Have fun!
Not really a hack, but still important. Have some fun!
Build a snowman in the pasture and stick lots of carrots in his head. Then let your horse investigate this weird intruder.
Take your camera with you to the barn and make dozens of snow pictures of your horse. Here in Vancouver snow is not a common thing in Winter, so I made sure I have enough snow pictures of Kyra to last a decade.
If your horse is used to driving, you might look into skijoring or letting him pull a sleigh.
Sandra Poppema
Read more:
Sandra Poppema, B.Sc.
My mission is to improve Human-horse relationships by connecting equestrians with their inner wisdom (you know what is good for your horse if you look into your heart) and sharing the simple principles of learning and motivation. I offer online horse training courses to give you the knowledge and experience you need to train your own horse in a safe and effective way, that’s FUN for both you and your horse. Win-Win!
Sign up for HippoLogic’s newsletter (it’s free) or visit HippoLogic’s website.
Follow my blog on Bloglovin
Share with friends:
Have you done a Clicker Challenge with your horse?
Here is an emoticon hint for you, if you are curious what you will learn this month:
😍<–…<–…<–…<–…🐎
How would that make you feel?
Register today. Click here for more info and sign up. Join us, it will be two weeks of fun with your horse!
One of the first Clicker Challenges I participated in myself turned out to be very useful and even saved me money on my vet bill a year later! That is what it’s all about: learning fundamentals in a fun and challenging way.
Sandra Poppema, B.Sc.
My mission is to improve horse-human relationships by educating equestrians about ethical and horse friendly training. I offer coaching to empower you to train your horse in a 100% animal friendly way that empowers both you and your horse.
Sign up for HippoLogic’s newsletter (it’s free) or visit HippoLogic’s website.
Share with friends:
Tons of Winter Training Ideas
Here in Canada it is Winter again. Normally the climate is mild here in Vancouver, BC but this winter we’ve already had snow that’s lasted for almost two weeks.
We all know that frozen pastures limit our horses ability to exercise themselves and horses generally are more spooky and more forward in cold weather conditions. Riders with an outdoor arena can’t ride due to the frozen ground. How can you get the most out of this time of year? Here are some tips.
Work on Simple behaviours
Choose to work on some smaller, but still important behaviours that will make your life easier and improve the relationship with your horse. Does every ride start with a bit of irritation because your horse lifts his head every time you want to halter/bridle him? Does he always walk a few steps while mounting?
How does that influence your relationship? Imagine how you would feel to have a horse that would put his head into his own halter or bridle, align perfectly next to your mounting block and stand still until you give the cue to walk on?
Simple behaviours you can work on in Winter that would improve your life at the barn can be:
- A self haltering horse
- A horse that aligns along the mounting block and wait patiently for your cue to walk on (watch video)
- Head lowering
- Mat training
- Backing
- Patience (standing head forward, neck in a neutral position)
- Targeting
- ‘Table manners‘ for your horse: teach him to stop mugging you
- Trailer loading
- Stop grazing cue (video , blog post or sign up for my free training)
Have some fun with your horse
If the weather isn’t allowing you to ride you can spend time with your horse , groom him and do a wonderful photo shoot. Maybe you can have eternalize some of your equestrian goals you worked on this year.
You can take your horse on a walk to hand graze your horse. This would be a perfect time to start teaching him how to quit grazing on a cue, since winter grass is less enticing than the juicy green Spring grass that will be back in a few months.
Start trick training and have a good time! Here is a good book that will get you started on a few easy tricks.
What does your favourite Winter training looks like?
Sandra Poppema
Are you interested in online personal coaching, please visit my website
Share with friends:
Fun Friday: Teach your horse to Pick Up items
One of the most fun tricks I ever taught Kyra is to pick up items. It is very versatile too because once your horse can pick up stuff, you can teach them to hand it over.
Kyra can now pick up and hand over a flower, her food bowl, my clicker, a dog toy, a whip and anything else she can grab with her teeth.
How to start
I started with something really easy to pick up for Kyra: a piece of cloth. In the beginning Kyra didn’t know what to do with it, so I knotted a carrot in it. That stimulated her interest.
I clicked and reinforced for small steps like touching and sniffing the cloth, then examining it with her lips and after a while she tried to grab it with her teeth. Yeey: jackpot! This took a lot of sessions, to be honest. From this early start I developed a clear strategy to set horses and people up for success if they want to train their horse to pick up items, so that they don’t have to get stuck in this part of training.
Putting a cue on the behaviour
Once Kyra understood this new trick, she wanted to grab everything off of the ground. That is the reason I started with an item that was easy to distinguish: the cloth. The cloth itself became part of her ‘cue’.
I didn’t want her to grab my brushes or other day-to-day items. What did happen, so that’s why it’s important to know when you can start adding a cue (a ‘final’ cue) to the new behaviour.
Once she learned what to do with the cloth I added my final cue to it, the verbal command ‘Pick up‘ with a pointing finger to the object I want her to pick up. After Kyra learned the cue I started teaching her to pick up other items. I bought a dog rope toy that is safe and easy to grab. I wish this would have been my training object.
Shaping the behaviour further
Later on I practised with her empty food bowl, my gloves in winter, her halter, the lead rope and so on. It turned out that it is a very versatile exercise. Then I raised my criteria and I threw the item a step away. Now I only clicked and reinforced after picking up the item that was one step away.
The next criterion was to move towards me one step with the item in her mouth. Then I taught her to hold the item until I could grab it. In this way she learned to put it in my hand instead of dropping it in front of me.
Play fetch with your horse
Now Kyra can fetch an item that I have thrown several meters away and bring it back to me. One day I asked her to pick up her toy while sitting on her back. She did it! I use a treeless saddle, so I have to use a mounting block to get in the saddle.Wow, now I don’t have to dismount anymore whenever I drop something from the saddle. Bonus!
This week I stumbled upon a lovely video of a horse that picked up three rubber rings and put them on a cone. I don’t have rubber rings, but I asked Kyra to put her toy in a bucket. That was fun too.
Here are the videos of Kyra’s tricks.
Video 1: Kyra playing fetch from the saddle
Video 2: Kyra giving me flowers (that would be a nice trick to perform one day)
Video 3: Kyra putting her toy in a bucket
Video 4: Kyra handing over her food bowl after eating
If you like the videos go to YouTube and subscribe to my channel so you won’t miss new clicker videos.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Need help training your horse?
Are you a compassionate horse owner who wants to build a strong friendship with your horse? Would you like to understand your horse better and help your horse to understand YOU better? Get access to many online clicker training courses and a fabulous, supportive R+ community in our HippoLogic Clicker Training Academy. Check out the link!
Not sure? Start with a free clicker training assessment to get taste of what it feels like to work with me. When you have a specific struggle that you want to overcome, don’t hesitate to contact me. In this assessment you’ll discover what’s holding you back from accomplishing the things you want with your horse. After our conversation you’ll know exactly what to do, in order to move forward towards your goals.
Happy Horse training!
Sandra Poppema, B.Sc., founder of HippoLogic & HippoLogic Clicker Training Academy
Join us!
Share with friends:
Fun Friday: Easy Tricks & Tips for Fun
Get out of your normal routine and do something new and exciting with your horse this weekend. Here are some tips and tricks you can do.
One day tricks
If your horse is already clicker savvy and knows basic behaviours like leading, standing still, targeting, follow a target, mat training and backing it is very easy to teach one of these simple tricks.
Clicker trained horses are very eager to learn new things because in their experience there is a lot of good things (clicks and treats) involved. It is fun for your horse! Want to start clicker training? Start here.
Horse hug
Basic behaviours: standing still while handler stands next to shoulder and targeting.
Teach your horse to follow the target that you keep behind your back, click and reinforce for every inch his head moves in the right direction behind your head. Last step is to fade out the target. More detailed instructions can be found in this book Horse Trick Training
Standing on a pedestal
Most horses like to be a bit taller and think this is a fun exercise once they have learned it. Mat training is a good basic skill to start with.
Set your horse up for success and click and reinforce for every small step like approaching the pedestal, then investigating it and touching it with a hoof, et cetera. Raise your criteria slowly.
Before you know it your horse wants to stand on the pedestal. Therefor it is equally important to teach him to backup and dismount it. Don’t forget to reinforce that, too.
General tips
- Keep the sessions short (5 minutes) and repeat over the weekend.
- Give your horse a short break in between the sessions.
- Make pictures or a video on Sunday to record your success. Please share your pictures with me on Facebook.
More fun things to do
- Explore your surroundings and take your horse for a hand walk or hand grazing session. Read here how you can teach your horse to leave the grass voluntarily.
- Ask a friend to go with you. Do a photo session with your horse during the sunset.
- Hide a treat under a cone and teach your horse to find it.
Have fun with your horse! If you have fun tips & tricks to share, please write them in the comment section. I am looking forward to hearing about your fun time with your horse.
Sandra Poppema
Are you interested in online personal coaching, please visit my website or send me an email with your question to info@clickertraining.ca
Share with friends:
How to… make the arena more appealing
In my previous post What if your horse doesn’t like arena work I already mentioned that the first step is to find out the reason why.
If you can exclude physical reasons like pain from the saddle, medical reasons like hoof cracks or maybe an unskillful (or rude) rider and so on, you can look for solutions to make your horse more happy in the arena.
What floats his boat?
It is obvious: positive reinforcement (+R) of course. This way of training will make your horse more eager to work for you. With +R you will trigger your horses brain. He has to find out what made him earn that bridge signal (paired with a lovely reward). He will be challenged to think. Horses like that. Really they do!
Variation
If your horse gets bored in the arena because everything you do is very predictable, try something new. If you always ride him, try some at liberty work, long reining or horse agility. Variety is the spice of life.
Use more positive reinforcement to create a better association with the arena or ‘work’ he has to do. Change your Rate of Reinforcement, your treats or your exercises. Raise your criteria (slowly). Trick training is a lot of fun.
Challenge your horse and do something crazy together like ‘101 things to do with a cardboard box’. You can bridge & reward him for every new exercise he comes up with: touch the box with his nose, left hoof, right hoof, kick it forward, play fetch with it, shake it and so on. Don’t bridge a second time for the same idea.
Give him a ball (small or huge) to play with, or to wake his curiosity. Make sure he is not afraid of it.
Relax time
Don’t forget: there is a time to work and a time to play. Do nice relaxing activities in the arena.
I like to let Kyra roll before we ride in the indoor arena on a rainy day (she loves rolling in hog fuel when she has a wet coat) or after our ride.
If your horse likes to be groomed, groom him more often in the arena. Spend time scratching his favourite spots. Watch a video about TTouch or horse massage and try if your horse likes that.
Feed him in the arena. If you have an outdoor arena where patches of grass grow, let him find them. So he can display his exploration behaviour.
Don’t forget: it can take some time before a negative association changes into a positive one. Make haste slowly.
What do you do to create variation or make the arena more appealing to your horse? Share it in the comments!
Sandra Poppema
For tailored positive reinforcement training advise, please visit my website and book a free intake consult!
Share with friends:
The clicker, for me a symbol of …
WP has a Photo Challenge with the theme ‘symbol‘.
For me the clicker became an important symbol. It represents force-free horse training, friendship, fun and a life time of learning. Let me explain.
Force-free training
The clicker represents positive reinforcement: training behaviour by adding an appetitive to the horse in order to reinforce behaviour. There is no force or coercion in positive reinforcement training.
Friendship
When I started to use positive reinforcement I had to learn about what my horse likes and dislikes.
Positive reinforcement is a way to give my horse a choice in training and therefor it gives her a voice. For me friendship is not only listening to my horse but also acting on the information she is giving me. Friendship means that I sometimes have to change my approach if my horse doesn’t like it, can’t (physically) do it or won’t do what I ask for whatever reason. For me, the clicker symbolizes this.
Fun
Learning new skills, exploring new ways has always been fun to me. The clicker represents also the fun the horse displays when he figures out what the training question is. The eagerness my horse shows in working with me: always coming to the gate in the pasture as soon as she sees me and the soft loving nicker to greet me.
Life long learning
Switching from traditional and natural horsemanship methods to positive reinforcement forced me to develop new skills so I could communicate clearly what I want from my horse.
I had to learn to listen better to my horse and I had to develop my observational skills in order to pinpoint (click) the desired behaviour. I had to figure out what motivates my horse in order to reinforce the behaviour I am teaching her. I studied the learning theory and learning curve of animals intensively. Something I probably wouldn’t have done tothis degree if force was still my go-to method in training and riding horses.
The road to positive reinforcement has been (and still is) an exciting journey for me. I am still fascinated every day by how learning actually works in horses and how we humans can influence it. It is a life long journey with fabulous views!
What represents a clicker for you?
For tailored advise, please visit my website and book a personal consult!
Share with friends:
Fun exercises to start clicker training
Having fun is important because it keeps you and your horse motivated. If you start positive reinforcement training/clicker training you can be overwhelmed by ‘everything you have to do differently’. Not only do things in a different way, but also exactly in the opposite way.
If you come from a traditional background training and riding horses or you come from a natural horsemanship background, you can have the feeling that you’ve been doing it ‘wrong’ all along. That’s not true and it is also not a motivating thought.
People who change their approach because they are looking for a more ethical way of training or the method they use to train horses doesn’t feel good anymore, are often attracted by positive reinforcement (R+) methods. In R+ it’s common to give the animal a voice in training. Giving the animal power over what is happening to him builds trust.
Start easy, stay motivated
Set yourself up for success. A good way of starting positive reinforcement training with your horse is to start with easy, seemingly purposeless and completely new exercises to your horse that give a feeling of accomplishment when you reach it.
Start easy and choose something fun so you will stay motivated. Be gentle with yourself: you are learning a new skill. Give you and your horse time to learn and discover.
Choose an exercise that looks impressive but is simple to teach your horse and simple for your horse to learn. Don’t start with complex behaviours before you have enough basics under your belt.
Consider it ‘fun’ time
If the new exercises seem purposeless there is no stress if you decide not to follow up with training and there is no pressing timeline in your mind (like a farrier appointment that’s coming up for a scared or green horse).
Choose something completely new. In this way the horse doesn’t have an existing association with the new things he and you are going to learn. You start with a clean slate.
Trick training
If you want to practise your mechanical skills in clicker training and you are looking for suitable exercises to start with, think about starting trick training. There are several easy tricks you can teach your horse and practise your clicker skills, your timing and safe hand-feeding skills.
For a safe and fun way to start take a look at my Key Lessons (your Key to Success).
Easy and fun tricks to start with are:
- standing on a mat, a tarp or a pedestal with 2 front feet
- smiling (= flehmen)
- simple bow (front leg one step forward and head down)
- targeting (touching an object)
- shaking ‘No’
- push a ball with his nose
- back crunch
What exercises or tricks would you recommend to horse enthusiasts that just started clicker training?
Share your l♥ve for horses
If you want to share this blog on your social media, use one of the share buttons below. It’s very much appreciated!
I love to hear from you, so please add a comment or let me know if you have a question. I read them all!
Don’t know what to say? Simply hit the like button so I know you liked this article.
Join our Community!
- Are you looking for professional positive reinforcement advice?
- Do you want an affordable program?
- Do you want to turn your equestrian dreams into reality, but you don’t know where to start?
If you have answered ‘Yes’ to one or more of the above questions look into one of the online programs HippoLogic has to offer.
Join our community for online positive reinforcement training tips, personal advice and support in training your horse.
Shape the community
If you’re interested to become a member of the HippoLogic tribe, please tell me what you want in this short questionnaire. Thanks a lot!
Sandra Poppema, B.Sc.
I help horse owners get the results in training they really, really want with joy and easy for both horse and human. I always aim for win-win!
Get your FREE 5 Step Clicker Training Plan on HippoLogic’s website.
Take action. Start for free!
Book a free 60 minute Discovery Session to get a glimpse of a new future with your horse. In this conversation we’ll explore:
- Your hopes and dreams and goals so that we can see what’s possible for you and your horse
Your Key to Success
- Where you’re now, where you want to go and which path is right for you
- What’s holding you back so you can make a plan to get these hurdles out of your way.
At the end of the call I’ll give you some ideas and advice for your next step and if it looks like a fit, we can explore what it looks like to work together.
Simply check the best time for you in my online calendar and click to reserve your free call today.
Follow my blog on Bloglovin
Share with friends:
Book review: Horse Trick Training
Today’s book review is about an eBook I found online about trick training.
Note: I don’t get paid for my opinion nor for providing links to places to purchase the books I review. This review is purely meant to provide information.
This book review will follow a specific order:
- Title of the book
- Author
- For who the book is meant
- Number of pages
- Price
- Publisher
- Content
- My personal opinion of the book
- Recommend this book?
- Where to buy this book
Title of the eBook
Horse Trick Training, How To Get Started
100% Horse Friendly Training
Author
Jain Brand
For who this book is meant
This eBook is written for horse lovers who have never taught their horse tricks, or those who may have tried to teach their horse some simple tricks, and would like an easy step-by-step trick training program.
Number of pages
51
Price
US $7
Publisher
Horse Tricks 101
Content
Introduction
Is this eBook Right for You (and Your Horse)?
Why Teach Your Horse Tricks?
How to Ask Your Horse to Do Anything
Trust & Training
How Long Will it Take to Teach a Trick?
When to Train – a Simple Training Schedule
Best Places to Train Your Horse
Which Trick Should You Teach Your Horse First?
Useful Tricks
Safety Comes First
What NOT to Teach Your Horse
Equipment
Rewards
Trick Training Treat ~ Molasses Oat Treats
Assignment 1
5 Steps to Teach Any Trick
Assignment 2
Recap and a WARNING
Trick Foundations
Preparing for Your First Trick
Teaching Your First Simple Trick
Assignment 3
Your Second Trick
More Ideas
Summary
What Comes Next?
Questions?
My opinion of the book
As you can conclude from reading the contents, this eBook covers all the basics of getting started with trick training your horse. The title covers what it promises, and I really appreciate that in a book.
It is an ‘easy reader’, with hardly any scientific definitions or difficult equestrian jargon. I think every horse owner can understand it. Therefor I can recommend it also to horse lovers who don’t have English as their native language.
The knowledge about how to teach your horse new behaviours is scientifically based and that makes it a valuable reference as well. It is really good hands on information.
Horse Trick Training, How To Get Started covers all the basics and it is also a book that I could recommend to a bit more experienced trick trainers. I mean people who have taught their horses a few tricks and have encountered minor difficulties or are just looking for some inspiration for new tricks (see content).
The tricks in this book are safe to begin with and easy to teach. It is an excellent start to get some experience in horse (trick) training.
Horse Trick Training, How To Get Started comes with easy to follow step-by-step instructions. It also contains several links to Jain’s videos and printable trick planners. The videos are helpful and educational.
Conclusion: I think it is a great book for people who want to start teaching their horse (new) tricks. The time and effort that Jain has put into getting this eBook together with all the handy printables and videos makes it a really good value for the price of $7 US.
Recommend this book?
Yes!
Where to buy this book
This eBook is only available online. Follow this link to buy the book.
UPDATE December 2017
My favourite exercise in the book is the Hug. It was so easy to train with the instructions in Jains book. Since I make pictures of all my achieved goals, I have a picture for you.
Is there a specific horse book you would like me to review, let me know and I will look into it.
Sandra Poppema, B.Sc.
My mission is to improve horse-human relationships by educating equestrians about ethical and horse friendly training. I offer online horse training courses to empower you to train your horse in a 100% animal friendly way that is FUN for both you and your horse.
Sign up for HippoLogic’s newsletter (it’s free) or visit HippoLogic’s website.
Share with friends:
6 Tips to bond with your horse
In order to bond with your horse you don’t need magic, like this recipe. I believe that everyone who is dedicated tho their horse can develop a heart-to-heart connection with their horse. You don’t have to have a lot of talent.
#1 Spent time with your horse
The more time you spend, the better you will know each other. It is not a prerequisite, but it sure does help. With spending time I am not only referring to riding. Think of other ways to spend time with your horse: hand walking, hand grazing, grooming, horse agility/groundwork and playing. The more time you spent in all kinds of situations, the better you will learn to know each other. You will learn about your horses’fears, what he likes and dislikes, if he is energetic, what attracts his attentions, how bold he is etc.
#2 Observe your horse
Learn as much as you can about body language and behaviour. Take some time to just sit and watch your horse in the pasture, in his stable or paddock. What does he do when he doesn’t know you are there? How does he interacts with other horses?
#3 Make horses and their behaviour a point of study
Horses and humans do have the same emotions, but not necessarily the same needs. Where we humans sometimes can have the urge to spend some time alone, for a prey animal that lives in herds is is not a safe thing to choose: to separate themselves from the herd. What do horses need in order to be happy or have their safety needs full filled? Do they like to graze in the sun, in the rain, the wind, snow. What bothers them? Are there specific insects that irritate him, how do you know? Does he have friends in the herd? How would you recognize that?
#4 Don’t let your ego get in the way while training your horse
If a horse is not reacting the way you want him to it might not be because he wants to deliberately counteract your goal. The horse is not trying to “win”. A horse is a reactive and responsive prey animal that sometimes just reacts according his instincts or his expectations. Or he reacts a certain way because he simply thinks that is what you meant. Make yourself familiar with the learning theory. Be consistent and reward often. Never blame the horse if things are not going like you expected them to be. The horse isn’t thinking about that!
#5 Be fun to be around
Make sure it is rewarding for your horse to spent time with you. Try to be more reinforcing than the herd you take him from if you are doing things together. If he is in a stall most of the day, where there is not much to eat, where they are restricted from interaction or exercise you know what to do, see #3.
#6 Be yourself
Be honest with yourself and respect your own limits. If you try to act braver than you actually feel, chances are that you are doing things or taking risks you otherwise would not take. Making mistakes is part of life, but I suggest reducing the risk.
Don’t train or ride a horse you are afraid of. Work on that fear first. If you are afraid to be close to a horse, work with a protective barrier until you think it is safe. If you don’t want to trot, canter or jump with a specific horse, ride him in walk or just sit on him standing until you do feel safe enough to try it.
Sandra Poppema, B.Sc.
I improve the human-horse relationships by reconnecting you with your inner wisdom and teach you the principles of learning and motivation, so you become confident and knowledgeable to train your horse in an effective and FUN way. Win-win for horse and human.
All my programs are focused on building your confidence and provide you with a detailed step-by-step formula to train horses with 100% positive reinforcement.
Sign up for HippoLogic’s newsletter (it’s free) or visit HippoLogic’s website.
Follow my blog on Bloglovin
Share with friends:
Help, I am addicted to the Click
Is there a support group for animal trainers like Trainers Anonymous? I need them! Yes, I have to admit it: I am addicted to the sound of the click.
First of all: a click means “Horse, you did the right thing” and that means that I, the trainer, have booked a success, too. And I am addicted to success. Before clicker training, I was always telling myself what I did wrong, instead of what I could improve. I would see my failures instead of my triumphs.
Second: I just love to feed animals. I don’t know why, but it is very enticing and rewarding for me. The more I click the more I am allowed to feed my horse.
I realized one day I was addicted to clicking my horse. It really felt like an addiction because it felt like a computer game with a victory tune to announce you have completed this level and you can go on to the next. Is it dangerous? Could it be detrimental to the training?
Once I realized that I clicked too much, I discovered that I was not getting the best results I could. What is “too much”? For me it meant: not raising criteria after 3 successful attempts, clicking for already established behaviours like coming to me in walk when called, nice transitions under saddle that Kyra alr
eady
would do with a success rate of 90% or more.
The key is to write down goals, make a training plan and keep a training journal in which you describe in positive words what you’ve accomplished in your training. I can recommend it to every one to find a support group/friend with whom you can share your successes and points to improve. Talking about your training with others can help you reflect and stay motivated.
With clicker training ‘Less can be more’. If you click less, the horse will answer with better tries. Sometimes you get amazing results, like I described in this post. For instance I don’t click Kyra for coming to me in walk. I’ve set her up for success so I could click her for coming to me in trot. The goal I am working on now is asking Kyra to come to me in canter.
Since I click less, Kyra is improving significantly in all behaviours and therefor the click has become even more addictive to me. It is as if I have moved up multiple levels in our game and a whole new world has opened.
I am definitely high on our success and craving more.
Safe the date: Thursday March 7, 2019
Ultimate Horse Training Formula, Your Key to Succes
- Want to get the results in training you really, really want?
- Want train your horse with confidence?
- Want to learn all there is to know about training your horse with positive reinforcement?
Join this online course and participate for free next time!For as long as you want, you’re welcome. Click here
Clicker Training Mastery (advanced course) starts March 6, 2019
Sandra Poppema, B.Sc.
I help horse owners get the results in training they really, really want with joy and easy for both horse and human. I always aim for win-win!
Sign up for HippoLogic’s newsletter (it’s free and it comes with a gift) or visit HippoLogic’s website and join my online course Ultimate Horse Training Formula in which you learn the Key Lessons, Your Key to Success in Clicker Training.
Follow my blog on Bloglovin
PS If you really need a ‘Trainers Anonymous‘ group or want to be part of a supportive R+ community check out HippoLogic membership. We have a great community that supports you in accomplishing your goals with clicker training and improving the relationship with your horse in training.
HippoLogic -> Clickertraining.ca 
You must be logged in to post a comment.