Stimulus Control?

By Neversummer March 4, 2019 Clicker training 2 Comments

With clicker training the first thing we usually have to do is convince our horses that we want them to think for themselves. We take horses who have been trained traditionally to stand quietly and wait for us to tell them what to do and we tell them we will give them food if they can think of a way to earn it. Once that ‘clicks’ with them it blows their minds.  All of a sudden we have a horse who wants to do things. They often go from well behaved to over enthusiastic.

This is what we wanted from them. Now that we have all that enthusiasm and try, what are we supposed to do with it?

Our once well behaved horse is now pawing and exploring with his mouth. Touching everything he can get his nose on. Following us around and doing all the tricks he knows, trying to earn another treat. We’ve created a monster!

Now what?

Horses don’t automatically know when and how we want them to think for themselves and when we want them to do what we say. We offer them choice, then only want them to choose when it is handy for us. We’ve asked them to have ideas and opinions and that is all they are doing.

It is up to us to explain clearly what we want from them, what actions will earn them a reward. To put actions on cue and explain that we will only give treats for the action when we have given the cue.

As always the fault and responsibility falls on us. Luckily for us we know that responsibility equals power.

First, is it really hurting anything to have your horse exploring and wanting to play? They can make a nuisance of themselves, true. If they are loose wandering around with us they can start mugging or throwing behaviors at us in an attempt to find one that will be rewarded. The easiest way to take care of the problem is to put them back out to pasture or their stall when we are done working.

To actually solve the problem we need to teach them that behaviors are only rewarded when we ask for them. Teaching a strong default behavior of standing still looking straight ahead gives them a behavior that is very desirable to us that they can offer when they want attention and a reward. They can choose and explore all they want, we will only reward for the things we want. If we stand quietly and ignore behavior when we aren’t asking for it, then reward them as soon as they stand still they will quickly learn that random behaviors don’t earn treats.

We need to be consistent with our clicks, only rewarding what we have asked for or are looking for. As hard as it can be we need to stay all done after we have given an all done cue. Even when they offer something really good after we give it. Time after we have given the all done cue can be spent scratching and grooming. Those can  be another way to reward instead of treats after we have finished official work. A good grooming when we are finished working can also be an extended all done cue. Horses are creatures of habit, we can use habits to let them know when we are working and when we are finished.

We get what we have rewarded. If we aren’t consistent we get behaviors that aren’t consistent.

In the end though, perhaps the best way to deal with your pet monster is to remember that they are thinking, feeling animals who want to play and want to please. Instead of thinking of them as nuisances, we can take joy in their interest and curiosity. We can let them explore and offer behaviors. We can watch what they do and learn about them from the behaviors they offer when we aren’t asking. Some of my horses best tricks and talents were their ideas. The difference between brilliance and nuisance is all in how we look at it.

Bit Choices

By Neversummer March 2, 2019 Uncategorized 1 Comment

We went on a little family vacation the other day. While we were in the big city we stopped at a tack store. We live in the boondocks. Out here in the middle of nowhere we have our local farm supply store and a few feed stores that sell some tack. The options are limited. I was excited to see what was out there.
It was exciting to smell the new leather and run my fingers over beautifully tooled saddles. I loved looking at all the tack options, colors, fringe, different textures and types of leather.
Then I came to the bit wall.
I have been thinking about trying out a bitless bridle and thought maybe I would be able to see one in person. I like bits too. Nice snaffles, rollers, metal options to choose from. I used to love to look at bits.
This wall horrified me. Maybe my opinions have changed and I think more bits are bad than I used to, but I don’t remember so many chain mouth pieces, gag bits, serrated edges, and generally vicious, nasty bit options being available years ago.
Not that it’s been years since I was in a real tack store, but the number of bad ones seem to be growing exponentially in recent years. It makes the days when everyone just rode in an aluminum curb look good.
I admit I thought we would be improving on our horsemanship as the science of riding and training improved. Apparently it is going the opposite direction. Instead the science is being used to create more and worse torture devises to torment our horses with.
Don’t we ride because we love horses? Aren’t they supposed to be trusted companions, our partners in work and play?
Why then do we want to rip their cheeks open up to their jowls with gag bits that don’t stop, then combine that with thin, twisted, long shanked, who knows what else so we can hurt the horses as badly as possible? Why do we look for short cuts using pain to force horses into submission instead of applying some effort and training ourselves how to ride properly?
It was a sad thing to see. Instead of enjoying a rare trip to a tack store I left with a bitter taste in my mouth. A disgust with the lack of riding skill and training that is so prevalent in the modern horse world.
These things are not “fine when used properly”. They are not “useful tools in the right hands”. They are not “A necessary step in training”.
Anything can be trained in a soft kind bit, or no bit at all. Not knowing how to do it doesn’t mean it can’t be done, only that you don’t currently have the tools. We should always seek knowledge instead of a harsher bit.

The amount of force used is a direct reflection on the amount of skill the trainer possesses.

 

So Easy A Child Could Do It

By Neversummer February 25, 2019 Clicker training, Heildorf 1 Comment

We had one day of good weather. They get mixed in with the usual bad stuff once in awhile.
I snuck out t play with the horses, but I had been spotted.
Hieldorf is supposed to be for the kids so I asked if she wanted to hold the target. She was clicking him too, her click is just SO tiny. The only thing she needs work on really. Her timing was good after the first few tries.
Heildorf seems rather fascinated by her. This match might be just perfect.

 

Cleaning House

By Neversummer February 24, 2019 Clicker training, Rusty No Comments

I had been working with Harvey on free lunging by targeting cones. When I brought Rusty out to play the cones were still there. I thought maybe we could work on targeting them and do the same thing. Rusty had other ideas.
SO, I let him do what he wanted and we cleaned up the arena instead
I sped the video up a little because as fun as it was it did get a bit long and boring

Heildorf

By Neversummer February 15, 2019 Heildorf 1 Comment

I have been playing with Hieldorf. As much as I have been with any of them, which isn’t a whole lot. Most of what we do I use for The Confidence Challenge. That has been tons of fun so far. He works perfectly to demonstrate how a horse who has never done it reacts when introduced to positive reinforcement. Plus he’s a beautiful model.

It warmed up a little last week and I managed to go out and play with him again.

We’ve done enough +R that he comes running up to the front corrals when he hears anyone outside. So he was at the gate and I was able to close a gate between him and the other horses. Part of the reason I’m finding it difficult to work with a horse right now is Rusty. He is insanely jealous of me and chases any other horses away when I try to catch them. I have to catch Rusty and lock him up in order to mess with anyone else. I think I need to work on that 😉  Rusty stood outside the gate the whole time I worked with Heildorf and had a temper tantrum.

Hieldorf has been ridden. I prefer to restart all my horses from scratch though, to make sure they know the things I think they should. Hieldorf is getting the same treatment. The first thing I really really want them to know is how to step over to a gate for mounting. It makes getting on much easier but it also lets them get used to you above them before you are stuck to their backs.

As chill as Hieldorf is about most things he scatters as soon as I step up onto a fence. Here we are working a little on getting used to me above him. Trying to show him I’m not scary and wont eat him. He is totally not convinced.

 

Finished

By Neversummer February 8, 2019 Clicker training, Rusty 2 Comments

If I’m not a fan of “showing my horse who’s the boss”. Because of that I have been asked if I don’t tell my horse what to do? Does that mean they are the boss? That they can do anything they want?

Well, no.

So much of the time when a horse is being disrespectful, rude, bad mannered, all of the anthropomorphism’s we place on them, they are trying to express themselves. They are afraid. They don’t understand what we want of them. They are doing what we have actually trained them to do instead of what we thought we were teaching.

If we choose to work with a horse then we have to accept responsibility. We choose to go catch them a their pasture or stall and ask them to work with us. They would be perfectly happy to hang out with their buddies and never see a person. Because we make that choice everything that happens is our fault.

It may seem a bit harsh, but if we accept responsibility then we are also accepting that we can make changes. Responsibility is not just a burden but a gift. If everything happens to us without any ability to control it we are weak and helpless. To be responsible for the outcome is a power. It means we are capable of change.

In order to be effective in our responsibility to do right with our horses we need to know what they are thinking and feeling. If we never let them express themselves how will we know what effect we are having? If we pay attention horses are amazingly expressive. If we take a step back and ask what the cause is every time our horses are “bad” instead of punishing them it opens up whole new lines of communication. If we listen the first time they say they don’t understand what we are asking, if we hear them when they say it hurts when we do that, if we sympathize when they say they are scared, if we would just hear what they are saying instead of showing them who’s the boss so much of the time it would never escalate into a fight.

There are times when my horses have to do things.  They are working horses and jobs need to be done. Sometimes they don’t get to say no even if it’s not fun. I don’t want to go wade through ankle deep mud or brave a blizzard any more than they do, but we both have to. For those times the confidence and communication we have developed during the good times comes into play. I already know what they like or don’t like and how they say no. I can tell them that I understand and what good ponies they are for giving me their all. I can promise big rewards when we get back to the barn. I can know when to stop pushing, when it’s too much and let them take a break.

What does any of that have to do with this video?

When we work at liberty it is the equivalent of giving the horse a megaphone. We can hear their voice loud and clear. It forces us to refine our cues and training because if we don’t do a good job the horse can leave. By allowing the option of leaving, not just of staying and getting treats or leaving and not, but of leaving and going back to his friends and different food, I can be sure that I am taking responsibility for my training and insuring that it is the best I can do. That he is understanding what I ask. That it doesn’t hurt. That nothing is scaring him. When he follows me because he chooses to we have achieved the best possible communication and understanding.

I am taking control by letting go. Giving the freedom to say no is empowering. To the trainer, not just the horse. When we go back to riding or going places where he will have to be on a lead, we have already established our relationship. He can say if he’s worried without going to any extremes and knows I’ll listen. I know that he understands what is being asked of him and will give me exactly what I am asking for.

Here he has had enough of working on crossing the bridge/teeter totter. It’s hard work for him. Not physically but mentally. I am asking for a lot. He needs a break. I realize I have been pushing hard for quite a while and decide to call it quits there. I gave him permission to say no. He came back and said he was ready to try again but it was a good time to quit.

So, am I the boss? Yes. In the end I do get the final say. Am I an authoritarian sort of boss? No. Why would I want to be?  Life is more enjoyable when we all get a say in matters. As a reward for not “Showing Him Who’s Boss” I get a horse who only needs to be haltered to insist that we are done working and he really does need to go back out to pasture. I can live with that.

Extras

By Neversummer February 7, 2019 Clicker training, Rusty No Comments

Sometimes when I look back at video I’ve taken of me and Rusty, or whichever horse, I see things I missed because I was busy concentrating. I pay full attention to my horse and don’t realize that Daisy has been standing right underneath me begging for a treat. Many things like that.

Sometimes though I get to see what my children have been doing while I’m not looking. It can be funny or scary or just mindless. seeming to me that is, I’m sure they are intent upon some purpose.

This time it was quite  a ways back. I had to really zoom in to see. It was a bit hilarious. Still no idea what they were doing. Could the trampoline have been involved?

Building Up To It

By Neversummer February 6, 2019 Rusty No Comments

The kids had drug some of my lick tubs out. When I found them they were lined up carefully with my teeter totter/board laid across the top and toy dump trucks lined up on top of that. I don’t know what they were doing but it looked like a fun game.
I wanted my board though. I took the interesting arraignment apart. But it gave me an idea.
Rusty thinks the tubs should be eaten, pawed, tossed around, but I thought maybe I could use them to help guide his feet onto the board.
With them creating a narrow path for him to follow it made him put all four feet on the board. Once I convinced him to walk between them. I didn’t think to start the video until he was already doing that. Then I added an old fence post underneath for a bit of height.
It wasn’t quite a teeter totter but were getting closer!