How do you see clicker training moving forwards?

[TashaKat]

The subject is shamelessly stolen from elsewhere but is something to thing about  

In ten years time will clicker be essentially the same or will we have found an even 'better' way to interact and train our horses?

Will there be some techniques that have been discarded for whatever reason?

Will we still talk about poisoned cues?

Will there be an agreed way forwards with regards to clicker training crossover horses?

Will there be more known about neuroscience and hormones with regards to clicker training?

Will we all have reverted back to a predominantly negative reinforcement based method?

[Wendy]

Or just more people doing it and doing it badly?

[ash]

In ten years time will clicker be essentially the same or will we have found an even 'better' way to interact and train our horses?  Ten years isn't long in horse training, where things seem to move at a rather glacial pace!  hopefully there will always be poineering trainers though who will not only push it forward, but also refine what is done already

Will there be some techniques that have been discarded for whatever reason? Oh come on, you know that people loooooove to hang on to what they 'know' to be the 'truth', but equally there are always others who are curious to learn about new things.

Will we still talk about poisoned cues? Surprisingly few people talk about them now!

Will there be an agreed way forwards with regards to clicker training crossover horses?  Naaaaaah, horsey folk hate to agree on anything!  Anyhoo, all horses are different, so we need lots of 'ways'.

Will there be more known about neuroscience and hormones with regards to clicker training?Hope so, although mainly it's my hormones that cause the problem! 

Will we all have reverted back to a predominantly negative reinforcement based method?I won't, because that would mean admitting that I was wrong, and well, let's face it...... 

[catkin]

Or just more people doing it and doing it badly?

Sadly, I have to agree Wendy.

I hope things get less hysterical about clicker on both sides of the fence.

It is a very powerful useful tool - in the hands of truly skilled practitioners it yeilds fantastic results

It CAN be taught but the human learners must have good timing and a clear understanding of what it's about, fraid I don't always see that at the moment. It is not a short cut or the answer to everything - you must still have a 'trainer's brain' to use it to it's full potential, and unless it is used seriously then it will always suffer from the tricks reputation.
For these reasons alone I don't think it is ever going to be for everyone who deals with horses, certainly I would not like to train a pony that was not for my sole use all their life using clicker - too easy for misinterpretation and the horse getting blamed for something that isn't their fault - there is definately an ethical element to selling on clicker-trained horses.

[Jeanette]

What a good subject

You make some really interesting points catkin.

You get exactly what you reinforce..which might not be what you wanted. I agree it's a tool..just as pressure and release is a tool. The question is what you use it to teach.

I use CT with my pony but I have no intention of selling him. He offers behaviours. He's the product of my learning and does what he thinks I want. The lad could be easily misunderstood.

Maybe that's true of all horses though. Just that CT trainers are more aware of this?

The development that I'd like to see in CT is a better understanding of the difference between "training" a behaviour and "maintaining" a behaviour. At the moment  (and maybe it's because I have a youngster) I'm just moving the training on and making the tasks more difficult either by extending duration or being more specific about what I want or adding new tasks....so treats are always on offer. But what happens when you have got as far as you want to go or you need to have a break from training new things in order to consolidate..will I be giving out treats "for free" and risk devaluing the treats or will I stop treating and have my pony feel like I've broken my side of the  bargain ? Or maybe treats gets substituted out for "good boys" and scratches and a post work treat/bucket?

[catkin]

Good point Jeanette, about maintaining the behaviour. I only ever use clicker under saddle or working inhand/on longreins so maybe I'm trying to avoid this question - there will always be something to highly reward under saddle.
The one 'trick' that I have taught the young Welshie is to retrieve a toy and put it in a bowl - and she amazes me with the new 'rules of the game' that she wants to add, they are quite sophisticated too - I am so so glad that we don't use it for general handling as other people help me out occasionally and that could end up in all sorts of confusion for everyone.

[TashaKat]

I haven't found that it's a problem having non clicker trained people handle your horse (unless they start smacking them and there would be a problem with that anyway!).  I have had Saff at two livery yards while she's been clicker trained and it wasn't an issue.  I'm not planning on selling her on so her future with a new owner isn't a worry for me but then if you sell a horse on you don't know how they're going to be looked after anyway.