Starting Ct With Greedy Horse

[lmevans]

Hi all

well, I started Noosa with basic target training last night - took her all of two and half minutes to cotton on to how it worked,

only small problem is that she gets so excited about the food that she forgets the details of click THEN treat and tries to eat my clicker!!!!!

Shouldn't  be long until were doing piaffe and standing quietly to be clipped!!!! :lol:

well you've got to have high goals to make it worth aiming for haven't you!!!

Lucie xx

[lacey]

Standing quietly to be clipped?? in 2 days just leave her the clippers and she'll do herself!!

[CLT]

Hi Lucie

Sounds like a good start to me - I'm pretty convinced that all the foodies think all their christmases have come at once with clicker training and as for eating the clicker/you it's probably an occupational hazard for a clicker trainer    Seriously, Nousa is clearly a clever girl - the real trick is to stay one step ahead of the clever ones  

Let us know how you get on and see my post on teaching Doug spanish walk - otherwise known as 'meals on the move'.

Caron

[Camacoona]

Hi Lucie,

I would aim for this particular area to be you first area to train.  I would wait untill Noosa stops trying to eat the clicker, and wait untill she is stood, attentive but without any mugging behaviour and then I would click and treat.

I may then introduce something a little more active such as reining back.  start with a touch on her shoulder, and when she responds with a step c/t.  I think a 'more active' method of training may well take her mind of eating the clicker.  I hope this makes sense, now that I have written it Im not sure?!?!

Omar

[CLT]

Hi Omar

What a timely post. I'm going to help a friend of mine who has a horsey with space issues around food so thanks v much for the tips.

Caron

[Becky holden]

Hi Everyone

Seriously, Nousa is clearly a clever girl - the real trick is to stay one step ahead of the clever ones

That is very true when first learning, our horses can cotton on to this way of teaching quicker than we do!! I found it useful to right things down when i was first learning just in case my horses jumped from stage 3 to 5 i new exactly where i was going.

I would aim for this particular area to be you first area to train. I would wait untill Noosa stops trying to eat the clicker, and wait untill she is stood, attentive but without any mugging behaviour and then I would click and treat

Always remember to sometimes click nothing. I think Alexandra Kurland calls it the default position. In other words if the horse go's through a series of behaviours to try and make us click and all this "trying" fails  the horse can still be clicked and rewarded for something ie standing still. A very important point to remember.

Becky    

[lmevans]

Hi All

She is indeed a wise old bird - I've started her off with a target (fluoro tabard rolled up and tied to a stick!!!) and she was leaving me alone and not mugging by the third click. The only clicker eating thing is when she gets her treat, she doesn't always realise it is in the OTHER hand!!!!   she will stand like a rock, back up, move over and walk forward already from a voice command, so I've been using these things that she already knows to move her onto the concept of the click being the treat. Its helped to focus her on me rather than the rest of the world that for sure - I was working loose on the yard last night with her bestest friend hanging over the gate and she didn't even look (she would normally be jumping about and whinneying at him and if I let her loose she'd be off to see him ASAP).

Next trick will be do as she's told with a little distance between us, the to do it all with the clippers running nearby. We'll be clipping by the time the weather gets cold!


Lucie x