This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Just got my latest installment of Horse Sense by Jessica Jahiel. She discusses clicker training briefly -- since it's been mentioned here, I thought I'd forward the pertinent section of one of her posts:
**** Begin forwarded text **** One of the easiest methods to teach a horse anything simple like "step forward" is clicker training. Don't be put off by the name: it's simply applied operant conditioning, originally designed for use with dolphins, VERY successful with dogs, and quite useful with horses, especially horses who belong to owners/riders who are new to horses and not very fluent in "horse" language. Using this technique, you'll make a clicker noise as a "bridge" between the horse's action and your praise or reward; you will "click" instantly when the horse shows any sign of doing what you asked. In your horse's case, leaning forward or shifting his weight forward would both be signs of moving forward, and should be rewarded. The instant "click" sound is very simple: it lets the horse know, instantly and very clearly, when it has done what you wanted it to do -- the "click" says "Yes, THAT behaviour, THAT's what I wanted!" Later, when you and the horse are both familiar with the clicker system of training, you'll be able to replace the "click" sound with a click of your tongue -- that's useful because you may not always have the "clicker" in your pocket, but no matter where you go or what is happening, you'll have your tongue with you. ;-) You'll find more information on clicker training in Karen Pryor's book "Don't Shoot the Dog". If you think you might like to try this with your horse, look at Alexandra Kurland's website: http://www.crisny.org/users/kurlanda/ ========================================================================= Copyright (C) 1998. Jessica Jahiel, Holistic Horsemanship(R) http://www.prairienet.org/horse-sense Horse-sense newsletter materials may be distributed and copied for personal, non-commercial use provided that all authorship, and copyright information, including this notice, is retained. =========================================================================
