This message is from: GAIL RUSSELL <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yessiree....clicker training works. The other day we took our two "problem wormers" (not the Fjords...they smack their lips over the nasty white paste) out for a quickie course in loving worming tubes. We were in a hurry....really needed to get the horses wormed before sundown. So....with less than five minutes using the clicker, we got both of them to reach out and touch the worming tube. Then were able to worm them with a minimum of fuss.
The right way to do this would have been over a period of days, with lots more reinforcement than we used. But we were in a hurry. The results were amazing. You could SEE that they HATED the idea of touching the tube. They knew exactly what it was for - and hated the whole idea. They tried a few other options to see if they could get the nice carrot without touching the tube....things like "Oh, Daddy, do I have to touch the tube that meany Gail is holding....can't I just have the carrot for free?" (Nudging Jim's shoulder pathetically all the while.) When they realized the tube was their sole route to the carrot...they touched it. It really works for this kind of stuff. One day I had Gunthar, my spooky Fjord, chasing a Mylar balloon that he positively hated...within minutes. The method is ideal for making nasty blue tarps into a horse's best friend. Desensitization is one of the very best uses for clicker training...because it does not take much planning or even fine timing on the part of the trainer. However, I believe that even fancy reining patterns can be taught using the clicker...along with the old "negative reinforcement" type training methods (traditional and natural horsemanship methods are based on negative reinforcement....the clicker trainers know how to combine them into a blended method that I believe works bettter....but it does take more planning, understanding, and physical ability/coordination from the trainer than simple desensitization problems.) Using the clicker, we got Rafael accustomed to many things >including chickens. The exercise gives the horse an incentive to get used to >things, rather than just expecting him to do it. > Gail Russell Forestville CA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
