This message is from: Gail Russell
Clicker training is used to teach a critter to respond to cues with a
particular behavior. However, once a behavior is trained, you do not need to
click all the time. As Karen Pryor put it, the clicker is primarily for use
in teaching and in doing occasional tune ups.
Negative reinforcement is also used for teaching behaviors. After the
behavior is taught, the cue for that behavior can come in all kinds of ways,
including from tack (bits, bridles, whips). Negative reinforcement is for
teaching. A horse can "have a bad day" and not respond to a cue taught with
the clicker OR one taught by using negative reinforcement.
Negative reinforcement is not the same as using tack (bits, bridles, whips) to
physically manipulate a horse. The physical manipulation would be the backup
plan you are talking about, and it is certainly useful in a situation where
you have a large, dangerous animal, particularly in a context like driving a
horse.
One thing we often fail to realize is that some of what people call horse
training just involves dragging a horse around with a bit...using physical
manipulation and overpowering the animal. I find I am guilty myself sometimes
of just dragging my horse around. That is not the same as teaching the horse
to do a behavior on cue. Remember, the vaqueros used the ported bit as a
"signal bit," not as a manipulator. (Sort of funny story. There is a rider
who presents his horses beautifully at the Red Bluff vaquero roping
exhibition/contest every year. His horses are soft and gorgeous. Just
absolutely gorgeous, with no yanks on the mouth, and no heads in the air
trying to avoid the bit. Last summer we went to an event to watch him and Jim
took his new stop-action camera and took pics of this guy on a reining
run-down. Well...this particular horse was not ready for prime time and
should not have been used this way in a perfect world. The horse stopped with
a gaping mouth, head in the air, and no pretty slide. Jim got a perfect
picture of it. It was actually the best action shot of the day. Proves
everyone can have problemsand I did have teensy little thoughts about
blackmail. :))
An example of "having a back up plan" for clicker training might be in the zoo
handling of elephants to care for their feet. They used to use prods
exclusively, and the elephants would sometimes respond aggressively and hurt
handlers. When they introduced the clicker training and food rewards, the
animals were less likely to respond aggressively. However, I believe it is
true that the changed technique did not mean they dispensed with safe set-ups
they had available to them (like not getting the handler boxed into a corner,
providing escape routes, and having tools that could be used to fend off an
animal if necessary.
Jesus-Rosales-Ruiz at the University of North Texas does have reservations
about using negative reinforcement/aversive stimulus in the horse training
context. Read down to the article about Poisoned Cues here:
http://www.equineclickertraining.com/training/clickerexpo08.html However,
FIRST, read this simpler explanation of poisoned cues by Alexandra Kurland.
http://www.theclickercenter.com/2004/Newsletter/Feb2008.htm
I have seen the poisoned cue problem in action. At one Alexandra Kurland
clinic a woman vet brought her wonderful warmblood that she had trained using
Parelli/Anderson methods, but had run into problems. She would crouch and
direct her attention at the horse's hindquarters and have her lead rope popper
ready to pop the horse on the rump to get him to disengage his hindquarters.
The horse hated it, and was kicking and running off, and was dangerous
whenever the vet asked for disengagement of the hindquarters. Alexandra told
her to abandon that cue as it had become poisoned. Her suggestion worked,
although the vet was having trouble letting go of her habit of crouching and
staring at the horse's hindquarters. By the way, this horse was also clicker
savvy, and exhibited some gorgeous trained behaviors where the cues had not
been poisoned. It was not a "bad horse."
It is worth reading lots of articles BECAUSE, once you understand the theory,
you can design your own training plan and can design your own troubleshooting.
It can be very creative.
Finally, while googling about, I found this explanation about negative
reinforcement and clicker training that is long and looks to be carefully
done. http://niceorg.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/1099/ Have read only bits of
it. I am supposed to be doing accounting, but cannot stand to keep at it 12
hours a day.
Gail
Clicker training is not 100%.? We have been at Sea World on a hot day when
the
Sea World shows did not go as they were supposed to.? The?trainers apologized
that the animals were over?fed do to the large?crowds? and feeling warm and
lazy (you buy feed and feed the seals, walruses, porpoises, etc.) and none of
the animals?performed as they were??supposed to.? We h
