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June 28, 2007
LOAD-UP
My time on the mountain was up, and I was anxiously loading all my gear in the trailer, considering how best I would get
Dakota in. It took over half an hour to load him at the barn, so I was dreading it. Surprisingly it took 5 minutes. I placed
a bucket of grain and his little orange cone in the back of the trailer. I also made sure that when I stood in the trailer
that I was not putting any pressure on the lead rope. I think part of Dakota's issue is the distance from the trailer to the
ground. Stepping up is not the easiest thing for him. He did however show great effort to get to the cone and grain. I would
click every time he moved his head down. A minute later he would be see-sawing on his legs, trying to get into the trailer.
A minute after that he would start pawing. With each click we were getting closer to loading. In total it took 5 minutes until
he stepped with pride into the trailer. I tied the bucket to the back and let him eat, as we were rolling down the mountain.
Success had been achieved 6 times faster than two weeks before, all due to a cone and clicker. True success.
June 27, 2007
NOT STALE, NOR A BUCKARROO
I woke up knowing it was going to be a good day. I knew this would be the day that would turn the wheels not only in my
mind to a different direction, but also change the outlook on partnership of my horse.
We started out working on targeting the cone and stick. There after I spent a good 15 minutes brushing, braiding, and
stroking Dakota's hair. In addition, I introduced a hand whip to him, and noticed that he had gone from psycho reactive (weeks
prior) to calm and careless. I knew he was not desensitized to the one object he weeks before feared most. I tied Dakota to
the fence and layed his saddle blankets on his back; soon after, the 45 lbs. saddle, which had not been on his back in 6 months,
followed. I took my time, clicking and treating every time he lowered his head, until he took the bridle to mouth willingly
and stood still for me to mount him.
As we rode out onto the trail along the mountain, he first was curiouse and alert. Every time he lowered his head and
put his ears low or back I would click and treat - after just a few minutes Dakota was walking calmly and secure.
Passing the trailer he was a bit hesitant - I started monitoring his body language and noticed that when alert, as horses
usually show, he lift his head and ears. When in complete insecurity though, he will shake his head up and down. I am thinking
that previous people, when riding him, would have spurred or whipped him in this haste, causing him to buck. I on the other
hand just let him sit. He did not want to go past the trailer, and would change direction. Instead of pushing him and thinking
"he is riding me", I guided him into the direction I wanted and just stood there a minute. After waiting I would
ever so lightly bump his side. If he did not move, nothing happened - no spurring, whipping, or clicking. As he finally just
took a few steps forward, I immediately clicked and treated. It did not take long at all for him to realize that my way was
the good way, and his way left to nothing. We passed the trailer successfully within minutes of the hesitation.
Going down hill was a cinch. I was quite proud of him, and his accomplishments. It was going up hill that was somewhat
of a challenge. I did not panic though, he was very hesitant, changing directions to avoid going up hill, but I just kept
clicking and treating for each foot forward. It took us about 5 minutes to get started, but once we were walking, we were
good to go.
The last bump in the road was when my dad appeared on his ATV. Dakota started shaking his head, when I knew he was uncomfterable.
I soon began clicking and treating, and once the machine was off, we started walking towards my father. Dakota was curious,
so he would stick his head towards the ATV, and after 2 trials, I had him "touch" it on cue. Soon we could walk
up to, and around the ATV without a smidge of hesitation. The target training had in fact come to good use when in the saddle.
I took him back to the barn, where I unsaddled and brushed him. It was a good firs time out on the trail. Soon, in the
arena, I will focus on gate and lead changes. I become even more convinced that clicker training can conquer any behavior.
June 25, 2007
HOME-MADE GOODIES
I attached an empty soda bottle to the end of my target stick using ductape, and it definitely served it's purpose. Within
the first five minutes, Dakota was definitely in the game. I think the cut up carrot bits also helped in the targeting process.
It was great to see that he was not only now nudging the end of the stick, but also quivering his whithers with joy while
training. In addition Dakota offered even more than I asked for - he was willing to trace the target when I moved it and touched
even without reward. Check the video out - it's absolutely awesome. Although he became somewhat amused by the camera being
attached to the gate after our session, I got some great footage. I hope to eventually use the target stick to help lunge
him off lead. With things going as they are, I can definitely see that happening.
June 24, 2007
TARGET TRAINING AT IT'S BEST
A few days ago I introduced Dakota to targeting a small traffic cone. Within minutes of the first session he was becoming
obsessed with what moments before, was a completely irrelevant and invaluable object. I knew I had reached success when I
placed the cone on the ground, and he lowered his head to nudge the orange plastic.
Now, a few days later, I have increased my targeting criteria to: touching the cone 10 feet away from me, then clicking
and treating and having him return to me for the reward. At first I had to start him only 4 feet from the target, but within
about 5 minutes, I could work from my 10 feet distance. Interestingly, Dakota became completely obsessed with the cone; picking
it up and carrying it. I next will have to raise my criteria to nose touching only, but now that I have him obsessed, I can
take my time cleaning and fine tuning the behavior. The verbal marker "touch" has also become very strong.
After a short break from the cone and some hammering on the barn, I showed Dakota my target stick. It is a simple
white pole with a small black cap and rubber handle, somewhat resembling a whip. At first, he seemed somewhat hesitant, pacing
back and forth, abruptly moving his head - these were all signes telling me he was stressed.
Although I would not recommend the "flooding" technique for training, I just kept the pole in front of
him with no movement on my part. Every time he looked or sniffed the stick, I clicked and treated. Soon enough he was reaching
for the pole much as he was targeting the pole. My only problem was to get him to target the tip of the stick. For today
that was impossible; I noticed that I needed something larger like a tennis ball attached to the end of my target stick. This
will help Dakota discriminate to where I want him to target.
I did not video my first attempts at this new criteria, because training took place between hammering sheets of
wood to the roof of the barn. However footage demonstrating the advanced exercises at our next attempt can be found under
"targeting".
June 19, 2007
A TID BIT ON TRAINING:
Any horse will become greedy and want treats as soon as you offer it to them - can you blame them? That was rhetorical,
but in case you said "yes" the answer is most definitely "no". They are animals after all, so try to put
your emotions aside. Many people make the mistake and think the animal is spiteful or does things intentionally, when in fact,
horses will be horses and do horse like things. There is not enough brain capacity to acquire such emotions as hatred or spite.
Keep in mind though that a horse's life is based on motivation or (avoidance) of fear.
To be honest, it is a preconceived notion I too had. I assumed horses, just like many dog owners do, come with certain
behaviors already programmed in them. Some of my expected behaviors included: walking nicely behind me on a lead, not nipping
or biting at me, not eating grass on a walk, and so on. It's like we expect the animal to have our (human) common sense, when
in fact, we have very different agendas. As a dog trainer, I keep telling myself I should have known better, but once again
I realize how human I am at times. Training is all a matter of communicating to the horse that my agenda is really the agenda
he wants to be on. I like to think of it as me being a used car salesman convincing him he wants a Benz, not a Hummer.
Some of the things I will continue to work on include: Dakota not nipping at me when I am standing on the pen, walking
nicely behind me on the leash, "off" for on a walk and he wants grass, and continue practicing not mugging me with
the "abb" command.
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