What is clicker training?

It's a training method which recognises and rewards behaviours that we ask for/want.


Why does clicker training work?

When the horse performs the wanted behaviour we mark that with a 'click' (using a mechanical clicker or a 'cluck' of the tongue) followed by a reward (treat). The horse will start to associate the behaviour with a pleasant consequence (the reward). The more that we reward the behaviour, the stronger the pleasurable association becomes. You will see in the early stages that the horse will start to offer the behaviour in order to get a reward even though you haven't asked for it!

As you do more and more clicker training you will find that the horse will try harder for you as they get used to being rewarded for the work which also increases their confidence to try new things.


Do you have to use a click?

No .... but ... the sound needs to be specific and something that the horse doesn't hear day in day out. 'Good boy' or 'good girl' sounds like a nice thing to say but how often do we say this to our horses?

A click or similar sound is clear and easier to time to the behaviour too which is helpful when you're training something new.

Personally I find learning a tongue 'cluck' (as opposed to the 'move your butt' tongue click) easier as you don't have to fumble for the clicker and you can use it when lunging, long reining, under saddle, in fact any time :)


So how do you clicker train?

To give an example, you want your horse to lift his hoof when you're picking his feet out.

Ask him to pick up his foot.

He picks up his foot (it doesn't have to be perfect and you can help him!)

As soon as he picks up his foot you click and then you reward. The treat doesn't have to come immediately after the click but it should follow soon after initially.

After 2 or 3 tries he will usually have understood what you are asking and will start to offer the behaivour on cue.


But what if he starts to do the behaviour when I'm not asking, do I still treat him?

This is normal behaviour and shows that he's understood the connection between the behaviour and the reward.

DON'T PANIC and don't stop the training (which is what I did at first when we were teaching Jambette), if you haven't asked for the behaviour ignore it and definitely don't click/treat. He will soon learn that it's a waste of time. Don't punish him, however, as he's not being 'naughty', he's just working out the ground rules. Punishing him at this point can make him reluctant to try the behaviour again even if you ask for it.


Once I start will I have to click and treat the same behaviour forever?

No, only in the early stages of training a behaviour. Once the behaviour is established you can move onto a schedule of reinforcement .... better explain that :)

FIXED SCHEDULE - you click/treat ever 'x' number of behaviours. For example, they would lift their leg twice and you would click and treat on the third time.

The problem with this type of schedule is that the horse can begin to predict when the reward is due and so will try less hard on the first two leg lifts, only 'really' trying on the third.

VARIABLE SCHEDULE - you click/treat the behaviours but in no particular pattern. For example, you would click after 2 leg lifts, then 5, then 1, then 4.

The beauty of this type of schedule is that they never know when the treat is due so tend to try harder for all of the leg lifts rather than just the ones coming up to the treat.

You can eventually phase the click/treat out for an established behaviour as the behaviour itself is associated with good feelings so the click/treat is no longer needed.


So how do I get started?

A bum bag for the treats is a good idea :) It stops you ending up with pockets full of treat dust and signals to the horse that you're going to be clicker training.

Get yourself a clicker (about £1 from pet stores) or learn the tongue 'cluck' (this comes more from the roof of your mouth and is lower than the 'move on' cheek click).

Get yourself a target, it can be a lid of a supplement bucket, a tennis ball on the end of a whip or anything that the horse can touch easily.

And get started!


Target training

Get your target, your treats and your horse :)

Put the target in front of the horse and see if they touch it (you may need to touch them with it if they don't). The nanosecond that they touch the target click and then get a treat out. Repeat this until they get the idea (it usually takes about 2/3 goes, if it takes a lot longer consider that your timing might be off!).

Once they've got it start moving the target around. Maybe take it a bit higher and then a bit lower. Click and treat ever time they touch.

If they don't try to touch the target move it away (behind your back for example) and then introduce it again.

You can then start to move it further away so that they have to reach or even walk towards it.


But won't all those treats encourage them to mug you?

Yes, at first but then comes the second lesson ... the anti mugging lesson. This can actually be very good for horses who mug as they soon learn that the 'vending machine' doesn't open if they mug you.

For this you can rattle the bag of treats to actually encourage them to mug you!

They will probably start to snuffle round the bag or round your pockets. Ignore them. You can ask them to 'look away' (something that I've found useful). The second that they stop trying to mug and look away then click and treat. Repeat until they get it!

The anti mugging training is something that I like to reinforce by retraining from time to time ... but then Saff was a VERY muggy horse when I got her!


What next?

Once they've got the hang of clicker training the sky's the limit. You can use it for everything from groundwork, lunging, long reining, in hand work, under saddle, standing for the farrier/trimmer ... the list is endless.

Here are a few things that we've taught using clicker:



Targetting



Stop, 'come' and follow



Lateral work in hand



Jambette and Spanish Walk



Curtsey



I'm not an expert at clicker and I haven't studied learning theory. When I first saw clicker (being done badly) I thought that it was ridiculous and not really useful for serious horse training. I soon changed my mind when I saw it being done correctly and then saw the effect that it's had on Saffy. She's much happier to work these days and seems to enjoy her work rather than just tolerating it. She tries really hard even when we ask her to try something new and her character has really shone through :) If I ever get a youngster I'd love to bring them on using predominantly clicker/positive reinforcement. But that's another day and another blog :)

Becky Holden is one of the top clicker trainers in the UK, training horses up to High School level using clicker. She's coming to South and North Yorkshire in September 2008 to do some clinics if anyone is interested in either bringing their horses or spectating.