Raymond and I were chatting off-line about using clicker training to get "Jenny" to pick up her back feet. I thought I'd post this, in case anyone else can use it too.
Hi Raymond,
Cool. Let's see... There are some good books out there, and I'll give you a few web sites (below), but here's the basics.
Getting ready:
You don't need an "official" clicker - you can use anything that makes a distinct, quick sound, including clicking your tongue. Sea World uses a high-pitched whistle. You want something that can't be confused with other "normal" sounds. Some people use Snapple lids (with that little popper thingy in the middle), or clicky-ballpoint pens. I started out with castanets (those clattery things that Spanish dancers use), because that's what I had handy. If you start with one thing for a clicker, and want to change to something else later, that's no problem - they get the idea in just a few seconds.
Get yourself something to hold treats (a pocket lined with a plastic bag?), and a bunch of *small* yummy treats. Some people use horse pellets, some use Froot Loops or Apple Jacks cereal. Carrot pieces are always good. Carrot *sticks* if she tends to take fingers along with treats.
I work with mine loose in the pen (just one at a time, or they'll drive you nuts).
Teaching her that the Click means something:
Start out by getting Jenny used to the idea that a click means food is coming soon. This works just like cats and can openers, or dogs and the cabinet door where you keep the doggie treats. Just hang out with her for a few minutes, and every so often click, then hand her a treat. Within a very short time she should catch on. If you click when she's busy doing something else (wandering around), she should think "Hey! A treat!" and come over to collect it.
Some things to keep in mind:
I find that short sessions, with plenty of time for things to sink in, really work well. With one horse I walked up to its pen, clicked, gave it a treat, and walked away to do other things. I did that about 3 times in 15 minutes, and after that the horse knew the click meant goodies. :-) Some horses take a couple of sessions.
You don't want her getting in the habit of mauling you for treats. Do not click and treat (usually written C/T when you're chatting with other clicker-training people) when she is sticking her nose in your pocket. You can push her head away gently, but don't make a big deal of it. In fact, you can C/T her for standing quietly with her head pointing forward. I do that with Eeyore, and he'll come over and stand there like that, looking at me out of the corner of one eye like "Look Mom! I'm standing nicely! Where's my treat?" She should get the message pretty quick that going after the treats directly doesn't do any good.
What you want to do is click *immediately* when she does what you want, or even tries to, or if you can see her thinking that she might try. Click the *tiniest* little progress and you'll be amazed how quickly she picks it up.
The idea is not for you to "teach" her, so much. More like she needs to figure out what to do to get you to hand out treats. All you need to do is set a clear rule in your mind like "I'm going to C/T whenever you do X."
Start with "Targeting":
What a lot of people start with, once they've created the association between the click and the treat, is "targeting" - getting her to touch her nose to something. This is easy if she's the sort to sniff at new things. Pick a thing - the lid from a suppliment bucket, a dog toy - anything safe and different from her normal surroundings (don't use her water bucket, for instance).
Targeting will come in handy later when you can ask her go into the trailer to touch her target, or teach her to run across the pen to retrieve it. There's nothing magical about starting with this - it's just an easy first thing to do.
Hold out your "target", and when she goes to sniff it (or even *looks* at it, at first), click immediately, and give her a treat. Pretty quick she'll get the idea that "there's something about that red lid... hmmm". Go for progressively better attempts at touching it. At first you can C/T for just looking, or turning her head toward it. But once she gets to where she's actually touching it, then only click for touching it - not for just looking at it.
How long does this all take?
This takes longer to write than it does to do. I've had horses touching a target within 10 minutes. Some take a couple of days to catch on. Once they get the idea of "how to play the game" it gets easier to teach new things. You'll see a lightbulb come on over her head, really! She'll start volunteering to touch things. If Sabrina wants a treat, she'll pick out something I've left lying around, touch it, and look at me like "Well? Where's my treat?" They think it's a great game.
How to teach her to pick up her feet:
Do this loose in the pen. If she gets frustrated or scared, and wanders off, that's OK - you don't want her to feel trapped or forced. Working with Eeyore's feet is *much* harder if he's tied, 'cause he feels trapped and gets very panicky, but loose he's pretty good.
Remember to look for and reward the tiniest progress, and keep sessions short. You might start with (depending on how nervous Jenny is) just touching each shoulder. Touch, C/T. If she's fine with that, maybe pet down her legs, and C/T her for not running away. She's probably better about her front legs, so start there (even if she's perfectly fine about them), just to give her the idea. If she gets nervous, just back off and repeat the things she was OK with. If she'll only let you stand next to her shoulder, then do that. Pretty soon she should figure out that having you stand next to her shoulder isn't too bad.
Work your way down her legs, and C/T her for her bravery at tolerating it. :-) Start leaving your hand on her a little longer, and C/T her for putting up with that. She should be somewhere between bored and interested in what you're up to. She shouldn't be scared or running away often. You can even walk away a few feet now and then, and if she wants to keep playing she can come over to do more.
When she's pretty happy to let you touch her legs, run your hand down her leg and hold it there. Don't squeeze or pinch, or try to pick up her foot. She should eventually do *something* with that foot - like take a little weight off of it, even if it's because she's thinking of walking away. C/T, even if it was just a little muscle twitch. Work toward her shifting her weight off it, then tipping her foot up onto her toe, then picking it up.
Remember this may take a few sessions. If you have other things to do, take breaks. When I stop working with my guys I hold up both hands, palms toward them, and say "No More", so they don't have to guess when they are working, and when they aren't. You might find she'll still want to play - she'll come over to you and stand there like "OK, touch my leg and give me a treat." You can keep going if she wants - just don't force things.
Once she's picking her foot up - or at least letting you hold it - remember to go slowly. It's easy to revert to "not letting her put it down until you're done". You should hold it up for progressively longer times (and *you* should put it down), then work on picking it or brushing it a little at a time.
It took me two or three sessions to get Eeyore from violently trying to get his foot back (kick-kick-kick-kick) to happily letting me walk up in the pen and clean it. He was still a little nervous about it, but knew I wasn't going to hurt him, and he could leave if he got overwhelmed, so he puts up with it pretty well.
When the farrier came I did have to tie Eeyore (he wouldn't let Paul get near him), but I stood at his head C/T'ing like a crazy person, and he let Paul trim him without throwing a fit. Not ideal, but a huge improvement. The previous time they both ended up bruised and sweaty, with Paul suggesting "throwing" him the next time. Paul couldn't believe the change in his attitude.
Where to find more information:
Two classic books (that I really should get one of these days)...
"Clicker Training for Your Horse" by Alexandra Kurland
"Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor.
Web Sites...
http://www.on-target-training.com/index.html
This is where I bought my clickers, a special target (not magical, just convenient), and a handy treat container like they use at Sea World.
http://www.angelfire.com/az/iceryder/home.html
This is a very inspiring site by "JudyRyder Duffy" with tons of photos and information.
http://clickryder.8m.com/
And this is the site for the clicker training list, which is *very* active, very helpful, and pretty technical.
Lemme know if you have any questions about all this. And have fun!
Linda
For other sites with more information, visit my Favorite Horse and Donkey Links
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Copyright 2000, Linda Eskin
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