If you are interested in clicker training or horse training, I would definitely recommend checking them out, especially post 3! Here are the links, as well as a few quotes:

Post 1 Alexandra Kurland Clinic- Increase the Rate of Reinforcement
“By holding out for better, I got less. By rewarding more, we shot past previous standards.”

Post 2 High Rate of Reinforcement — Conclusion
More on distractions, rates of reinforcement and riding.

Post 3 Taking the “Make it Happen” out
“You hear people speak of “asking” a horse to do something. But it’s sometimes difficult to see the difference between asking and telling. Is there a threat behind that ask? What happens if the horse says ‘no’?”

Post 4 One Last (?) Clinic Post
This last post covers mat work, rope handling and some simulations using humans as horses!

The weather’s starting to cool off a little bit in north Texas, high 80s and low 90s, instead of 105 degrees. However, the rain and mud of fall hasn’t set in quite yet. It’s been lovely weather for playing with the horses and for taking photos, since everything is still green. Well, the weeds are still green!!

Related posts:

1. Alexandra Kurland and Loopy Training
2. Mark Rashid Clinic Notes
3. Jason Patrick’s Free Horse Clinic DVD

I recently finished reading Getting to Yes by Sharon Foley. What a great book! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to learn more about clicker training and positive step-by-step methods to improve their horse training.

I bought this book over a year ago and have used it from time to time as a reference. However, while I was on a car trip in August I took the time to read it from cover to cover. Getting to Yes is informative and a fun read. I am definitely adding it to the list of books I recommend to people looking for information about clicker training with horses.

Why I Liked Getting to Yes

In Getting to Yes, Sharon Foley presents a clear and straight forward approach to clicker training. The book is heavy in the beginning on foundational information, including the whats and whys of clicker training and how to begin clicker training your horse. Then, throughout the following chapters, the book builds on these foundation exercises to progress to round pen work, in hand work and even some advanced riding exercises.

The book makes it easy to see how and why early foundation lessons are essential for later training. For instance, the Look at Me exercise is used later when teaching the horse to follow a feel and even later when working on lateral flexions and getting the horse’s attention under saddle.

Horse people sometimes want to skip over the basics to get to more advanced concepts. Sharon Foley does a great job of showing how many advanced concepts are just elaborations on the basic building blocks.

Let’s Have Fun, But be Safe!

Getting to Yes is written for people who already have some horse handling skills. However, even experienced horse people sometimes get themselves into trouble when they start clicker training and add food rewards to their training program.

The first chapters in the book emphasize good manners, including how to train your horse to take food politely and how to train your horse to be attentive to you while staying out of your space. The early lessons, such as teaching your horse to target, also include plenty of troubleshooting tips that cover many common questions.

Sharon Foley emphasizes practicing clicker and food delivery mechanics before starting with your horse. She also includes a great explanation of how to play the training game and the “no” game with another person before you start training your horse. These are great exercises for people new to clicker training or for someone who has been clicker training for years.

The Clicker Training Mindset

Getting to Yes is filled with practical applications for clicker training with horses. (There’s a great chapter on using clicker training to teach your horse to longe.) The book isn’t just a practical how-to guide, however. Sharon Foley also does an excellent job explaining the underlying science behind clicker training and why it works so well.

Sharon Foley’s underlying philosophy is that the “horse would be doing what was asked of him if only he were clear about what was wanted and was confident that he could do it.” Our horses aren’t trying to be brats or challenge us or make us angry. However, they often don’t understand what we want or why they should be doing what we are asking.

The goal of good training should be clear and precise communication between horse and rider. In Getting to Yes, Sharon Foley shows us how to break training down into small steps and show our horses exactly what we are asking. By doing this we can build a mindset where we work with the horse, rather than against him, and help the horse be right every step of the way.

The methods in the book are simple enough to help someone new to clicker training solve training problems and create a better partnership with their horse. However, the more advanced chapters will help even those already familiar with clicker training refine their skills. I would highly recommend Getting to Yes for anyone who is interested in clicker training their horse. As well, Sharon Foley’s website is a great source for more information on clicker training with horses.

Check Out Getting to Yes on Amazon.com

No related posts.

This is of our second day working on mounting from the fence. If you do a lot of trail riding or bareback riding, it’s a great idea to teach your horse to come right up to a fence or other object so that you can get on easily.

This is easy to teach using clicker training. I wrote a bit earlier about how I taught Rosie to do this using clicker training.

So, enjoy the video!

Teaching a Horse to come to the Fence for Mounting Bareback (using clicker training)

Related posts:

1. Rosie Learns Mounting from the Fence
2. Rosie Meets the Bareback Pad
3. How long does it take to train a horse?

Some horses aren’t ready for clicker training. I work with rescue horses, some who have been abused and many who have had little if any handling.

The horse needs two skills for clicker training to work well:

1) The horse needs to understand how to take treats from a hand or bucket.

2) The horse should be able to stay relaxed when the trainer is in close proximity. Being able to touch the horse is good, although this isn’t always necessary.

Here’s a good case study of a mare I’ve been working with this summer who initially wasn’t ready for clicker training.

Does the horse know how to take a treat politely?

Most horses who have never been fed treats figure out pretty quickly how to eat from a hand or bucket. However, some horses really have trouble figuring out how to use their lips to take a treat from a hand.

I try to get this figured out first, before teaching other behaviors. This is related to Alexandra Kurland’s concept of loopy training. We have to get the smallest element (in this case, the food delivery) working correctly before we can successfully add other elements.

Can the horse be calm and relaxed in your presence?

With some of our unhandled horses who are curious, but a little fearful, I often jump straight into clicker training. I go slowly at the beginning, building rapport and basic skills. The horse should think I’m awesome to be around. I want the horse choosing to be with me before I start halter training or any ground work.

Clicker training can work (and can work well) for some horses who are initially skeptical or fearful of people. Leslie Pavlich has some really nice clips on youtube of starting horses who were previously untouched using clicker training. (Here’s an example, this is the 1st of 3 videos with this filly.)

Some horses need CAT before clicker training

Starting clicker training with an extremely fearful horse can have mixed results. The horse can learn to perform a variety of behaviors, but the fear doesn’t ever completely go away.

I have one mare I’m working with now who would approach a person if she thought there might be a treat or two. However, if you approached her and watched carefully, she would start showing noticeable signs of tension if you got within 30-40 feet. She would take a treat off the ground but was too terrified to take one from a person’s hand.

Dentists, Horses and Approach-Avoidance

You’re terrified of going to the dentist. So, I give you $500 every time you go to the dentist. You start thinking that going to the dentist is a great deal because you know you’ll get $500, but you are still pretty afraid of the dentist.

In the lab, this is sometimes called an approach-avoidance situation. Lab rats will endure intense electric shocks or other highly aversive events for certain reinforcers (such as access to a female). We can create similar situations with our horses and food if we are training behaviors but are not training for the emotional response we want. The horse does the behavior, but is still afraid of you or the saddle pad or something else.

What is Constructional Aggression Treatment?

With horses that are pretty fearful in the beginning, I start by purposefully shaping the horse’s response from one of skepticism/fear to one of curiousity/interest using a procedure called CAT. The horse’s fear is driven by negative reinforcement–what the horse wants most is for me to go away.

Constructional Aggression Treatment (CAT) was originally developed by Kellie Snyder and Jesús Rosales-Ruiz for treating dogs with severe aggression. Aggression is often also maintained by negative reinforcement–what the dog wants most is for the person or other dog to go away.

Fear is often also controlled by proximity to the scary object. We can purposefully use this distance to influence behavior and create new behavior.

CAT uses low levels of negative reinforcement (pressure/release) to build curiosity, interest, relaxation and engagement. The CAT procedure treats emotions as operant behavior and uses negative reinforcement and extinction to shape a new repertoire of positive emotions.

Constructional Aggression Treatment with Horses

When starting CAT with a horse, I start by approaching the horse from about 100 feet away. At the first (sometimes subtle) sign of tension, stress or unrest, I’ll stop. If the horse moves away, I’ve gone way too far!

I wait for any sign of relaxation, interest, curiosity, etc., and then retreat back to my starting point and wait at least 10-15 seconds. I try to return to the same starting point so the horse knows where I’m going.

As I reinforce signs of curiosity and interest by retreating, I start to see more and more of these positive behaviors. Once the horse is interested and actively approaching me, I’ll add in treats or scratches and jump right in to clicker training.

Constructional Aggression Treatment for a Shy Donkey

This is a very shy little donkey who I worked with earlier this year. He liked treats and scratches, but was very skeptical about being approached. He would sometimes approach you, but would not let you approach him. It took about 20 minutes of CAT (negative reinforcement only) and he was letting me approach him and was following me around everywhere.

I’ve also had great success this summer using constructional aggression treatment with Gracie, a rescued mare who has been untouchable for several years.

Clicker training is a great way to train. However we can run into problems if our animals do not understand how to get the food or are uncomfortable in our presence. If we train these skills first, training will progress much faster and smoother.

Related posts:

1. Gracie Gets Her Halter Off
2. What’s the purpose of the click in clicker training?
3. Clicker Training Doggie Zen (videos)

Apollo recently learned how to take a bath using clicker training. We did this completely at liberty AND with him standing in a yard full of yummy green grass.

The process we used was similar to what I did when I taught Mouse about baths. Check out the video below to see exactly how we did it! (Or read about the steps I used with Mouse.)

Baths Don’t Have to Be Scary

Many horses are afraid or uncomfortable about getting a bath. They dance around and can’t stand still. However, bathing your horse doesn’t have to be this way! With a bit of clicker training, we can train our horses to love baths.

If we shape the behavior gradually and split the training into tiny chunks, the horse can be comfortable and relaxed the entire time. This means we have to be what Alexandra Kurland calls a “splitter” and not a “lumper.”

Horse Training at Liberty

While training Apollo to take a bath, we worked completely at liberty. Although he sometimes had on a halter or lead rope, he was never tied and I was never holding him or forcing him to stay in one place. He could leave at any point.

Working at liberty is a great way to see if there are holes in your training. If the horse is too distracted, concerned, scared or unmotivated to stay with you at liberty, then you are probably asking for too much to soon. With Apollo, I had to start by reinforcing him for standing still at liberty while I walked around him, before we even introduced the water and the hose.

Apollo has come a long way so far this summer! Just a month ago we were still working on halter training. However, in the past month he has really made quick progress and become much more comfortable around people. (By the way, Apollo is currently available for adoption in Texas for $300. You can read more about him on our horse rescue’s website .)

Watch step-by-step as Apollo learns about baths

Related posts:

1. Mouse Gets Her First Bath
2. Halter Training with a Head Shy Horse
3. Training Your Horse to Wear a Fly Mask

If you missed my original post on Pat Parelli and Catwalk, you can check it out here:
Lessons from Pat Parelli and Catwalk.

Molly said:
“What makes me especially uneasy about the Parelli’s is how they do not explain specifically why they used the methods in the video. To me, a good trainer would either admit that the moment got into them and they made a rash decision, or explain in detail why an extreme method is necessary in this situation.”

Maddogranch wrote:
“Regardless, can we think of 20 reasons why an animal would not want to be bridled? I can. I’ve had to face a few of them with my own horses. It’s called “the thing that happens before the thing that happens before the thing that happens before the thing that happens.” Get to the root of that and you are getting somewhere.”

Kate wrote:
“I think sometimes these big arena events, where a troubled horse – who probably has a lot more issues than just bridling – is subjected to tight time deadlines are a mistake.”

Karleen wrote:
“When your reputation is on the line in front of hundreds or thousands of people, by golly you want to deliver the goods – the pressure is on to succeed no matter what.”

Jen wrote:
“Unfortunately for the man in question, the horse failed to recognize who he was (a famous horse expert) and instead reacted to what he was: Another biped with his own agenda trying to push him in a direction he didn’t want to go/wasn’t ready for.”

Steve commented on his hard to bridle horse who had aural plaque in his ears. I wondered if Catwalk’s ears and teeth were ever examined for medical issues? Steve also commented that he “would like to see the full video and audio to have a better understanding of what happened.” This is a great point–many of the youtube clips are too short to see what’s really see what’s going on.

And finally, I’ll leave you with something Mountain Woman wrote in her comment that I just loved:
“Anyway, if the process is more about getting from point a to b and not enjoying the journey and creating a bond, what’s the point?”

Related posts:

1. Lessons from Pat Parelli and Catwalk
2. Teaching the Parelli Friendly Game with Clicker Training (video)
3. Trixie and the Parelli Figure-Eight Pattern

She has been posting detailed notes on each horse and rider pair. (The clinic was a one on one format.) These are great clinic notes. Kate’s a talented writer and pretty familiar with Mark Rashid and his teachings. Her notes really capture the events, as well as the spirit of Mark’s teachings.

She is still posting notes, but I’ll put the links to the posts that are already up below.

Here’s a quote a I really like from the post on horse number 3:

Mark told the rider that he needed to dial down his movements and aids, and to slow everything way down, and just make everything he did much softer – the mare was very sensitive and responsive and was being pushed and rushed and ended up over-amped – there was no way she’d be able to do a movement fast if she didn’t understand how to do it slowly. He should work on each movement one step at a time, giving her the space and time to figure out what to do with her feet. He said often people give their aids off a brace, or intensify an aid when they don’t get an immediate response, and that bracing and pushing can block the horse’s movement and lock it up – the horse can get the job done but it makes the horse’s job much harder. He said many cutting and reining riders are taught to cue off a brace, and although many good horses manage to do their jobs anyway, they’d be much more able to do it, and do it better, if the riders were softer. The message was break the task down and turn down the volume – the rider took it well.

2010 Clinic Themes

Horse #1 — Baby Stuff?

Horse #2 — Change the Thought to Change the Feel to Change the Action

Horse #3 — Dial it Down, Slow it Down

Horse #4 — Close the Gap

I encourage you to check them out!

Related posts:

1. Mark Rashid: Ground Driving 101 DVD
2. Jason Patrick’s Free Horse Clinic DVD
3. Alexandra Kurland Clinic and New Photos

Gracie is an older grey mare who lives at the rescue. No one knows her exact age, but she’s probably around 18. Gracie was rescued in 2007 from a feed lot in Nevada where she was on her way to the slaughter house. When Gracie was rescued, she was absolutely terrified of people. She was probably mistreated and abused in the past, as her light grey coat shows plenty of signs of old injuries and scars.

Gracie Was Completely Untouchable.

I met Gracie in the early months of 2009 when I first started volunteering at the rescue. I was warned to be careful around her, as she was extremely afraid of people. She was known to kick if she felt threatened. Gracie was wearing a blue halter when I met her. A vet had put it on her while she been sedated for veterinary work, but no one had ever been able to get close enough afterwards to take off the halter.

First Tries at Friendship.

I first tried befriending Gracie and working with her in the spring and fall of 2009. She was interested in treats, but was usually too skeptical of me to come close enough to take them. I tried sitting with Gracie and letting her get comfortable with my presence. She never did.

The progress we made was one step forward, three steps back. I wrote several posts where it seemed like we were making headway. However, the next day she would revert back to her old ways and would be as skeptical and standoffish as ever.

Can Food Overcome Fear?

Gracie was still terrified of us. The treats tasted good, but she was still very fearful and cautious.

Food is usually a great training tool. However, for issues of severe fear or aggression, food can sometimes be a hindrance. The animal learns to approach to get the food, but is tense and still has little interest or curiosity in the human. Gracie wanted the food, but she could not get over her fear of people.

Constructional Aggression Treatment (CAT)

This past winter I started doing CAT with Gracie in short sessions. Constructional Aggression Treatment (CAT) is a procedure originally developed for aggressive dogs. However, it also works great for fear issues. CAT uses low levels of negative reinforcement (pressure/release) to build curiosity, interest, relaxation and engagement. The CAT procedure treats emotions as operant behavior and uses negative reinforcement and extinction to shape a new repertoire of positive emotions.

I would approach Gracie in the pasture, but stop at any sign of tension or unrest. I would would wait (sometimes awhile) for any signs of relaxation or curiosity and then retreat.

By February, she was showing A LOT more interest and was beginning to act like she wanted to engaged. This youtube clip shows her total shift in attitude. Instead of approaching to snatch a treat, she was approaching me because she was interested and curious.

Adding Treats

When I first added treats back into the mix, we made some progress, but ended up backsliding again. She was still too uncomfortable with me near her head and neck. So, we went back to CAT until she was more comfortable with me standing very close to her shoulder and head.

This summer, Gracie has finally gotten comfortable enough with me to allow me to pet her. I started in tiny amounts, scratching her once then giving her a treat and walking away. I made sure to always watch her body language for tension or stress. Sometimes I’d do to much and accidentally scare her or startle her.

Gracie Gets Her Halter Off

Just this past week or so, I’ve been able to touch her cheek. I also started touching and gently moving the buckle on the halter. She needed to be pretty comfortable with the halter moving, as the buckle was going to be hard to undo. After several days of this I was finally able get the halter off!

Looking Forward

Gracie has come a long way in the past year. She’s a lot more curious about people and is starting to accept being petted and scratched. We would love to get her confident enough that we could train her to cooperate with basic husbandry tasks such as vaccinations, blood draws or having her feet trimmed.

Gracie also needs to learn how to be comfortable around a variety of different people. We will have to be careful about doing this, as certain situations or movements can still startle her and scare her.

Recently, she let Dawn, who owns and runs the rescue, pet and scratch her for nearly 10 minutes. Gracie has been here three years it was the first time Dawn had been able to pet her while she stood still, calm and relaxed. Dawn was completely overjoyed and Gracie was more than happy to get some scratches and treats.

Related posts:

1. Gracie Update
2. When do I start clicker training?
3. Boomer’s First Session with Halter Training

The latest gossip on the internet is all about Pat Parelli’s recent demonstration with a stallion named Catwalk. If you haven’t heard, I’ll catch you up briefly.

Catwalk is a show jumping horse who is extremely difficult to bridle. Over the course of the weekend Pat Parelli worked with Catwalk until he could be bridled. However, from eyewitness accounts, the demonstration got a bit too rodeo at times, with ropes used as lip twitches, legs tied up, Catwalk rearing and struggling to get away and spectators walking out in disgust.

I wasn’t there.

I didn’t see the horse or the demonstration. I don’t know how “extreme” the horse’s problems were or if simpler methods were tried first. I don’t know if the results will last or if other problems were created.

However, the incident with Pat Parelli and Catwalk does bring up many questions about how “extreme” behavior issues should be handled when training horses. Here are 5 important lessons that we should be reminded of after the fiasco with Parelli and Catwalk.

1) There are no problem horses

There are no problem horses or extreme horses. Just horses that have problems with people and a few who have extreme problems with people. Most horses are perfectly happy in the pasture. It’s when people get involved that the problems start.

When a horse acts up or misbehaves he is acting with his safety and comfort in mind. His actions don’t seem extreme to him.

Horsemanship is about seeking partnership. We have to try to find ways to work with the horse, rather than fighting against him. We need to find training methods that help the horse to look to us for guidance, rather than seeing us as part of the problem.

2) Choose Conditions that are Ideal for Learning

Setting, location, distractions, structure of the lesson, these can all make or break a training session.

Now imagine putting a horse in a new location, without other horses around, with bright lights, strange loud noises and a cheering crowd. This would put most horses on edge and not in a learning frame of mind.

When we train, we need to consider the best conditions and environment that will help the horse learn and progress. If conditions aren’t ideal, sometimes we might need to help the horse be comfortable in those conditions, before we start training something new.

Also, we must consider session length and structure. Many times progress will be much quicker if we work in short sessions or intersperse training something new with working on behaviors that have already been established.

3) Is horse or human safety at risk?

Will the horse or human will be in danger if the problem is not fixed right now? Sometimes it is appropriate to use “extreme” or “harsh” methods in order to get something done, such as providing medical treatment to an injured but uncooperative horse.

There is no reason to use excessive force to “get it done now” for issues such as bridling. The time frame to conquer Catwalk’s issues in a weekend was arbitrarily set by Pat Parelli.

Most of the time, there are thousands of ways to address a problem. We need to be open to a variety of solutions and techniques and start with the ones that will be the safest and the most easy for the horse to understand.

If we are constantly fighting with the horse or not making progress, it’s time to try something new. Or, it might be time to take a break, let horse and human cool off and then start again from a more calm and relaxed state. If we act like we have all the time in the world, training actually often progresses faster.

4) Any Piece of Equipment can be Abusive

Any piece of equipment in the wrong hands can become a torture device. Much of the buzz about the incident with Catwalk is about the specific techniques and pieces of equipment that Parelli used. Lip chains, hobbles, tying up a horse’s leg, laying down a horse, gag bits, spade bits, whips…many pieces of horse tack resemble medieval torturing devices.

We are quick to blame the piece of equipment and fault the trainer for using such a device or tactic.

However, in unskilled hands, even a snaffle bit or a halter can become a torture device. So, rather than debating whether certain techniques or pieces of equipment should ever be used, I think it is more important to see how that equipment is being used and the skill or technique of the person using it.

A highly trained bridle horse is probably much more comfortable wearing a spade bit than a lesson pony in a snaffle who is being popped in the mouth over every jump by a beginner rider.

Was Pat Parelli wrong to use the equipment or techniques he used? I wasn’t there, I don’t know. However, the incident with Catwalk is a good reminder that we should strive to find the most humane techniques and equipment available. Then, we must become skilled in our mechanics and timing so we can be gentle and humane in applying the techniques and methods we choose.

5) Are we Focused on Results or the Training Process?

The demonstration with Catwalk was all about getting the bridle on the horse. This was the final goal. And, from the clips I saw, it was achieved.

But at what cost?

Will Catwalk regress back to old behavior patterns in the future?
Does Catwalk trust Pat Parelli and view him as a friend?
Were principles and the horse’s welfare sacrificed during the training?

Often, when we focus on single problems or goals, we miss the bigger holes. We can make it all about the bridle, like Parelli did with Catwalk. Often, though, we might need to go pretty far back in a horse’s foundation to find the real problem.

From the clips I saw, the horse wanted nothing to do with having his ears or face touched. How about working through that first until the horse enjoys having his face touched? It might take more than a weekend.

It’s harder to teach a horse to like something when you have an “I’m going to MAKE you do it attitude.” The problem is, we often get our horses to tolerate things, but don’t go far enough to teaching them to like it.

Rather than focusing on the bridle, start with ground work and the basics. Instead of starting with the scary and uncomfortable, start by establishing communication and understanding with the horse. Get the horse calm and relaxed and thinking of you as a friend.

Only return to the bridle when you are working with the horse, rather than against him.

Readers, I would be interested to hear your comments and input on this incident and thoughts in general on trainers working with extreme behavioral issues.

Related posts:

1. Pat Parelli and Catwalk: Part 2
2. Teaching the Parelli Friendly Game with Clicker Training (video)
3. Trixie and the Parelli Figure-Eight Pattern

Rosie and I have been doing a lot of bareback riding recently. One handy trick when riding bareback is to be able to climb up on a fence or bench and then have your horse line herself up perfectly so you can slide right on. This can be hard to teach some horses because if the horse does not want to be ridden she will back up or turn her hindquarters away to prevent the rider from getting on.

Rosie has had trouble in the past with standing still. She likes to move her feet and has still not learned a whole lot of self control in this area. We’ve been working recently on standing by the mounting block for mounting bareback and she’s gotten a whole lot better at this. So, I thought we ought to take a stab at mounting from the fence.

I was astonished at how fast she picked this up using clicker training, plus small amounts of rein pressure.

I started by sitting on the fence with her nearly perpendicular to the fence. Rosie is great at leading and following the feel of the lead rope. So, I picked up what would become the inside rein (the left rein) and took up some contact while pulling forward slightly. At the same time, I held the right rein with my other hand, gently pulling towards me and back slightly. The outside rein was more to offer support and direction, although I was not putting much pressure at all on either rein.

Then I waited.

The first couple of times I did this she offered a step forward, and I clicked and treated. Then I started waiting for a step forward, plus some sort of movement of her hindquarters towards the fence. Click and Treat. The first attempt probably took 8 clicks or so until she had moved her hindquarters enough to be parallel to the fence. I mounted, we took a lap around the yard, and then we tried again.

The next few mounting attempts were faster. Just a bit of pressure, and she’d take a step towards the fence with her hind end. Sometimes she ended up parallel to the fence, but too far away, so we’d start again.

After about half a dozen tries, I could climb onto the fence, put a bit of pressure on the inside left rein and she’d slide right on up to the fence and stand perfectly still waiting for me to mount. Wonderful! It was definitely one of those times where afterwards I wished I had the video camera on.

Why did this work so well?

A handful of factors meant that Rosie was able to learn this behavior really quickly.

Rosie enjoys being ridden. She knows how to stand for mounting in other settings and isn’t afraid of people or things above her. So, I wasn’t asking her to do anything scary.

Rosie has a solid understanding of lead rope and rein pressure. Even though she didn’t know what I wanted at first, she understood that the pressure from the reins meant she was suppose to move her body in some way. Since she’s a clicker savvy horse, she began experimenting to figure out the correct answer.

Rosie and I built the behavior in small steps. At first, I rewarded her for offering anything, even if it was just a step forward. I wanted to reward any movement so that she would continue to try and experiment and so that I could build toward what I wanted. Later I rewarded even a tiny bit of movement toward me. Each small try on her part was recognized and reinforced.

I tried later on to show a friend how I had used the rein cues to teach her to move over. It was nearly impossible, because she would line herself up perfectly as soon as I hopped on the fence! A good exercise for next time to really make Rosie think will be to train the behavior for mounting from the right side as well.

(The picture above is from earlier this year, by the way. It hasn’t been cold enough to wear a jacket in months!!)

Related posts:

1. Mount Your Horse Bareback (using clicker training!)
2. Riding Rosie for the first time
3. Rosie Meets the Bareback Pad