Clicker Training for Your Horse

I have just begun my journey into this amazing new world. I now have this book and her other book,  The Click That Teaches: A Step-By-Step Guide in Pictures . If you are a beginner like myself, I recommend getting this one first if you can't afford to buy them both at one time. I am now trying to save money for her DVDs, The Click that Teaches series. I am not going into what this training system is about, how it works and all that mumbo jumbo, as there is plenty of that already out there on the web. I just want to say, for me, this system works. I love it and though I have hit a few walls that I have had to learn how to climb, it has been totally worth it so far. If you are not a professional trainer, you are going to have problems with any training system. But the key is whether or not there are resources for you to go to when that happens. I can't say enough about the resources for The Click that Teaches. There are the books, the DVDs, two online yahoo discussion groups, and a facebook page,all there for you when you hit a speed bump. And if you are still skeptical, you just need to realize, like I eventually did, that all you can do is try it. See if works for you and your horses. You might love it too!

I was interested in starting clicker training with my 14 yo mare, because she is highly motivated by food treats and I very much like the idea of true positive reinforcement, rather than just the usual "release of pressure" reward of natural horsemanship methods. She responds well to both methods, but doesn't everyone want a positive reward sometimes? It has been a great success so far. She was a little fussy about picking up her feet but now the minute I have the hoof pick in my hand and walk to her side, up goes her foot. It is helpful with liberty training since one is not right next to them to reward, good for a distance away. As long as you are consistent with how you give the treats, ie her head must be away from me, and she is not in my space, no "mugging" occurs. I really like how the author works through the process, and she is entertaining to read.

I recently rescued a former show shetland who was hard to catch, turned his rear end to me when I opened the stall door, was bad with his feet, and was a terrible windsucker. I had bought this book a year earlier but never used the principles (my own horse is "perfect" ha ha). I needed to be able to catch little Pedro reliably, as soon as possible, in the dry lot, so I stabled him and taught him to target a tin can, then to hold his halter ring over the lead rope snap. This took a few minutes a few times a day, over only TWO days. He now comes up to me voluntarily, not just off the dry lot but even OFF the grass, and holds his head out so cute to be caught, even without the clicker. I also used the clicker to reward him for holding his feet still for cleaning and rasping, and now he stands like a champ for "lawn chair farriery". Finally, the "fun" aspect of clicker training created such trust in him that he is far more relaxed and sucks wind FAR less often. I have even used it to reward him for interrupting his habit to walk toward me instead. This simple little method is terrific for the problem horse, it should be dynamite for a good horse who just needs to learn!

This book is straightforward while still expressing that we should each use the general methods in a way that makes sense to both us and our horse. I have started using the clicker training with both my disrespectful, curious 6-y.o. gelding and my spooky but trustworthy 13-y.o. mare. My gelding, who is extremely intelligent, took less than 10 minutes to figure out that touching his muzzle to an orange plastic cone would be followed with a "click" and a treat. My mare, after watching, took about three minutes to figure it out. I worked on them for a weekend while home from college and a week later came down, set the cone on the ground by the gate and stood with the gate between me and the horses/cone. My mare saw the clicker and treat bag and instantly bent over to touch the cone, then walked over for her treat! The horses love this because to them it feels as if they're training us! It's largely rewarding for both horse and handler and I'm looking forward to using the clicker system in further training with both horses!

Am shocked at how little we are truly tapping into our horses intelligence. I am working with a six year old mare that has no idea how to :learn" and this is absolutely helping her use her brain in a way that has nothing to do with riding. My old horse learned to target in minutes! My 4 YO TB learned how to target, follow moving target and then PICK up the target in three consecutive sessions in one day! My QH WATCHED and immediately knew how to touch the target. Absolutely amazing. The steps aren't necessarily EASY but you , too, will "learn" to learn differently. I even taught my four year old granddaughter and her comment was "what game are we playing and how does Blue get a prize?" I had her do the "clicking" and she was spot on. GREAT way to teach young ones to watch for a response. Am so happy.

This books is pure gold. Even if you aren't sure about clicker training or don't plan on clicker training this book is a must read for horse owners. It makes so much sense and the way she writes it it's so easy to understand. She's not forcing anything down your throat, just walking you through it and helping you consider your options. Wether you want to die hard clicker train, or just add it into your current training program to enhance the effectiveness of your training, or maybe you decide not to use the clicker, just read this book before you rule anything out. --- if you want to go ahead with clicker training after reading this book I really recommend her book "the click that trains" as a more step by step guide .

I had heard of clicker training that had developed from working with dolphins and had been extended to dogs, and lately, horses.The descriptions seemed very sinple but requiring great sensitivity and sense of timing. This book is understanding of the difficulties a newcomer would have, and proceeds in a very orderly and detailed manner, step by step, to planned results.

Very interesting book for training my horse!

Ein Grundbuch, Einführung in die Welt des Clickertrainings, aber für die praktische Arbeit allein nicht geeignet

Une vraie révélation!C'est simple, bien détaillé et illustré de photos (noir et blanc, seul bémol à ce livre).Je recommande si vous lisez l'anglais couramment.

Having heard about horses that have learnt to 'fetch' or hold legs up whilst bandages were applied, I wanted to learn more about clicker training. I bought this book not really knowing what I was getting into and with no prior knowledge whatsoever.This book has changed everything. My horse really looks forward to doing the exercises explained in the book and he's alot happier for it!The book starts off with the basics on how to start and builds up to more difficult work (lateral bending/loading etc). Its packed full of really useful hints and tips and is written extremely well (very easy to follow). Its good also because it doesnt insist on you buying expensive 'gadgets' to train with. For target training I use a lid to a supplement!Even if you're only slightly interested/curious about clicker training, please read this book!

Great book, well written and easy to understand.