Has anyone clicker trained their horse?

[Pleasedontdothat]

Timmy is very happily retired (I’m not so happy but I’m still thinking about whether or not to get another horse) but I’ve noticed his ground manners are slipping a bit and want to nip that in the bud before he gets too feral. I was thinking of doing some liberty stuff with him to give him something to think about - I’ve never done anything like that before and am not really sure where to start. I’ve used a clicker with my dogs but am a bit wary of using too many treats in case Timmy starts getting bolshy around food. Any ideas of where and how to start?

There are lots of 'how to' videos on YouTube. Might be worth a look. Kate Olsen runs 'My Service Dog and Me' in the USA, and she regularly says that she clicker trained her horses. Sheep and chickens are good candidates, too. And humans! Any species that can retain learning and has a desire to be rewarded (either food, toys, or encouragement) can be clicker trained. In humans it's called 'precision training' but it's exactly the same technique as for dogs and horses. A good video for understanding it is the Tagteach video on learning high jump.

I don't know exactly but my osteopath, who can't ride after breaking her back (eek) just does "travail à pied" with her horse and says it is as good as riding in a lot of ways.

It took a while for the horse to get into it but she does it wholly by voice, not clicker or treats.

Apparently you start doing stuff you'd do anyway using a halter and lead rope, like walking or trotting alongside, backing up etc and then after a while you go completely without the halter and it's just you and the horse.

I've tried a little bit with my horse and while I'm sure it's mainly me not doing it right, I've found it hard and not very effective. He gets very anxious around food (which in cobby types tends to translate as bolshiness), if he knows I have something he gets fixated on the whereabouts of the treat and stops listening entirely, so I never really got as far as the stage when clicking alone is motivating for him. But he isn't motivated enough by praise or scratches to learn to associate the clicker as positive reinforcement without the food. Way, way harder than teaching a dog using the same methods which I have done relatively easily so it's not that I'm an absolute idiot, I think it is just harder with (some) horses. I think if you want to work with the clicker specifically you might be best off getting a proper trainer in to work with you?

Or there are lots of other groundwork methodologies you can work with that aren't clicker/food based so less risk of aggression, horse agility looks like fun, or Diane Walker's slow walk work is meant to be very good for their posture? Again maybe a few lessons with a groundwork trainer would be enough to get you started?

Thanks for the suggestions @maxelly I share your reservations about clicker/treats but it’s worked so well for my rather dim (but lovely!) dog that I thought it might be worth a try. However I think I’ll try some basic groundwork without the clicker to start off with as I really don’t want him getting bolshy around food.

Yes. We have a bolshy coblet who has awful ground manners when he arrived. A combination of things but it needed addressing. In particular he was very needle shy.

I’m not the most experienced handler so I set up some 1-2-1 clicker training sessions with our vet’s practice. Their vet nurse specifically trains in this area. It was fantastic! I had watched videos etc but having someone there to explain the process and guide us through was worth the cost.

He’s so much better now a year on. He would still take a mile if you so much a gave him an inch but I’m happy to have my daughter handle him now.