Equine Clicker 101

Sponsored by Via Nova Priority to Positive

In this lesson we discuss ways to help our horses to choose relaxation and settling over excitability. We want to teach them that standing quietly is the most reinforcing behavior...ever!

Many people think they couldn't go with Positive Reinforcement training because of the way their horses behave around food. In this episode I discuss ways to help horses learn to be mannerly about food. It is easier than you think!

In this lesson I will discuss separation anxiety. This can be a worrisome and even unsafe challenge for both horses and horse owners. I will discuss ways to help them with their worry while also creating a better association with being on their own or out in the world. Naturally, I will focus on using positive reinforcement to address this issue.

When it comes to horse showing, what do you want? A horse who is calm and confident or a horse who is nervous and has a hard time focusing? Horse shows are full on new sights, sounds and smells. Setting your horse up for success at the horse show is more than preparing them for the arena. If done thoughtfully your horse can enjoy the whole environment and look forward to the whirlwind of activity that is all around. However, if not done with some awareness, we run the risk of overwhelming(flooding) them and creating a sensitivity to the show environment. I discuss some things to consider before your horse's first show.

We have discussed how to begin introducing collection in the last lesson. This lesson will move into taking those exercises under saddle using positive reinforcement to create a great association.

In this episode we will discuss ways to prepare your horse for collection. Starting on the ground and discussing what we are looking for.

Most horses that we come across have already been taught a vast majority of the things they know through traditional training. These horse's are often referred to as crossover horses. We are shifting our focus to positive reinforcement, how do we move forward? I discuss how to move forward and recognizing when it would be best to retrain a behavior.

Teaching pressure as a cue, with a strong positive reinforcement history instead of using escalating pressure. While this may seem like a matter of semantics, the resulting emotional state is quite different. I describe the difference and ways to create the behavior utilizing positive reinforcement.

Sometimes, during training sessions, our horses get off track. I discuss ways to get back on track, to bring clarity to our sessions and to minimize frustration.

Utilizing our hands as targets is easy to teach and obviously convenient. In addition, pairing it with their name becomes is an easy way to teach a recall.

This lesson is focused on learning to recognize facial expressions, body language and the value of eye contact. All of this serves as way for our horses to communicate how they are feeling. It gives us valuable information about our horses and helps us to strengthen our bond. Guests and Links Lesson #39: Host:  Shawna Karrasch - Visit her website at On Target Training Buy Your Own On Target Training Kit Get Shawn'a Book On Target Training: Clicker Training and Beyond Try Shawna's DVD You Can Train Your Horse to Do Anything Try Shawna's DVD Set DeSpooking Your Horse: Building Boldness and Confidence Trouble Loading?  Get On Target Trailer Loading Need help cleaning a sheath?  Get the DVD Positively Simple Sheath Cleaning Learn more about Shawna's Personal Instruction Buy your On Target Traing Supplies here Visit our sponsors: Via Nova Training and Cavalor Feed  

Teaching your horse to enjoy baths isn’t so hard especially when using positive reinforcement, We don’t want him to simply tolerate it, we want him to like it. We discuss ways to get your horse acclimated to the hose, running water and getting sudsy! Host:  Shawna Karrasch - Visit her website at On Target Training Buy Your Own On Target Training Kit Get Shawn'a Book On Target Training: Clicker Training and Beyond Try Shawna's DVD You Can Train Your Horse to Do Anything Try Shawna's DVD Set DeSpooking Your Horse: Building Boldness and Confidence Trouble Loading?  Get On Target Trailer Loading Need help cleaning a sheath?  Get the DVD Positively Simple Sheath Cleaning Learn more about Shawna's Personal Instruction Buy your On Target Traing Supplies here Visit our sponsors: Via Nova Training and Cavalor Feed

When things don't go as planned it is easy for you and your horse to become frustrated. In this Lesson I discuss ways to minimize frustration and to keep training fun. We learn about least reinforcing stimulus (LRS) and differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI).

Timing is key in any type of training and positive reinforcement training is no exception. This certainly holds true when we think about shaping movement. In this lesson I discuss some tips to develop better timing and targeted results.

Shawna Karrasch discusses the common springtime issue...diving for grass. We will discuss some thoughts and strategies to minimize this annoying habit. Understanding their motivation, offering valuable reinforcements and creating strong and salient cues can really change things!

In this lesson we discuss and practice getting ready for fly season. We walk through the steps to getting our horses comfortable with being sprayed with fly spray.

Teaching your horse to happily participate in bridling isn't hard to do when utilizing positive reinforcement as part of the equation. In this lesson I discuss what steps to take to create seamless bridling. In addition, I discuss how to change the reluctant horse into a happy participant.

As we begin training we often teach behaviors with our horses at liberty. This gives them a choice and provides us with a lot of information. But how do we move from liberty work to utilizing equipment while still giving our horses a voice? In this lesson I will discuss the different ways to transition to traditional equipment and cues.

It is important to be sure that our horses understand and chose to focus on the things that we have taught them, even in new and distracting situations. I discuss ways to strengthen your horses focus and build reliability with your training.

Teach your horse to be cordial at the gate. Resource guarding is common among social animals, including horses. I discuss some techniques to help them to make better, safer choices at the gate or when in a group setting.

We discuss and practice techniques for teaching young horses basic skills, including standing still and impulse control.

Leading often leaves something to be desired. In this lesson we discuss ways to help get your horse refocused and back in the game of leading. It is often too much momentum that leads to many of the challenges so we discuss ways to help our horses practice some impulse control.

In this lesson we discuss why horses bite. It’s not always what you might think. We also discuss positive and constructive ways to address the unwanted behavior.

Techniques for helping the spooky horse to focus under saddle. The key is that it is the horse's choice to redirect his attention back to working with his rider. Often times we utilize equipment that controls a physical response, but the horses can remain in the same internal, emotionally charged state. When the horse chooses to focus, it really is the horse choosing to regulate his emotional response to the situation. It is a game changer!

In this lesson, I discuss equine body language, facial expressions and the importance of recognizing when our horses go over threshold. These observations give us important information that we can use to improve our training. Our horses’ emotions are an important part of our relationship and they definitely come into play with training. We will take a look at how our horses respond in different situations.

Using positive reinforcement we can teach our horses to not only stand quietly, but to actually look forward to the clipping process. We will utilize systematic desensitization and counterconditioning. They sound like big words but it is a simple and useful tool to have in your toolbox for lots of situations, beyond clipping.

We will be talking about how to help get your horse fit and balanced using the reverse round pen. Fading ourselves to the center of the circle is our first objective. We will also be introducing new cues including verbal to help prepare for ridden work.

The reverse round pen means that you are on the inside and the horse is on the outside. It is an excellent tool for helping your horse to get fit, develop balance and proper biomechanics while also giving him a choice. In addition it can be used to teach upward/downward transitions and impulse control. In this episode we will discuss easy ways to create a reverse round pen and some early exercises to get things started.

We will work on using positive reinforcement to help our horses to be relaxed and happy in the cross ties. We will teach him how to respond to the sensation of being tied, whether a single tie or cross ties.

We discuss and practice free jumping...not with a chute and whip, but with the obstacle in the middle of an arena or paddock.  We will utilize positive reinforcement to help horses enjoy and CHOOSE to jump.  Most horses find it fun and it stretches their toppline, which is good for any horse!

In this lesson we being teaching our horses to go from point A to Point B. This is useful for exercise, for teaching your horse to go away from you, to trailer load, and for teaching your horse to jump or go over obstacles.

Horses often times find unfamiliar things scary. In this lesson we will discuss(and practice) how to help your horse to perceive new things as good instead of worrisome. Technically speaking, it is called systematic desensitization and counter conditioning. It is a fantastic tool for all sorts of new objects, events and situations.

Many people struggle with good ways to motivate their horse to go forward...to WANT to go forward when asked. In this lesson we discuss ways to help your horse go forward. By utilizing positive reinforcement we put something in it the the horse wants and values and this is a game changer. We will discuss how to use targets and liberty leading to get your horse to respond to traditional cues. The process will change your horse's association with this behavior. We will also discuss how to fade these tools so that your horse will happily respond to your cues.

The trailer is only part of the equation. Teaching your horse to be relaxed, settled and focused in new places is crucial for creating a good experience. Often times this element is overlooked. Yet, the fear of new places and things can become the impetus for your horse to refuse to load in the trailer. In class today, we will discuss(and practice)ways to make the destinations a fun experience for both you and your horse.

Trailer loading/traveling is actually a lot of behaviors all put together. So we are going to address how to use positive reinforcement for each of the different stages to ensure that the horse enjoys and understands each element. This time we introduce the trailer actually moving.

Trailer loading/traveling is actually a lot of behaviors all put together. So we are going to address how to use positive reinforcement for each of the different stages to ensure that the horse enjoys and understands each element.

Helping horses who have difficulty loading become more than compliant about this essential behavior but actually enjoy it by utilizing positive reinforcement training.

Helping the rescue, feral, abused equine to go beyond acclimating to a life with humans, we will help them find their human interactions to be enjoyable utilizing positive reinforcement training. I address their fears, behavior and psychological state so that we can create a horse who is emotionally balanced and content.

How to introduce the clicker for ridden work. Using positive reinforcement(R+) and feeding while mounted seems complicated but it is actually pretty simple. R+ is great for addressing all sorts of under saddle issues but in this episode we will work through the early steps. More to come in upcoming episodes!

Help your horse to enjoy holding still for mounting. We will discuss techniques to minimize fidgeting, sidling and walking away. This technique will help them to be solid for mounting out on the trail, at a show, basically anyplace, anytime.

Teaching your horse to accept wormer and oral medications. In the process we help them to become desensitized to mouth handling.

Preparing your horse for clipping, mounting, vet care, farrier work and your visiting nephews. This is a process that includes systematic desensitization and . That sounds dull but and it is more important than you might realize.

Teaching your horse to be relaxed and happy about foot handling.

Getting the fundamental Positive Reinforcement Training skills strengthened. The clicker skills go much deeper than a physical skill set. We are creating a horse who loves solving the puzzles that come along with training horses.

Teaching your horse to stand. Standing still, calm and relaxed, anytime, any place is one of the most important behaviors in their repertoire. Using the positive reinforcement in a systematic way increases clarity as well as your horse's motivation.

Shawna takes you through stationary targeting, shifting context and some pointers for horses who try to hard or are a little shut down using positive reinforcement.

In this lesson we talk about what a target is as it relates to positive reinforcement training and why it is useful and then introduce it to our horses.

We continue working on manners both on the ground and around food. However, we are going to take it a bit further and add movement. We will be reinforcing relaxation and downward transitions. Therefore we put a greater value on our horses choice to quiet their bodies AND minds. Overtime this skill (choice to settle) can carry over to all sorts of real world situations and become an invaluable tool.

An important element of horse training and equine behavior is communication. As we introduce positive reinforcement(R+) training techniques, we will first focus on teaching the bridge signal (for our purposes we will use a clicker). Through this process we will also practice manners around food and discuss relaxation. In addition I will talk about why R+ is a super effective and fun way to work with your horse.  Listen in...