So basically, each time she does as she's supposed to (eg stands still next to me, or stands still while I put a foot in the stirrup, then as I put some weight on her etc etc), I click once then give a treat?
Yes, that's the basic idea.... after you've taught her what the click means. You first do this by just clicking & instantly giving a treat, over & over, so that she associates the click with the reward. Then the click becomes a 'bridging signal' which effectively buys you a bit of time when it's not practical to give a treat or such instantly, at the time of the behaviour. It's basically a marker which tells her Yes! That instant was the behaviour which earned you a reward.
Do you gradually phase out the treat but keep going with the clicker as she gets better? Do you ever phase out the clicker once she's doing it properly? What treats do you use? Would slices of carrot do it (cheap and cheerful
)
Yes, you definitely phase out c/t when behaviours become good. You start with phasing out c/t for the behaviour that's become good, and start being more particular, only c/ting the better examples of what the horse gives. This gets them to improve on what they're doing. Also creating a 'variable schedule of reinforcement'(VSR), which is not reinforcing every instance of a behaviour, but doing it gradually less, only for the better ones & randomly for others gets them more solid on it, teaches them to 'gamble' - the probability of getting a treat is still there, it's just not reliable - and hooked on the game, regardless of treats.
Different people do it differently - some phase out treats & keep clicking for a fair while, some do it the other way round, some c/t together & phase them both out at the same time. I personally don't use an actual clicker very much, tend to just use the word 'Good!' in an enthusiastic tone. When I'm using the clicker, I make sure I ALWAYS give a reward when I click. I use it as a kind of default to fall back on, if training takes a step back, the horse loses impulsion or such. But generally in training, when it's going well & I'm not using the clicker, I phase out treats but keep using the word 'good' to mark the behaviour.
As for what rewards to use - anything that the horse truly enjoys will work as a positive reinforcement. However, some things are stronger(more desirable) reinforcers than others, and some things are more practical. Eg. your horse may like a chest rub, but not always, and a slice of carrot may be a much more desirable reward anyway. Depending on what you're doing, what you're wearing(eg. pockets
), etc. you might find that a good scratch in an itchy spot is more or less practical than carrying treats. Regarding treats, I would choose something healthy tho. I wouldn't be giving peppermints or sugary treats, but use slices of carrot, apple, bits of milk thistle, rosehips or other plants they love, a tiny amount at a time of pelletted or other horse feed.... I actually feed my boys a pelletted ration balancer & often use this as training treats.
Sorry, lots of questions but I'm really quite interested in trying this with Minty
Don't be sorry! Ask away
I was so pleased that i clicked at every trott footfall to reward her for her effort... However, i didnt give her a carrot as this would have been impossible!!
I think this is a valid way of doing it, once they've become solid & know what the click means, as I hoped I explained above. But don't confuse the click with the actual reward. It's not a reward of itself, but just a signal that lets the horse know their behaviour has made the likelihood of a reward greater.
My friend taught her horse to target the mounting block. Big mistake. Then every time she led him to it to try to get on, he would turn and touch it with his nose!!!
Hey, that's a minor hiccup compared with my mounting block mistake
I'd taught my horse to stand on it..... when I got on he did too!
Clicker training is certainly a fantastic way to teach and communicate with horses. I think also that it is vital to understand at least some basic behavioural science and learning theory before doing too much with clicker training.
I second this, big time. I think it's vital to learn & understand the principles behind the method. It is basically, behavioural psychology. It's the principles that are important, not the specific 'tools' or actions.
