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All these things are possible with a clicker trained horse. With clicker training, you can teach your horse all the skills he needs and have fun at the same time. With clicker training, your horse learns faster because he is actively trying to learn what you are trying to teach him. You are truly working together toward a common goal. To learn more about clicker training and this site, please read the articles on the sidebar menu and also go to about this site.

Welcome to the site. For more information on what I have recently changed, be sure to visit the What's New page to learn about new members and features. I do try and add something new to the site every month, either an article or some pictures or updating some of the pages.

I am currently working on a few projects and could use some input from other clicker trainers. One is a page that is going to be the +R page for ways to shape behavior using only positive reinforcement. I think sometimes people get stuck and end up tagging clicker training on to whatever they are doing, or not using it at all for some training issues. Can we come up with a good list of ways to teach traditional behaviors using only positive reinforcement? This is part of a larger project on using the 4 quadrants of operant conditioning with clicker training, but it is a good place to start. You can email ideas or examples from your own training to me.

I would like to add more horse stories to my horse stories section. Do you have a special clicker trained horse you would like to share? If so, please send me an email. They can be short or long, just a story about one event or about a change over a period of time. People learn so much from stories and find them inspiring. Sharing is a nice way to spread the power of clicker training.

I am working on making some youtube videos. I will list them and some details about them on the youtube video page.

Karen Pryor's new book "Reaching the Animal Mind" is coming out on June 16, 2009. See her that morning on Good Morning, America. For more information, go to www.clickertraining.com.

How to use Negative Reinforcement as a Clicker Trainer

This is the second in a series of articles on how clicker training can be used with the quadrants of operant conditioning. It started out as one article specifically about how to use negative reinforcement as a clicker trainer, but then it grew so long, I had to divide it up. The first article (four quadrants) is an introduction to the four quadrants of operant conditioning and includes a basic description of each quadrant and how it can be used (or not) by clicker trainers. If you are not familiar with the 4 quadrants of operant conditioning and have not read that article, I suggest you do so before continuing on here. I do want to state that I have no formal training in learning and behavior theory, but I am very interested, so I have been reading, watching relevant DVD's, attending seminars and doing some thinking on the subject.

It may seem odd to have one article about all the quadrants and another one about just using negative reinforcement, or combining it with positive reinforcement, but of all the quadrants, negative reinforcement seems to be the most complicated to use. The fact that it is complicated, combined with the fact that it is the type of operant conditioning most associated with traditional horsemanship means that it merits a closer look. Most horse trainers have already been using negative reinforcement but that doesn't mean they understand it. What seems to be missing is an deeper knowledge of the nuances of using negative reinforcement so that it is a humane training tool. We all recognize when we see it being used well, but we don't all know how to learn those skills for ourselves.

I am going to start out with some basics about negative reinforcement. Some of this is a repeat from the last article, and I considered leaving it out, but I think it never hurts to go over the basics again and every time I read something again, I learn something new.

This article is long and packed with information and there are a lot of interconnected parts. I tried to refer back to previous sections that were relevant instead of repeating information but so much of training is interwoven that this was not always possible. I suggest that you read the whole article through the first time. If you want to find a specific section, I have made links so you can navigate around.

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Training Tip: In the early stages of clicker training, your horse can get so enthusiastic this new game that he or she throws behaviors at you before you have asked or when you are not ready. It is important to understand this is part of the process and be prepared when you start a session so that the horse doesn't get started without you. I also like to click the horse for moments when he or she waits for me or moments of stillness when it is clearly looking to me for direction.

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