How I found clicker training
I am always amazed at the way things work out in strange ways. In 1999 I had to put down my favorite horse due to congestive heart failure. To replace her I bought a 9 month old filly, Rosalien, who was to be my long term project. Well bred and conformationally correct, she was to be my next horse, one I would keep forever. The only problem was that when she arrived here she was aggressive and skittish, and I found it hard to deal with her. It was very depressing for me because I have always spent a lot of time with my horses and they have always been my friends. Over the next year, Rosie and I learned to get along, but I never felt that she liked me. She was usually ok once she was out of her stall, but when I first walked in the barn she still pinned her ears and raked the bars at me. Not a very welcoming behavior.
About 5 months after I got her, I was in the traveling bookstore at Dressage at Devon. I love to visit the bookstore and am always trying to avoid spending too much money. Alexandra Kurland’s book on clicker training was on the shelf. I picked it up, thought it looked interesting, looked at the pile of books I already had, and put it back. When I went to the checkout I was told I could get a free book, so I went back and got it. Once home, I put it on my shelf of books to read and it stayed there (for 6 months!). In November, I gave birth to my fourth child and suddenly found myself with some time to read. I picked up Clicker Training for Horses, and I was hooked. When I bought the book, I had been thinking it would be a way to develop a positive relationship with Rosie. I was looking for something fun to do with her that would help her think of me in a positive way. Now I was inspired to go out and play. It was great timing because I wasn’t back to riding yet and it was winter so there wasn’t too much to do. I keep my horses at home, and we have a small barn (36x36) with an aisle and an outdoor arena that I can sometime, but not always, use in the winter. ;
So I went out and started teaching my horses to target. I actually spent a lot of time working with Willy, my other horse, first. I trusted him a little more and he was much more settled about allowing me to work with him in his stall. He caught on really fast and learned to target and then pick up a jolly ball. I did the same with Rosie once I felt confident I knew the basic steps to get started. Rosie loved it. I had been teaching Willy some tricks so I added the clicker to that, and he got better and better. He loved the work and was always eager to come out and play. Over time, I was able to shape Rosie’s behavior so that she was polite when I came up to her stall, and she clearly showed that she was eager to work too.
Rosie’s training progressed from there. We did a lot of ground work the summer she was one, and she learned some tricks too. She loved to show off her latest behavior by offering it when I went into the stall. Over the winter, she didn’t get a chance to go up the ring as we had too much snow and ice. I played with her as best I could in the barn, and was amazed at how much she remembered when I took her up to the ring in the spring. Another winter passed and Rosie was two. She learned how to be saddled and bridled, accept a bit, work in long lines, and walk on a lunge line. She seemed to take everything in stride and whenever we got stuck, I just backed up and reinforced her more for the beginning of the behavior I was after. I remember teaching her to long line and getting all disorganized with the lines. She would just stop and wait until I was ready to go again. She never panicked when the lines touched her legs. The biggest problem I had was teaching her to walk ahead of me. She was so used to being next to me, that she didn’t want to walk out in front. When she was 3, I backed her without any problem. We spent the summer walking and working on her steering. She had developed some fear of the back of the ring. This was mostly due to the fact that the barn cats liked to jump out at unsuspecting (or suspecting) people and horses from behind a tall clump of grass at the back.. We were able to worth through that and by the next summer she was trotting around the ring and we even started cantering.
Last spring (2003) she had her first foal (Zan), a beautiful bay colt. He is my newest clicker project and seems to love it as much as his Mom does. Rosie and Zan are the horses pictured on the header for this site. I will add more about Rosie and Zan to the web site as their training progresses.
Well, this is more than just how I found clicker training, it is really Rosie’s story, but Rosie really showed me how much a horse could change with this training method. She learned many new things, but the most important thing she learned was that I was her friend.
If you are interested in reading more about what kept me going with clicker training, read Why clicker train?, and About clinics.
Thanks, Katie
If you would like to add your story to this page, email it to me (kabart315@gmail.com) and I will be happy to include it.