Equine Clicker 101 Lesson 42: Teaching a Horse to Move Off Pressure with Positive Reinforcement

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.