revisiting cues, what do you do when?

[Peggy Hogan]

Hi Gang,

I posted a video link on the photo section, but also would love to discuss the topic of what people do when they give a cue and the horse doesn't respond.

To the wonderful site monitors....I hope I did this right....don't want to post in the incorrect areas...

 

[krissy3]

Hey, are you a clicker trainer?? if so how do you lke clicker training for getting your horses ready for show??? I just learned something interesting from the judge this weekend on setting up a horse that has a splay hoof.......as far as your question about cues... well we really havnt started training officially... but with everyday life, i take it slow with my mare to assure her that what I am going to do wont scare or hurt her. She needs that, her past is a little schetchy

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

thats very impressive - enjoyed the video - must take alot of time and patience - and I'm sure it is very rewarding to see the excellent progress - thanks for sharing -

 

[Marty]

Hey Hogan!

I bow to the clicker master

Great video and great question: What do you do when a horse isn't responding to a cue?

Ok well let's see.........perhaps the treats are being over done? And the horse isn't hungry and is becoming bored and disinterested? I don't know. I only used clicker training when I had a problem that I wanted to fix and a couple minor other things. What I see going on in a lot of clicker training programs is that some of the people fail to wean their horses off of so many treats. I know they need a lot to get started but afterwards, I feel they should be backed off of so many. I also think that the clicker doesn't have to be involved in every single thing you want to accomplish such as just plain every day manners. That said, I have had possitive response to when I used the clicker method, but I wouldn't use it for everything everytime.

 

[Peggy Hogan]

Hey Marty,

I'm with you, the treats should be faded, or maybe an easier way to look at it is that I create behavior "chains" so that many behaviors are strung together and sometimes reinforced.

Most of the videos are showing the process at the beginning or near beginning which is the time you WANT to click and treat more. It kind of gives the wrong impression of the finished product.

So the reason I'm bringing up the cue thing is that whether we use pressure/release or positive reinforcement and a marker signal, we ALL have to deal with what to do if the horse doesn't respond to the cue.

If I'm training something I think the horse knows well, I respond differently than if I'm asking for a cue that's relatively new. Before, when I used only pressure/release, the only option was more pressure.

In this video, McKee was being asked some VERY familiar cues but in a very UNfamiliar way. That's why I clicked/treated and was more generous with his attempts.

But what if he refused a really well known cue in general?

So that's kind of the direction I was thinking when I posed the question.

Thanks so much for your response...

 

[Peggy Hogan]

Hey, are you a clicker trainer?? if so how do you lke clicker training for getting your horses ready for show??? I just learned something interesting from the judge this weekend on setting up a horse that has a splay hoof.......as far as your question about cues... well we really havnt started training officially... but with everyday life, i take it slow with my mare to assure her that what I am going to do wont scare or hurt her. She needs that, her past is a little schetchy

I train my horses for demos as well as lessons. Having said that, the process of getting ready for a show would be the same. Lots of practice and making sure my horse really understood my cues in a variety of situations with a variety of distractions.

I'm always trying to find ways to have the horse give me what I request without having to apply more pressure to get it. I'm really hoping other people are willing to jump in on the topic, since I know everyone who shows is concerned about getting a good performance under pressure.

It's really neat to hear you're being so gentle with your mare, especially since her past is rough. She's lucky to have you!