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Miss_Fortune

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I will more then likely be getting a mare soon. She has only ever been used as a broodmare though. I really would like to show her, as I think she would do wonderfully. However I have only ever trained my gelding & started with him when he was a baby. Are there any differences to training an older horse? Also are there any types of training that may work better for her? Ive also heard of clicker training, how does that work?
 
Still nothing? Come on someone out there must have some advice!?
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What do you want to train her for?

If it is halter....start working with her on standing, etc.

In general, the older ones are either 'set in their ways' and don't want to do anything that interferes with their normal way of life, or they are eager and attentive and way better than a youngster.

Remember that she may not understand what you are asking, but she does have the mental maturity to process everything--and usually quicker than a young horse.

Never tried clicker training; it might work with her too.
 
I don't have any specific ideas for training an older horse, but you do have one thing going for you... A mature horse, usually has a longer attention span, so training sessions can be more lengthy and in depth. Still a good idea to break any training into to small, simple steps, but you'll probably be able to have longer training sessions.
 
I am in a rush to get out of here and pack for my trip to Nationals. If you do a search on Clicker Training here, you will find posts I've made with reference to many resources. Here are a quick few to get you started.

http://www.theclickercenter.com

http://www.clickryder.com

http://www.equineclickertraining.com

http://www.canadianclickercentre.com

http://www.clickertraining.com (all species...even human!)

An article that I wrote: http://www.amylacy.com/fm/Clicker%20Training.pdf

Sorry I can't do more for you right now, if you have specific questions after reading the sites listed above, I will be more than happy to answer them when I get back week after next.
 
These minis are the easiest breed I have ever worked with to train to do something. They just seem smarter and have more common sense than the big breeds. They can also be manhandled if necessary which can be hard with a 1000# horse. No matter what training method you use, it is all based on a response/reward system. My horses get treats but I don't reward with treats everytime they do something right. I use the good girl/boy system and when they do something right I scratch and love on them telling them good girl/boy. They get it right away and I ignore mistakes until they get it right and they soon learn the difference.

Take an obstacle class for instance. You can't give them treats or click everytime they do an obstacle correctly while showing. You can tell them good girl/boy and they know they did what you wanted them to. While in a class if they start getting strong or frustrated, I can settle them back down just by saying good girl/boy, which is to my advantage. My horses start licking and chewing everytime they hear me say it. I get a chuckle every time they jump a particularly high jump and I will say good girl/boy and they start licking and chewing as they come off the jump.

I have trained several older minis with no problems and I have had some really wild ones to deal with. We are talking never handled, kicking, biting, running over the top of you and absolutely no respect for humans when I got them. Two of them are finishing out their pinto championships and turned into "pocket ponies".

My old guy BB didn't start his show career until he was 11 and then he hit the show ring and was a fabulous show horse and went top ten in the nation for 4 years straight being 2-3 in most catagories until his retirement last year.
 
K, No need for clicker training!
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Older horses are easier to teach IMO!!

Midnight: 26 years old -> I started Training this horse for every thing(but driving, he already knew it!) 8 years ago! ..he was 18...So those things include, halter, jumping, Obstical, tricks, clipping leading proberly.. like I said, EVERYTHING! & he is a stud, but he was no harder to train than any other horse. JMO, Training has little to do with age, for horses... the older the better/easier!

Just start slow!

thats all i can think of
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for now
 
I think an older horse would be an excellent candidate for clicker training- a far gentler approach to training is often needed for older horses, especially when they have been all but "stagnating" for a while!! Do follow the links ClickMini has given and judge for yourself.
 
I really think I am going to try clicker training. Id rather train using positive reenforcement(Treats & Praise) then negative such as (pressure & dominance).

Ill give it a try, its worth a shot.
 
Id rather train using positive reenforcement(Treats & Praise) then negative such as (pressure & dominance).
...I have heard of lots of very bad clicker training stories... I think clickers should be used for dogs...
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Treats & Praise was ALL I use.. & it worked great... I don't see the point of clicker training... regular training works fine... I don't know if you ment i used pressure & dominance to train... Just what made you want to clicker train? I'm only asking to learn new opinions.. so where did you hear of it? Besides reading the above post.. were could I find new info?

I'd like to some stories or point of Good clicker training.
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i love click mini
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but i have to admit i am not a fan of clicker training for dogs or horses. I also never use treats to train a dog or horse. I want an animal to work and learn with me because they want to and because we have a mutual respect for each other. I use praise and petting for rewards.

Anyway i certainly think an older mare can learn just like an older dog can. But you have to be patient and be CONSISTENT.

Most people that cannot train a dog or horse are not consistent in what they do.
 
...I have heard of lots of very bad clicker training stories... I think clickers should be used for dogs... 
I'm a dog trainer and there are lots of bad clicker training stories in the dog world too. I won't train with clickers, I use praise and games for motivation. I personally find you end up with a more solid out come.
 
I'm just going to give my personal experience with clicker training, so take it or leave it.

I love clicker training. It was the only thing that really worked on my dog. She's a chow chow, they are known for being very loyal loving dogs that will protect and look after their owners until the end. However, they are not known for their obedience. We went through a very popular trainer in the area that everyone said was great. He did use choke chains and leash corrections in his training and also was very against using food as a motivator. Well, 6 weeks of training classes and 2 private lessons letter I had a chow chow who would still die for me, but not sit for me
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A friend of mine showed me how she trained for dog, a 10 year old sheltie who had her Utility title in obedience, using the clicker. The click is used to as a marker to pin point the exact moment the animal does something right and communicates that very clearly to the animal as well as tell them that they are going to get rewarded for that (the click it self is not a reward, food is used a lot because most animals are motivated by food, anything can be a reward but it HAS to be something the animal likes it)

So, because the click is able to pin point the exact moment when an animal does something you like, you are able to break down a larger behavior into very small steps that can easily be accomplished by the animal (your setting them up for success). Animals and also humans learn a lot quicker and retain information a lot long when tasks are taught to them in small steps (think what when you get a new job, is it easier if the show you step by step what to do, or to just throw you into it?)

By using the click to mark the smallest step and rewarding each little step toward your final goal you are breaking things down to make it easier for the animal to learn.

You are also able to "capture" behaviors. That is, mark and reward any good behavior your animal does all by them selves with out any prompting from you. (by capturing little behaviors I was able to teach Sasha to retrieve her toy and put it away in the toy basket without my fat butt ever leaving the couch
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The clicker is only used to teach new behaviors or to fine tune already learned behaviors, once the animal has the behavior the way you want it the clicker is no longer needed. The rewards are always at their highest during the learning period of training a new behavior, but once the animal has learn and practiced the behavior and understands it the rewards can be tapered off and mixed up.

Back to Sasha, after just a couple of months of using the chow chow who wouldn't sit was ready for her first obedience match (where by the way, she got for first qualifying score and won first place in her class beating out labs and shepherds) She is also much happier when it comes to training and gets way more excited about it. Even at the age of 7 she is still learning new things.

Side note: You do not have to use a clicker to "clicker train". People use a clicker merely because it is a quick consistent noise. You can substitute anything that makes a quick consistent noise, even a word (yes! Good! Zip! Beep!) as long as you use the same word in the same tone every time.

I've been training dogs for 9 years now. I've worked with obedience show dogs, regular family pets, and different aggresion cases and I have had very high success using clicker training in all cases. I do plan on using clicker training with my new horses.
 
I think a lot is going to depend on your horse's attitude.

She may be sick and tired of being a broodmare and may suffer from boredom. If so, then you are in luck. You may be giving the gal a new lease on life. She just may love her new job. I'd go for it and try the clicker training too.
 
I think she is very interested in learning. She really seems just to want to be with you & have your attention so I think she will really enjoy learning new things.
 

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