|
Getting Started: Four Simple Steps
Step 2: Safety Always Comes First
The first rule in any good training program is safety always comes first. That means for both the horse and the handler. After you’ve decided what it is you’re going to teach, the next step in clicker training is setting up a safe “classroom”.
When you first introduce food, your horse may get overly excited and try to mug you. To avoid having to punish your horse for his enthusiasm, put him in a stall with a stall guard across the door. If he gets excited and tries to grab at your pockets, you can simply step safely back out of range.
If your horse is polite about the food, that’s great. He’s just made your job very much easier. But, if the food turns him into a “juvenile delinquent”, that’s also great. He’s just given you a wonderful way to work on his emotional control.
| Training Tip
Anytime you or your horse is afraid, it means you’ve missed a step in the training. There is always a simpler, safer step you can begin with. Your goal is to find a starting place that is safe for both you and your horse.
|
Emotional control unravels more training than any other element. Your horse may understand perfectly what you want at home, in an empty arena with no other horse around to distract him, but let another horse come into the ring, and he’s dragging you over to say “hi”!
Clicker training addresses these emotional control issues right from the beginning by using the very thing most of us have been taught to avoid: food
|
 |
You’re going to fill your pockets with grain and other good-smelling delights, but you’re going to be saying to your horse that there are rules around the food. Mugging you will NEVER get him goodies, but controlling his emotions and politely bumping a target is magic. Click! That’s what turns you into a willing “vending machine” |
The beginning steps of clicker training establish polite manners around the food, and in the process teach your horse the patience and emotional control he needs to be a safe riding partner. They also teach you how to break your training down into small, manageable steps which make it easier for you both to be successful.
Part One: Getting Started with the Clicker
A Step-By-Step Guide
|
