Step 4: Target Training

When I first started experimenting with clicker training, I tried charging the clicker. I clicked and treated, clicked and treated, but nothing seemed to be happening. No “light bulbs” were going on in my horse’s head. He wasn’t making a connection between the sound of the clicker and the treats I was feeding him.

I wasn’t patient enough to wait for the wheels to turn. I wanted to see something happening, so I held a whip up for him to touch. He sniffed the whip. I clicked and fed him his treat. He sniffed it again. I clicked and treated. I was pairing a behavior I wanted, in this case touching a target, with the click and a treat. Within minutes my horse was eagerly touching the whip. Wherever I held it, he reached out and bumped it with his nose. Smart horse!

For me this was much more reinforcing than taking the time to charge up the clicker. I could see something happening. My horse got the connection. He could turn me into a “vending machine” whenever he wanted just by touching the whip with his nose! The clicker told him when he had guessed right and was about to get a treat. It was a great game, a win-win situation for both of us.

That’s how I’ve started most other horses ever since: I teach them to touch a target. When I first started clicker training, I thought targeting was just a cute trick, a simple lesson I could use to teach horses the basic rules of clicker training. I quickly learned that it is a powerful and very useful training tool. With targets you can teach your horse to ground tie so he can accept grooming, shots, clippers. You can use targeting to get him over his fear of strange objects. And you can use targeting to lead him past scary obstacles and even onto trailers.

Part One: Getting Started with the Clicker
A Step-By-Step Guide

• Training with Positives - What is clicker training?
  • What you need
  • What you need, continued
    • Step 1: Decide What you Want
    • Step 2: Safety Always Comes First
    • Step 3: Charging the Clicker
    • Step 4: Target Training
  • Getting Started: Targets
  • Putting the Steps in Action
  • Mouthy Horses & Hand Feeding
  • How Long Can I train?
  • Clicker Fundamentals
  • Clicker Solutions