Winter Riding Tips: Clicker Training

The thermometer is below freezing, the wind is whipping up and riding in a storm is the last thing you want to do. However, warm horse bodies nestled in stalls are keeping the barn comfortably warm to work in. The question is what can you do with your horse indoors to keep both of you entertained. My answer? Clicker training!

The simplest of tricks to teach is “target” and it is the backbone to all clicker training. The idea is simple, have your horse touch a target with their nose on command. I personally like using a tennis ball skewered on the end of a whip, crop or carrot stick. My treat of choice is hay stretcher. You can pick up a 50lb bag for about $10 at your feed store. Horses love the stuff and I feel good about giving them treats knowing they aren’t fatty molasses cookies.

Step 1 – Associate a Click with a Treat
This part is easy work for the horse. Click and give a treat. Only do this 3-4 times. Horses are smart and pickup quickly that a click noise equals treat.

Step 2 – Introduce the target
Bring in your target and hold it about 2-3 feet in front of your horse’s muzzle. Curiosity will get the better of your horse and they’ll want to sniff the tennis ball. As soon as their muzzle touches the ball, click and treat. Repeat until the horse figures out that they have to touch the target to get a treat. Some catch on quick, others will keep trying to dig into your pockets for cookies. Be patient.

Step 3 – Introduce the word target
We tell young horses to woah, walk on, trot, gee and haw so now it’s time to associate a word to touching the ball. Best word to use is, target. Repeat the steps above but this time don’t click and treat until you tell the horse “target” and then they touch the ball.

Step 4 – Target stretches
A target right in front of the nose is easy, now try moving your target. Raise it up and ask your horse to reach to touch it or lower it down to the ground. Use the target to ask your horse to bend and stretch in new directions. This is not a dance, have your horse keep their feet still and not be tempted to walk around to chase the target yet. Besides you’re in a stall or aisle way, there’s not much room to move!

These steps are the basics of clicker training. Some horses pick it up quickly while others might take a few weeks of work. Be sure to keep your sessions short 10-15 minutes. Always end on a good note and know when to stop before the thinking part of your horse’s brain shuts down. The rewards of working with your horse doing simple tricks are worth the effort.

Stay warm and have fun!

Tags: clicker training horse, horse bend, horse bendings, horse stretches, horse stretching, horse training, teaching horse tricks, trick training horse