One of the beauties of clicker training is that one can use it anytime and anywhere, for just a few minutes here and there, and accomplish training and skills and self- and horse-awareness that translates to work under saddle. (At least, that is what I've read, and that is what I am experiencing with Lexi.)
And before we go any further, here is a caveat. I am not an expert either at horse training in general or clicker training in particular. But I do know what I've seen and read about clicker training for both dogs and horses is that it's positive, fun and effective. Imagine how much more amazing our results would be if I knew what I were really doing!
With the time change, I've had little opportunity to ride in the evening, but occasionally I've had time to run out to the farm and spend a few minutes doing ground work with Lexi. Today we worked at Playing Statue, in which I click/treat her for standing still. In the picture below, you can see her standing on her mat. I've taught her to stand on it while I'm grooming her, and today I worked on having her stand on it while I saddled her up.
The above picture shows her on her good side. The next picture is her bad side; i.e. she prefers to keep me on her left (common with many horses) and so she had moved a step back off her mat as I was going to get the saddle. But beyond that, she was very good. We are also working on having her "smile" for the camera. I'm trying to capture her when she's looking straight ahead with her ears forward. She rather likes to frown at cameras, so teaching her to look pretty for her pictures is a goal for me!
Now, it's possible to teach horses to stand free for grooming using the old round pen trick of sending the horse away if she moves, keeping the pressure on till she shows signs of wanting to connect with you, and then removing the pressure so that eventually she learns that the best place to be is standing right by you. This is called aversive training. When you use aversive training, you do something the horse doesn't like in order to get her to do something you want her to do. Using pressure to send the horse away when she's moving around as you groom, then removing that pressure as soon as she looks towards you (or flicks her ear in your direction), teaches her that if she "joins up" with you, she won't experience pressure. This kind of aversive pressure doesn't have to be cruel. My sense is that old-time natural horsemanship cowboys use it all the time, and it can be light pressure used with such meticulous feel, timing, and balance that the horse rapidly connects to the trainer and feels comfort in being with him.
Many natural horsemanship trainers tell you they're simply using herd dynamics to communicate with the horse. I had a horse many years ago who would follow me wherever I went -- including over jumps and around cones in intricate patterns -- and whom I could ride with a rope around his neck. The initial connection happened because he imprinted on me at birth, and then a good horsewoman from these parts helped me hone it. However I've also seen it used in a way that clearly caused distress to the horse, and I've seen plenty of "cowboy" trainers advocating such methods whom I wouldn't want anywhere near a horse of mine. Then a year or two ago I read a study that indicated horses are not as relaxed and connected as we think they are when they are trained using round pen "Join Up" as popularized by Monty Roberts. In fact, pressure-and-release round-penning likely causes stress in horses. So while I could send Lexi away with fanfare every time she moved a foot and she would learn to stand still to avoid the pressure of being sent away, I prefer to have her stand because she wants to, not because she's trying to avoid something.
That being said, I do combine some low-key traditional pressure/release horsemanship as I work her, in part because I don't know how NOT to, and in part because I think light, mindful pressure-and-release is helpful.
Anyway, as we worked on Playing Statue today, I started by asking her to stand on her mat. When she did, I clicked and reinforced her with a treat. I then started moving away from her, telling her to stay and walking towards the fence where I had my pads waiting. At first I just moved one step before clicking her and returning to treat her, but eventually I could get all the way to the fence and back without her budging. Early in the session, though, she was quite restless, so I took the opportunity of doing some "reinless" driving, where I ask her to move around the pen as if she is wearing long lines, using my hands as though I have long lines in them. We worked on walk-trot-walk transitions and threw in a couple of beginning canter transitions (more on that another time), and I focused on having her bend towards me and accept me on her right side (eye), because it's still hard for her to be soft when I'm on the right. Periodically I'd move back to the mat and ask her to stand, and I'd groom her or rub her for a bit before asking her to go back to work. I think that helped her with the concept of standing still on the mat when I went to get her pads and the saddle. She had come to see the mat as a place of rest and stillness. We finished our lesson after I was able to go get the pads, put them on her, then go back and get the saddle and put it on her without her budging. Keep in mind that Lexi didn't like being saddled much when I got her. She would put up with it, but make her displeasure known by snaking her neck towards me or biting on the wood at the grooming station, as well as by swinging away from me as I brought the saddle over to lift it onto her back. So it was a lot of fun to have her standing free in the middle of the round pen as I put the pads and saddle on her back.
In gratitude to Susan Signor, who got me started on this fun path!
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