Clicker Emergencies

I'm going to call this "clicker emergencies" to distinguish between this and clicker training. Though these examples aren't intended actually teach the horse anything, having a clicker trained horse does come with a few side benefits that I've found very useful.

One example is for when you need your horse to do something new and there's no time to actually train the behavior. For instance, my colt needed somewhat urgent hoof care when I purchased him. He'd never been worked on by a farrier before and had a terrible flare and a few other issues I wanted to attend to right away, especially since it seemed like he was having strange bone development in order to balance himself on his hooves. By the time the farrier came out (about week into using clicker training), Flash knew what the clicker meant, but we didn't have time to work on picking up much less holding his feet for the farrier. My dad, a skeptic about my clicker training, came out to help me hold him for the Farrier. Flash was not happy and didn't participate, and I could tell my farrier was exercising a tremendous amount of patience. It wasn't long before I told him I could go get my clicker and that would probably help. My dad said the farrier probably didn't want me messing around and giving treats, but the farrier said to go ahead and do anything I thought might help. Out came my bag and the clicker! Normally, I would practice just picking up feet, then holding feet for a second, and then holding them longer and longer to actually train the behavior. However, there was no time for that. As soon as the farrier picked up Flash's foot, I started clicking and treating constantly. If he pulled his foot away or put it down, the clicking and treating stopped. It took him one try to figure out the game and then he was the easiest 18-month-old you've ever tried to work with! Again, this didn't teach him to hold his feet, but it got us through a nearly-impossible hoof trim. In addition, simply feeding him wouldn't have worked since it would have just created a mouthy and impatient horse trying to get more snacks. With the clicker, he knew he had to earn the treats and that they wouldn't just be given to him for no reason. (Since then, we've done a lot of work to train him to be good about his feet, going through the process I describe above of asking more and more from him in order to earn the click, and I can now work with all his hooves without any problems and without the aid of a clicker or treats)

My second example of where the clicker has helped in a tight spot is to get a horse's attention in a critical and urgent situation. For example, last fall I was leading Flash back from a ride and he got excited and took off loping and bucking home, pulling the lead rope out of my hands. However, the place I was boarding was off a main road with lots of 50-60mph traffic and there was a good chance he would run right out on the road if I couldn't get him stopped. I yelled "woah" and "Flash!", but he was headed for home! Then, almost by instinct, I started clicking my clicker furiously to get his attention - And he stopped immediately! Hey, he wasn't going to miss out on a treat! He stood still and waited for me to catch up to give it to him - At this point, I started clicking about every 5 seconds to tell him he was doing what I wanted (standing still) and keep him standing there while I caught up. Crisis averted!

Backing Up, Day 2

OK, so now that I've finally gotten all that theory and technicality stuff down, I can finally update on our progress today!

I went out with the goal to just work on what we started yesterday (backing up with a verbal cue), adding speed and getting him to respond to the verbal cue. AND, per PunksTank's suggestion, I wanted to make sure I kept our training session short.

I was pleasantly surprised with how yesterday's lesson apparently "sunk in" overnight! I'm betting that the same thing would have happened even with just a short break yesterday like PunksTanks suggested. Unfortunately, I board my horses so it's a little difficult to spread out our sessions with breaks, but I'll have to get creative. For now, I'll just do little mini-lessons. I'm not sure how long I was out there today, but I made a point of stopping while we were ahead and keeping it shorter than yesterday.

I turned Flash out in the arena as soon as we got out there. He was eager to find out what game we were playing today, so he followed me wherever I went and stopped respectfully when I did (we've worked on where he's supposed to walk respectfully before and he got a reminder the other day when I reacted by shaking his halter without the clicker - he's been very respectful since). Then, I turned around and said "back up" - and he took a step backward! I immediately clicked and treated. He's backing up about 50% of the time on just the verbal cue now and will continue backing up if I keep saying it (backupbackupbackup...). He'll even do so at a decent speed, through I still want to get him faster. If I pick up my energy and walk toward him, shaking my finger at his chest like I did yesterday, then he picks up speed and moves pretty well.

I forgot to mention yesterday how he was swinging his hip some and not backing up straight, but I fixed that by swinging the lead rope at his hip and turning his head slightly, so he straightened back out. He seems to have worked the "straight" thing out now, especially since we're picking up speed and he has to move fairly straight in order to do so quickly.

After a few minutes of backing, he wandered off. I think he's feeding off some other cue he's not quite understanding and that I'm not trying to give, because he basically lunged himself on his own for a while. That alerted me to the fact that I needed to teach him a "come here" cue since he was so convinced he was supposed to be going around me (I try to do most of our training at liberty and didn't have the lead on to stop him). So, for the next few minutes, I focused on just asking him to come. Essentially, I called his name and extended the back of my hand to him and had him target it. Pretty soon, I could send him off by swinging the lead rope and then ask him to come in and touch my hand. Once I had his attention again, I asked him to back up a few steps, then come back forward when I called him and extended my hand. We only did this a few times, and then I decided it was a good place to stop while he was still interested and paying attention.

Tomorrow, I think I'll continue working on the "back up" and "come here cues" and focus on those until we have them really well :)

One last interesting note - we worked a LOT on leading last year out of necessity, including trotting when asked. He knows his cue very well, even after he had the winter off, and immediately trotted up to me when I asked him to catch up while leading him to the arena. However, he never passed me and slowed down as soon as his head was at my shoulder. It's so nice to have a cutie trotting after me and managing the slack in the lead rope appropriately!

Backing Up

And now, we're finally to what we worked on today: Backing up. Flash retained ALL of his knowledge about clicker training over the winter, so I didn't have to re-charge the clicker or work on targeting. We did do backing up last year, but I wanted to start here as a refresher for a few reasons.

First, I needed both of us to be successful. For our first training session of this year, I wanted him to catch on to something quickly and have some progress made. I already knew he could back up with a little bit of a reminder, so this was a good choice for us to focus on.

Second, I wanted to ask for a higher level. Last year, I got him to the point where I could give a little pressure (or even just move my hand behind his chin), and he would step backward. However, I want to prepare him for my expectations as a reining horse: backing up straight, over a longer distance, and doing it quickly.

Third, I want to re-train my cue. Last year, I trained him to back up when I turned around to face him and moved the lead rope toward his chest. Now, with my end goal in mind, I want him to back up on a verbal cue ("Back up"). This way, when I do get on,what we've done on the ground will translate as the same cue and behavior while riding.

So here's what we did today:

I took Flash out into the arena in a lead rope and halter. I had a carrot stick without a line on it, but it more or less proved to be more trouble than it was worth. I started out with the end goal in mind by using the lightest cue possible, simply saying "Back Up". Of course, at this point, that meant nothing to him. So, I took a step forward and shook my finger at his chest. Still nothing. Then, that shaking finger ended up poking him in the chest and he took a step back = click and treat! After a few minutes, he was taking a step back whenever I took a step toward his shoulder and shook my finger (I was still saying "back up" before doing anything and continued saying it like I will while riding, though, so that he'll eventually learn this as the cue).

Now, it was time to ask for a little more. He had to back 2 steps before getting the cue. Then three. And before long he was having to back up as long as I was giving the cue, though I limited that to about 5 or 6 steps back since it was just his first time. Occasionally, to keep him going, I did put a little pressure on the halter as well. After a bit, I took the lead rope off and asked him to back without it.

OK, so he's doing good so far, so I want to ask for a little more "go" in his backing! So, I picked up my energy, stepped toward him a little more aggressively, and when I got to his chest (because he was dragging his feet), I gave him some firm (not harsh), smacks on the chest to get a move on. That did the trick haha. Though I only intentionally did this to get him to move his feet a little faster, it doubled to communicate that I don't just wan't him to move his feet, but that we actually needed to GO somewhere! After that lightbulb went on for him, he seemed to really get what I was asking him and was becoming really responsive and successful in getting his treats!

Somewhere around this time, he decided he wasn't interested in the treats. He's usually very attentive and excited about clicker training and we can go for quite a while, but after about a half hour of taking breaks when I said so, he was ready for his own break. So I let him have it :) He went to the middle of the arena and had a good roll, then took a stroll around the entire outside of the arena checking out the fences, and then came back to me ready to work. He's a funny guy  Knowing his 2 1/2-year-old brain was getting tired and his tank-like belly was empty, I only asked him to back up a few more times and ended after two particularly good back-ups in a row (he was even starting to back up just with the verbal cue and no movement from me!) complete with extra treats and rubs for a job well-done.

It was a good day! I can't wait to continue our backing up lesson next time!

Pain in the neck.

Literally. I can't turn my head to the left without feeling a strong pinch in the back of my neck on the lower left side. It hurts even more to the right :S

This about summarizes how I feel about working with my horses right now. Nothing is going right. Yesterday was sunny, but very windy, so I had to take a rain check on my lesson, which sucks because I'm going to be out of town next week so it'll be two more weeks until I can have a lesson. Urgh. When I pulled up, they looked cute as usual - which didn't give me any clue as to how frustrating the next hour or so was going to be.

Today was sunny and not quite as windy, and I decided I wasn't going to really work on anything and rather just enjoy my horse. I went out later in the afternoon and caught Snickers. I needed to check to see how much he was bridging, which Karen suggested to do by shining a flashlight up under the fenders. There wasn't a lot of light, so I think we're ok, but Snickers was dancing everywhere and it was really hard to see much sometimes. It got really discouraging, especially since I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing and looking for. By the time we were done, I was so frustrated with the saddle and him that it was just better to put him away.

Then I went and got Flash, who seemed happy to come, but then it was just downhill. I picked his feet, which was more or less ok but he still tried to pull his foot away a few times. I couldn't get him to hold still during saddling, so I had to move him to a different spot where he couldn't move as much.

Once he was saddled, I took him into the round pen and got on. All I wanted was an easy walk for a little bit. We didn't even make it around one time when he threw this at me:

I tried to ride him around the round pen afterward: 

But he was still acting like a punk so I got off and lunged him with the saddle, which immediately started as this: 

And then turned into this:

Which led to this: 

And I was getting really worried about my brand new saddle, but luckily I got him stopped after a bit and got it off.

 After that I just lunged him, and he was acting really sensitive. It was ok :S I couldn't get him to cool down very well, and of course he was all sweaty as usual. Finally, I brushed him down, and he seemed OK-ish but still somewhat wet. I really hope he's ok tonight :S There really wasn't a whole lot else I could do.

So then I put him away and gave them their beet pulp, then went home. Somewhere in all this, I realized my neck hurt, probably from whiplash. Lame. Oh well, the good news is my butt stuck in that saddle like glue - so I know I won't be going anywhere! I really hope someone can get out there soon and help me with the fit, so at least I don't have to worry about that anymore. I really hope something turns soon because this is really just miserable!

It's poison, of course.

I've been thinking a lot about what I'm throwing into my boys' beet pulp mash and why...  The formula has gotten a LOT simpler than it used to be (thank goodness!), and I think it's a lot better.  I switched to doing beet pulp with Triple Crown Complete mixed in.  After consulting those on the endurance.net google group, I switched from TCC to TC Senior because it was lower in starches and higher in fat, which is what I need. That seemed to be a pretty balanced meal.  Then, I scaled it down to 2 1/2 lbs of each in their big, yellow flexible bucket, and filled it about halfway with water.  Originally, I was letting the beet pulp soak all the way and then draining off the excess, but decided to leave it nice and soupy for them when I discovered they would still eat it (Snickers actually drinks down to it!).  That way, I'm getting lots of water in them but not blowing through feed.

The other day, I texted Shelley to see if I was getting them everything they needed.  However, the Triple Crown senior is meant to be fed 5 lbs per day per horse, 4x what I'm already going through for my boys!  That's not going to happen.  Instead, we added a mineral powder to the mix.  That way, I didn't add a lot more feed since they were getting plenty and if already fills their buckets up.

At Marri's we found a little scooper for it and determined that it would be about 3 scoops of the minerals to total what both horses needed, then I'd mix it in and divide it into their buckets.  So, after working with them briefly in the pasture, I added the powder and mixed it up!  BIG mistake.  I finally earned myself the "Are you poisioning me?!" face from the horses.  Snickers made it pretty clear how he felt about me messing with their beet pulp:

"What did you DO to our mash??"

You gonna eat it??

Then Snickers tasted it, and showed me his clear disapproval, while Flash sniffed his cautiously and somewhat disappointed that he didn't get his same yummy mash.

I added some Senior on top to get them to start eating again.  It kind of worked - they ate it down a ways, but then Snickers opted for the hay.  Flash kept at the mash, though not as eager as usual.

Today, I added the powder with the dry ingredients so it could soak along with everything else.  I added one not-quite-full scoop to the mix.  I worked with Snickers in the arena, then put him back and hauled out the mash.  Luckily, someone (probably Flash) had cleaned up the buckets as usual, so yesterday's mash didn't go to waste.  With today's mash, I couldn't see the powder in it, so I wonder if it actually dissolved or was just really spread out.  Either way, they didn't seem to have any issue with it today!  Success!

Of course, Flash was so interested in what I was doing when I bent down to scoop out more mash that he swing his head right over mine and drooled lots of nice mashy soup right on my head.  By the time I went home, it dripped all the way down to my neck and went down the back of my shirt!  Yuck!  Thanks buddy.

Anyway, I'm really glad they liked it this time.  They're getting a little less than half of the full amount they should be getting, so I'm going to add a half-scoop tomorrow and see how they do.  If all goes well, I'll just keep adding until I'm about at 3 scoops again.  Two scoops would be fine, though, if they don't like any more than that.  I just feel good that they're getting the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals they need!

Fences, Dizziness, and Beet Pulp

I was so excited when I woke up and felt better today!  I've been trying to ride for the last 3-4 days...  Monday, there wasn't any school, but I started to get sick and before I had a chance to even think about riding, Marri called to tell me Flash had barreled through the fence as she was coming to feed, letting both him and Snickers out, and she couldn't catch either of them.  After she got off the phone with me, she caught Flash but Snickers kept running for a long time afterward.  She said he's very stand-off ish. Yup, that's my horse!  We did talk about getting some training to help him with that.  I'll have to look into it, because I know he can be a pain to catch.  We don't even need to revisit our roping incident from last Spring...

Anyway, Marri showed me how to fix the fence.  It wasn't difficult at all, but I just couldn't get it hot! It was on, but I just couldn't seem to get confirmation that it was working even when I grabbed it. I went back out that evening when Marri was there, but by that time I was starting to feel pretty sick.  She did confirm the fence was working - so I was pretty proud of myself for fixing the fence, but I just need to figure out how to test it lol.  My problem was that I wasn't putting the second end on the ground haha.  Oh well - lesson learned!  I moved the ponies from the small pens they'd been in all day back to their big pen, and got some satisfaction when Flash got a good shock - I knew he wouldn't be testing it again soon!

I couldn't sleep at all Monday night because my headache got so bad and I was so stuffy, and then I ended up calling in sick.  My butt was confined to the couch the rest of the day :(  I wanted to see my ponies so bad!  But Trevor said no :(

So today, I was so excited when I woke up feeling almost normal!  I went to work and was great for the first half of the day, but then started feeling dizzy and it hasn't really let up since.  Since I was having trouble just getting through P.E., I figured riding probably wasn't a good idea.  Instead, I ran a few errands (bought more beet pulp), then rested for an hour at home, and finally went and fed all the horses just before dark.  Thinking about how I wanted to put more pictures and posts on here, I took a few pictures by the light of my headlights and that were much better with the help of iPhoto ;)

Flash making a mess eating his beet pulp

Snickers

Snickers drinking down to his beet pulp - he loves it!

Flash making more messes

Flash's mess.  He spills so much because he shoves his face into the mash and splashes it around!

To the hay...

More of Flash's mess frozen on the gate

Mmmm alfalfa!

Snickers stealing from Flash's bucket

Naked Flash!

So Flash's fluffball of hair kept on shedding and shedding, with hair going EVERYWHERE and getting all over EVERYTHING (one time, Trevor even saw a hair on the table while eating dinner lol).  Of course, this did *wonderful* things for my allergies.  I really didn't see brushing him as any solution because I couldn't do it very long and never seemed to make much difference.  So, after seeing Crystal shave her horses out at Dusty Acres, I decided I was going to shave my snowball of a horse.

I borrowed my dad's clippers and bought some oil for them and I was off.  When I first turned the clippers on, Flash was quite weary of them and backed off.  However, I had my trusty clicker handy and ready, and after a click or two he was ready to go.  He stood really well :)  Unfortunately, the clippers stopped working 2/3 of the way through my horse!  It was really stressful because I didn't want to bring broken clippers back to my dad and Flash looked quite ridiculous.  However, deciding it must be a dull blade, I had to put him back and come back the next day.  This whole ordeal prevented me from riding, unfortunately, and it resulted in a pretty frustrating day :(  I had Snickers tied up the whole time, which was a couple of hours, to teach him patience.  He seemed to calm down after a while, though got all excited again as soon as he saw Flash walk by.

So then the next day I picked up a new blade ($40! but dad is going to pay for half).  It worked wonderfully, and soon I had a naked horse :)  His hair isn't THAT much darker :S (I was hoping for a horse that looked more like a palomino when I was done), but it's getting there.  You can see darker spots where he's had his nips and whatnot, so I know it'll get darker.  It wasn't a very pretty job shaving, as Trevor pointed out, but it's functional, and I got his bridle path done as well (I didn't bother trying to work on that with Snickers...).  The next couple of days were going to be in the 80's and even low 90's - I believe we set a few heat records - so I'm glad he got all that hair off.  Unfortunately, our wonderful Idaho weather dropped down to have lows in the 30's the following week, but he's ok.

Well, I don't sneeze anymore!  And he does seem to be a bit darker now, as his coat is growing out.  It can only get darker from now.  But I'm so glad I don't have to worry about all that hair anymore :)

Before I shaved Flash:

Halfway done:

My blade went dull!!

Back in the pasture to try again tomorrow....

Day 2 (before):

After!  All done!