I've been able to think of two horsepeople I know who don't also have dogs...and I read an amusing piece in the Chronicle of the Horse about Boyd Martin too. However, I think the vast majority of us have dogs as well as horses. Working with both has caused me in recent years to think more closely about training the two different species. I don't compete with our dogs (I did compete in Sheep Dog Trialling with some of our Border Collies for several years while I was learning and while my kids were very young but dropped it once I could start the dogs well enough and then got back into the horse thing...). So there's difference number one right there for some of us. Our dogs are companions and our horses are for sport. Not everyone- some people have horses as companions or for pleasure. But that affects our expectations of them.
Another difference is that one is predator and one is prey. Our horses' instincts call for flight first...the dogs not necessarily. That affects what our animals may find rewarding. Many dogs love to be chased around the yard for fun. I don't know any horses who enjoy that. I think it really helps to think about this In the big picture as well.
Another difference is that horses are bigger, of course (some exceptions with large breed dogs and minis). I know there are dog people out there who like to argue it but you can't make me believe that horses are not inherently more dangerous as a result. Put it this way, not many dogs can kill you by accident. Horses can. So their management and training has to take this into account.
Most of us also have our dogs sharing our living quarters (although in mud season, I wonder about the sanity of this decision). They come in the house, they snuggle on the furniture, they sleep in our bedrooms, if not our beds. When you believe that we are training all the time we are with the animals, this makes for a lot more training time (as well as the potential for a lot more screw ups) with our dogs than our horses. We can manage our horse's training time more carefully- when we take them out of their stall or pasture, the next 5 minutes or hour can be focused and then we put them away.
I have recently enrolled in a dog training e-course. Since dogs are not my business nor do I compete with them, I fought the urge to sign up (it was not cheap) but finally succumbed for a couple reasons. First, I had some surgery a month ago and was on "stall rest" for several weeks. I was going stir crazy. I couldn't do my chores, couldn't even get to the barn for weeks because of the icy footing and my condition. Once I could get around, I still had to avoid the horses for fear of getting accidentally bumped or knocked into. (side note- all is well and no long term repercussions other than a hormonal maelstrom). So I was ready for a diversion!
Secondly, Eloise the Jack Russell has been here a year now and has made great strides in becoming a farm dog. But Spring is a challenging time when all our dogs are enticed by creatures coming out of winter hiding. When the woodchucks start whistling, I get ignored a discouraging number of times. She's turned into quite the hunter terrier and I don't want to lose her down a groundhog hole without at least knowing what hole she's down. So- this course advertised that it would build a great recall into our dogs.
Last but not least, the horse connection. I wanted to explore more options for horses. Due to my surgery, I had to cancel my plans to finally attend Clicker Expo. That was a huge disappointment so this was somewhat of a training consolation prize. I've heard others, watched videos, read write-ups about the amazing things trainers were accomplishing with other species. One thing I have learned from attending TAG teach seminars is that stepping out of your own "specialty" can be a wonderful way to learn. Having spent a lifetime with horses, I sometimes have tunnel vision on how horses learn, what can be expected of them, what SHOULD be expected of them, etc. I want to really examine the pieces of this course through the eyes of a horse trainer. I'll use Eloise as my guinea pig. She's already showing great improvement.
The dog trainer who is offering this course is Susan Garrett. I've read her blog for a year or more and found some fascinating and fun ideas. Plus she has Jack Russells and Border Collies (she's had several World Champion Agility successes). While she strongly advocates positive reinforcement, the course is not specifically clicker training even though she has experience with CT. So that's another thing which piqued my curiosity. I intend to share what I find either on this blog and/or my Facebook page, depending on whether it's a little "aha" or a big one. I would love to hear feedback from others and make this a conversation. Please share your thoughts!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Ah, winter...
I really try not to complain because I live here by choice and I despise excessively hot summers, but winter can be troublesome at times. Yesterday we had a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. As a result, when I went to the barn this morning, the big sliding door was frozen shut for the second time this winter. The rain or melting snow runs off the roof and having nowhere to go because of all the snow, it heads for the open area of the barn door. Then when it gets cold at night, it freezes up and the door doesn't move.
At times like these, I'm very thankful for the dutch door to Mariah's stall on the back of the barn so I can get in and out to at least feed and turn out before attacking the ice around the sliding door with a pick axe. However, it does mean that Mariah has to be the first one out and that everyone else has to go through her stall and paddock to be turned out. A slight change in routine like that inspires a higher level of energy from everyone. Add a bright, sunny, cold, gusty morning and we had three very excited equines chasing each other around Mariah's paddock. My plan had been to get them all out there, and then take Percy and Rumer one at a time around to their paddock. Before I could do that, however, Rumer either got cornered or thought she was going to be, and went through the electric gate, destroying it in the process. Off she bounded. Since I don't use those paddocks in the winter, I take all the gates down to save them from the stress of winter snow and ice so she was able to keep going through on to the next paddocks. There she stopped, realizing that it was hard work up to her belly in snow that had a layer of ice on top. The ice was strong enough that the mid size (50 lb) dogs could run easily on top, but I could not. Beneath was powder so that Rumer and I both sunk in well over our knees. And so she stayed there. I quickly grabbed a flake of second cut and threw it to Mariah. She dropped her head to eat as if she was tied by a chain.
Which left Percy who was imitating a cross between an Arabian stallion and Totilas. His tail was straight up over his back (I honestly was amazed he could get it that high) and he trotted and cantered around, snapping his knees up to his chest with wonderfully elevated gaits.
This is where the clicker training came in (you were wondering if I was going to get to that or not, weren't you?). He trotted over to the gate Rumer had blown through and stopped. I honestly don't know why he stopped but I had a fraction of a second to change his mind. I was standing at the other gate and I stuck out my fist as a target and made the kiss sound that I use to call them to me. One ear flicked to me but he stayed where he was. Two more times I repeated this and finally he dropped his head a bit and turned to come to me. Phew. I had no halter and honestly didn't want one in those conditions. Where I was standing, the snow had come off the roof and was closer to hip deep, except where the rainwater had frozen along the edge which was slick ice and I had a electric fence gate in my hand. I didn't need a rope attaching me to a passaging 2 year old as well. Instead, I targeted him through the gateway and shut it quickly behind him. I wished I had some peppermints for that but all I could offer was hay stretcher pellets. Had it been a training situation, I learned as in my previous post, I would have spent some time with him as a reward but I really needed to deal with Rumer so he had his buddy back and could calm down.
Rumer had decided that the best way back to the barn was to dig her way back. By bounding out there, she hadn't left a good trail to return by, and she'd also made a big loop in her enthusiasm, rather than taking the most direct route. She did not like that crust on top. Pawing forcefully, she'd made it about 3 feet. I got her halter from the barn and fought my way out to her. Though it doesn't often show due to her clicker training upbringing, Rumer is p-o-n-y and can be stubborn when she wants to be. After putting her halter on, I turned to lead her back to the barn and she said no way. She didn't like that ice digging into her chest and shoulders with each step. I recognized the look in her eye and stuck out my fist for a target. She stretched out with her neck and managed to reach it. Click/treat. I took one step and stuck my fist out again. This time she couldn't reach it without moving but she didn't want to move. She studied the snow in front of her and then carefully lifted a front leg and put it back down in my footprint. Click/treat. And that's the way we made it back to the barn. Had I been pulling on her, she wouldn't have been able to choose her footing and she would have planted her feet and not moved. Up to my thighs in snow myself, there was no way I was going to chase her through it. She had to decide she wanted to follow me and be able to do it in a way she was comfortable.
I was very glad with both of the young ones that I had been able to use targeting to get them where I needed them to go. Walking in deep snow is similar to walking in the same depth of water- it doesn't make one light on one's feet. I needed quiet, sensible, thinking young horses on a day and in a situation which didn't lend itself to quiet sensibility. Thankfully, the tool box was full of useful tools.
At times like these, I'm very thankful for the dutch door to Mariah's stall on the back of the barn so I can get in and out to at least feed and turn out before attacking the ice around the sliding door with a pick axe. However, it does mean that Mariah has to be the first one out and that everyone else has to go through her stall and paddock to be turned out. A slight change in routine like that inspires a higher level of energy from everyone. Add a bright, sunny, cold, gusty morning and we had three very excited equines chasing each other around Mariah's paddock. My plan had been to get them all out there, and then take Percy and Rumer one at a time around to their paddock. Before I could do that, however, Rumer either got cornered or thought she was going to be, and went through the electric gate, destroying it in the process. Off she bounded. Since I don't use those paddocks in the winter, I take all the gates down to save them from the stress of winter snow and ice so she was able to keep going through on to the next paddocks. There she stopped, realizing that it was hard work up to her belly in snow that had a layer of ice on top. The ice was strong enough that the mid size (50 lb) dogs could run easily on top, but I could not. Beneath was powder so that Rumer and I both sunk in well over our knees. And so she stayed there. I quickly grabbed a flake of second cut and threw it to Mariah. She dropped her head to eat as if she was tied by a chain.
Which left Percy who was imitating a cross between an Arabian stallion and Totilas. His tail was straight up over his back (I honestly was amazed he could get it that high) and he trotted and cantered around, snapping his knees up to his chest with wonderfully elevated gaits.
This is where the clicker training came in (you were wondering if I was going to get to that or not, weren't you?). He trotted over to the gate Rumer had blown through and stopped. I honestly don't know why he stopped but I had a fraction of a second to change his mind. I was standing at the other gate and I stuck out my fist as a target and made the kiss sound that I use to call them to me. One ear flicked to me but he stayed where he was. Two more times I repeated this and finally he dropped his head a bit and turned to come to me. Phew. I had no halter and honestly didn't want one in those conditions. Where I was standing, the snow had come off the roof and was closer to hip deep, except where the rainwater had frozen along the edge which was slick ice and I had a electric fence gate in my hand. I didn't need a rope attaching me to a passaging 2 year old as well. Instead, I targeted him through the gateway and shut it quickly behind him. I wished I had some peppermints for that but all I could offer was hay stretcher pellets. Had it been a training situation, I learned as in my previous post, I would have spent some time with him as a reward but I really needed to deal with Rumer so he had his buddy back and could calm down.
Rumer had decided that the best way back to the barn was to dig her way back. By bounding out there, she hadn't left a good trail to return by, and she'd also made a big loop in her enthusiasm, rather than taking the most direct route. She did not like that crust on top. Pawing forcefully, she'd made it about 3 feet. I got her halter from the barn and fought my way out to her. Though it doesn't often show due to her clicker training upbringing, Rumer is p-o-n-y and can be stubborn when she wants to be. After putting her halter on, I turned to lead her back to the barn and she said no way. She didn't like that ice digging into her chest and shoulders with each step. I recognized the look in her eye and stuck out my fist for a target. She stretched out with her neck and managed to reach it. Click/treat. I took one step and stuck my fist out again. This time she couldn't reach it without moving but she didn't want to move. She studied the snow in front of her and then carefully lifted a front leg and put it back down in my footprint. Click/treat. And that's the way we made it back to the barn. Had I been pulling on her, she wouldn't have been able to choose her footing and she would have planted her feet and not moved. Up to my thighs in snow myself, there was no way I was going to chase her through it. She had to decide she wanted to follow me and be able to do it in a way she was comfortable.
I was very glad with both of the young ones that I had been able to use targeting to get them where I needed them to go. Walking in deep snow is similar to walking in the same depth of water- it doesn't make one light on one's feet. I needed quiet, sensible, thinking young horses on a day and in a situation which didn't lend itself to quiet sensibility. Thankfully, the tool box was full of useful tools.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Face Time
Percy has always loved to learn and has caught on quickly to new behaviors, loving them all. So it was rather a shock to me when I found two things in the last couple weeks he didn't like to do. One was backing away from me and the other was stationing (defined as staying put in a particular place while I walked away...to lead up to going to that spot on his own). It's important to point out some fine lines in these behaviors that it took me a while to figure out and that helped me solve the problem. He learned to back from a very light cue when he was still a foal and he learned to stand for grooming, feeding, etc at a younger age too. So it wasn't the idea of either behavior he had trouble with but I was adding further criteria to them both. I wanted him to back from a pointing cue, rather than a touch cue so that I could cue him to back from a distance. With the stationing, I didn't simply want him to hold still while I did things to him and around him...I wanted to be able to go a distance from him while he remained in place.
My motives for these behaviors were to get him out of my way when I am doing things. Being the very friendly sort, he comes running to the fence when I go to the barn, stands and nickers at me while I approach and then enjoys a very physical greeting- tasting my hat, unzipping my coat, etc while I rub his face and neck, etc. This became difficult when I wanted to go through his paddock with hay or water buckets for someone else. He didn't even try to steal the hay but he would be very much in my way, helping with the gate handles, etc. Bad enough in warm weather but when I'm dealing with gloves and dicey winter footing, etc, it was just too much. I wanted to be able to stand outside his paddock, get him to back out of my way and stay out of my way. The stationing also, was because he'd hang his head over my shoulder as I tried to open panels and squeeze through with a wheelbarrow or water. When I found myself wanting to ram him with the wheelbarrow just to get him out of the way, I knew instead I needed to teach him something different (not that people haven't suggested this before...nothing like necessity to back me into training something). I did trust him- probably too far considering his young age and breeding...ducking under an electric fence right into the chest of a 2 year old is not exactly safe management practice.
I began teaching him to back with a pointing cue at his chest by simply swinging my arm up before touching his chest until he associated the arm swinging from my side up to his chest as a precursor to the touch and in no time he was backing happily for his treat...until we proceeded to the point where I was far enough in front of him that my finger ended up by his nose and he was actually backing his bubble out of mine. Then he wanted to take my glove off instead. I upped the rate of reinforcement and did many repetitions until I was sure he understood and he was rock solid at responding when I was close to him, then I increased the distance incrementally. Again, when we got to the distance where my finger ended up near his head, instead of somewhere behind his head, he reverted to playing with my coat or anything rather than being willing to back further.
At the same time, working with the stationing, I found he would stand for a loooong period of time if I stayed in arm's reach of him. I could step one step away and stand there and he wouldn't move. I could go around behind him and come up the other side. I could go and pat him on the rump and he stood still. But if I increased that distance to a step and a half away from his head even, he wanted to follow me.
I think I was probably lucky that both these happened at once since the two together helped me see the problem. What I was asking in both situations was difficult and the reinforcer wasn't high enough. This occurred to me when I thought of pulling out something more valuable like carrots and I realized as much as he loved peppermints and apples, he has always been perfectly happy to work for hay stretcher pellets until now. Why was this different? I realized that when I asked him to back out of my reach, or when I tried to leave his reach...he did something to get back in contact with me: either nuzzled my hand or arm, or followed me.
Percy likes face time. Getting out of his reach was punishing for him. Why would he want to go away from the fun person or have the fun person leave him? The reinforcer I needed to give him was ME, not better food. Rather than asking him to back away and then step into to hand him two pellets and leave again, I asked him to back away and then walked to him wrapped his head in a bear hug and told him how clever he was while he was chomping on his 2 little hay stretcher pellets. Then I went a little further and repeated. He stepped away from my hand and I immediately clicked and went to him and rubbed his face and neck. Aha! That was the ticket. Once I understood, I applied the same reasoning to the stationing. If he let me step one step away, I returned and gave him attention for a half a minute rather than just treats. This seemed to reassure him that I wasn't walking away so that the game was over, but that I would come back.
Realizing how difficult these were for him, I have decided to spend a lot of time working on them in teeny increments rather than asking for anything involving big distances too quickly. I have incorporated them into the daily routine. Now when I approach his paddock, I ask him to back away from the fence and when he does, then I duck in and greet him inside, spending time with him before walking on to the barn. I work on stationing just before I leave the barn, asking him to stand by the door while I yo-yo back and forth, clanging the panel and disappearing momentarily out of sight into the barn and then returning to play some more. I end by dropping some nice second cut hay in his paddock and having him target my hand over to it before I leave...so that I'm not walking away while he is being good at his station.
It's made a huge difference. I was a little worried we were getting into some difficult age/stage where I was losing my cooperative boy. Luckily, I have figured it out and am relieved!
My motives for these behaviors were to get him out of my way when I am doing things. Being the very friendly sort, he comes running to the fence when I go to the barn, stands and nickers at me while I approach and then enjoys a very physical greeting- tasting my hat, unzipping my coat, etc while I rub his face and neck, etc. This became difficult when I wanted to go through his paddock with hay or water buckets for someone else. He didn't even try to steal the hay but he would be very much in my way, helping with the gate handles, etc. Bad enough in warm weather but when I'm dealing with gloves and dicey winter footing, etc, it was just too much. I wanted to be able to stand outside his paddock, get him to back out of my way and stay out of my way. The stationing also, was because he'd hang his head over my shoulder as I tried to open panels and squeeze through with a wheelbarrow or water. When I found myself wanting to ram him with the wheelbarrow just to get him out of the way, I knew instead I needed to teach him something different (not that people haven't suggested this before...nothing like necessity to back me into training something). I did trust him- probably too far considering his young age and breeding...ducking under an electric fence right into the chest of a 2 year old is not exactly safe management practice.
I began teaching him to back with a pointing cue at his chest by simply swinging my arm up before touching his chest until he associated the arm swinging from my side up to his chest as a precursor to the touch and in no time he was backing happily for his treat...until we proceeded to the point where I was far enough in front of him that my finger ended up by his nose and he was actually backing his bubble out of mine. Then he wanted to take my glove off instead. I upped the rate of reinforcement and did many repetitions until I was sure he understood and he was rock solid at responding when I was close to him, then I increased the distance incrementally. Again, when we got to the distance where my finger ended up near his head, instead of somewhere behind his head, he reverted to playing with my coat or anything rather than being willing to back further.
At the same time, working with the stationing, I found he would stand for a loooong period of time if I stayed in arm's reach of him. I could step one step away and stand there and he wouldn't move. I could go around behind him and come up the other side. I could go and pat him on the rump and he stood still. But if I increased that distance to a step and a half away from his head even, he wanted to follow me.
I think I was probably lucky that both these happened at once since the two together helped me see the problem. What I was asking in both situations was difficult and the reinforcer wasn't high enough. This occurred to me when I thought of pulling out something more valuable like carrots and I realized as much as he loved peppermints and apples, he has always been perfectly happy to work for hay stretcher pellets until now. Why was this different? I realized that when I asked him to back out of my reach, or when I tried to leave his reach...he did something to get back in contact with me: either nuzzled my hand or arm, or followed me.
Percy likes face time. Getting out of his reach was punishing for him. Why would he want to go away from the fun person or have the fun person leave him? The reinforcer I needed to give him was ME, not better food. Rather than asking him to back away and then step into to hand him two pellets and leave again, I asked him to back away and then walked to him wrapped his head in a bear hug and told him how clever he was while he was chomping on his 2 little hay stretcher pellets. Then I went a little further and repeated. He stepped away from my hand and I immediately clicked and went to him and rubbed his face and neck. Aha! That was the ticket. Once I understood, I applied the same reasoning to the stationing. If he let me step one step away, I returned and gave him attention for a half a minute rather than just treats. This seemed to reassure him that I wasn't walking away so that the game was over, but that I would come back.
Realizing how difficult these were for him, I have decided to spend a lot of time working on them in teeny increments rather than asking for anything involving big distances too quickly. I have incorporated them into the daily routine. Now when I approach his paddock, I ask him to back away from the fence and when he does, then I duck in and greet him inside, spending time with him before walking on to the barn. I work on stationing just before I leave the barn, asking him to stand by the door while I yo-yo back and forth, clanging the panel and disappearing momentarily out of sight into the barn and then returning to play some more. I end by dropping some nice second cut hay in his paddock and having him target my hand over to it before I leave...so that I'm not walking away while he is being good at his station.
It's made a huge difference. I was a little worried we were getting into some difficult age/stage where I was losing my cooperative boy. Luckily, I have figured it out and am relieved!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Looking forward to Clicker Expo!
I have signed up for Clicker Expo in Chicago, gotten my plane tickets and hotel reservations and am really looking forward to it. For anyone who doesn't know, Clicker Expo is held yearly in two locations, one in the west and one...well I hardly call Chicago "east" but maybe some do. I would have liked to be at the Expo in sunny southern California last weekend when the temperatures here went south of 20 below zero. I'm sure my husband was glad not to have all the chores to himself in that weather however. The one in Chicago is March 18-20.
Clicker Expo is a 3 day conference featuring all the greatest names in Positive Behavioral training covering many different species: Karen Pryor, Ken Ramirez, Kay Laurence, Jesus Rosales-Ruiz and of course Alexandra Kurland are among the presenters. Topics include Concept Training, Behavior Chains, Smart Reinforcement and Simplifying Training Tools. This will be my first Clicker Expo and my mind is just swimming with the possibilities. How I will choose among presentations I have no idea...especially since I will only be there 2 of the 3 days.
In preparation for the Expo, I have been reading and participating in online discussions. And today, in celebration of a blindingly beautiful day where the thermometer is actually showing a temperature over 30 for the first time in weeks, I decided to go out and test the basics. I wanted to test the foundation lessons on the youngsters, as well as really scrutinize my own training skills to make sure I was as clean and correct as I could be. One tends to get sloppy when working alone all the time so I needed to be a trainer's trainer sitting on my own shoulder.
I wanted to observe my own cues (are they clear and consistent?); my responses (is my click precise to the behavior I'm after?); my food delivery (feeding well away from my own body and requesting at least a rock back if not full step back from the horse); and my focus (keeping the lesson moving and not getting distracted).
As for the horses, were they responding promptly with no hesitation (showing clear understanding and willingness to work); were they correct in their response (again showing understanding as well as precision of my goal); and did they stay focused on me without losing attention to other activity around them?
First up was Ande who is coming five. First foundation lesson: head down. Cue...well the first several times there was no cue because head down (HD) is a default behavior for him. In other words, I show up, he drops his head. Bonus points on that one all around. I did about 8 trials, increasing the time and he did pop his head up once or twice, most likely because it's been a while since we've played this. So then I cued, and he dropped his head like a rock and left it there with his nose in the snow, breathing quietly. Focusing on asking for a step back with treating was definitely a change for me, but certainly no problem for Ande. All my guys are so polite that I do get sloppy with that- a needed reminder.
Second foundation lesson: backing. Again he gave me prompt responses, backing just as many steps as I asked for with no hesitation. My first cues were with a touch on his shoulder but he quickly advanced to backing with just my change in body position. I come at you, you back out of my way. No problems there.
Number three: Grownups are Talking...you stand next to me and don't bug me for attention or food or wander away (all this was done at liberty- no halter or rope). This one was interesting. Ande has always been good at this but he upped the ante on me this time. I had forgotten that I had begun to teach him "the pose" (I do hate that term but have yet to come up with a better one). But as soon as I stood next to his shoulder and faced forward, presto: he rocked back on his butt, lifted his withers and tucked his chin in. Hm! We seem to have muddied that cue a bit. The distinguishing difference in the cues is my hand position. Hands clasped at my waist is for Grownups; hands held like reins is for the pose. I couldn't complain that he was offering me his newest and fanciest trick but I did see that I needed to clarify things a bit in coming sessions.
Number four: targeting. Easy as falling off a log.
Five and Six: Happy Faces and Stand on a Mat. I had neglected to bring a mat out and mat work is hard when their feet fill up with snow so we didn't do that one. Happy Faces is a big black mark on my training history. I have no cue for it but work it into all of Ande's exercises since he is the one who showed me so well that it is critical and a foundation exercise for a very good reason. It's certainly something good to work on this time of year so that is going on my list to work on with all.
As to his general focus? I don't think I lost it once- not even an ear flickered away from me the whole time. He was thrilled to be playing these easy games. I threw him a flake of hay and moved on to Percy.
Percy, Percy, Percy. Smart, quick, enthusiastic and all I can do to keep up with. There has been some discussion recently about remembering to take a breath between steps and I think I need to really stamp that on my brain when I work with him. Approaching him is like walking into a whole classroom of preschoolers all shouting "lookit me!". First his head drops to the ground- ok, got that one. Duration? No problem, he'll leave it down there but ooh, he has trouble holding it still. He moves it around down there, and if I ask him to wait too long, his lips are untying my boot laces. Head down is so boring, he says, we really ought to liven it up a bit, don't you think?
The worst part about Percy is he makes me laugh. I really need to focus better myself. There is no fear about losing his focus! His attention is 150% on me. If I don't ask for anything, he starts trying them all. He can walk sideways and backwards; he can keep his head so far away from me that he ends up with his butt next to me. So we cover head down, no mugging, targeting and backing and I can't come up with new things fast enough. Definitely need to work on ME with that one.
Rumer- I think I'll save my Rumer story for another day. I started something new with her and it's a completely new and fun topic.
Clicker Expo is a 3 day conference featuring all the greatest names in Positive Behavioral training covering many different species: Karen Pryor, Ken Ramirez, Kay Laurence, Jesus Rosales-Ruiz and of course Alexandra Kurland are among the presenters. Topics include Concept Training, Behavior Chains, Smart Reinforcement and Simplifying Training Tools. This will be my first Clicker Expo and my mind is just swimming with the possibilities. How I will choose among presentations I have no idea...especially since I will only be there 2 of the 3 days.
In preparation for the Expo, I have been reading and participating in online discussions. And today, in celebration of a blindingly beautiful day where the thermometer is actually showing a temperature over 30 for the first time in weeks, I decided to go out and test the basics. I wanted to test the foundation lessons on the youngsters, as well as really scrutinize my own training skills to make sure I was as clean and correct as I could be. One tends to get sloppy when working alone all the time so I needed to be a trainer's trainer sitting on my own shoulder.
I wanted to observe my own cues (are they clear and consistent?); my responses (is my click precise to the behavior I'm after?); my food delivery (feeding well away from my own body and requesting at least a rock back if not full step back from the horse); and my focus (keeping the lesson moving and not getting distracted).
As for the horses, were they responding promptly with no hesitation (showing clear understanding and willingness to work); were they correct in their response (again showing understanding as well as precision of my goal); and did they stay focused on me without losing attention to other activity around them?
First up was Ande who is coming five. First foundation lesson: head down. Cue...well the first several times there was no cue because head down (HD) is a default behavior for him. In other words, I show up, he drops his head. Bonus points on that one all around. I did about 8 trials, increasing the time and he did pop his head up once or twice, most likely because it's been a while since we've played this. So then I cued, and he dropped his head like a rock and left it there with his nose in the snow, breathing quietly. Focusing on asking for a step back with treating was definitely a change for me, but certainly no problem for Ande. All my guys are so polite that I do get sloppy with that- a needed reminder.
Second foundation lesson: backing. Again he gave me prompt responses, backing just as many steps as I asked for with no hesitation. My first cues were with a touch on his shoulder but he quickly advanced to backing with just my change in body position. I come at you, you back out of my way. No problems there.
Number three: Grownups are Talking...you stand next to me and don't bug me for attention or food or wander away (all this was done at liberty- no halter or rope). This one was interesting. Ande has always been good at this but he upped the ante on me this time. I had forgotten that I had begun to teach him "the pose" (I do hate that term but have yet to come up with a better one). But as soon as I stood next to his shoulder and faced forward, presto: he rocked back on his butt, lifted his withers and tucked his chin in. Hm! We seem to have muddied that cue a bit. The distinguishing difference in the cues is my hand position. Hands clasped at my waist is for Grownups; hands held like reins is for the pose. I couldn't complain that he was offering me his newest and fanciest trick but I did see that I needed to clarify things a bit in coming sessions.
Number four: targeting. Easy as falling off a log.
Five and Six: Happy Faces and Stand on a Mat. I had neglected to bring a mat out and mat work is hard when their feet fill up with snow so we didn't do that one. Happy Faces is a big black mark on my training history. I have no cue for it but work it into all of Ande's exercises since he is the one who showed me so well that it is critical and a foundation exercise for a very good reason. It's certainly something good to work on this time of year so that is going on my list to work on with all.
As to his general focus? I don't think I lost it once- not even an ear flickered away from me the whole time. He was thrilled to be playing these easy games. I threw him a flake of hay and moved on to Percy.
Percy, Percy, Percy. Smart, quick, enthusiastic and all I can do to keep up with. There has been some discussion recently about remembering to take a breath between steps and I think I need to really stamp that on my brain when I work with him. Approaching him is like walking into a whole classroom of preschoolers all shouting "lookit me!". First his head drops to the ground- ok, got that one. Duration? No problem, he'll leave it down there but ooh, he has trouble holding it still. He moves it around down there, and if I ask him to wait too long, his lips are untying my boot laces. Head down is so boring, he says, we really ought to liven it up a bit, don't you think?
The worst part about Percy is he makes me laugh. I really need to focus better myself. There is no fear about losing his focus! His attention is 150% on me. If I don't ask for anything, he starts trying them all. He can walk sideways and backwards; he can keep his head so far away from me that he ends up with his butt next to me. So we cover head down, no mugging, targeting and backing and I can't come up with new things fast enough. Definitely need to work on ME with that one.
Rumer- I think I'll save my Rumer story for another day. I started something new with her and it's a completely new and fun topic.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Dental Video
I finally got some video of what Percy has achieved toward comfort with having his mouth and teeth played with. My videos are never high quality but hopefully you can see the important stuff. A couple things to note: important to wait for chewing to be done before you ask him to open his mouth again; try not to tickle the corners of his mouth or he likes to lip at me; and stuffing a glove under an arm makes maneuvering more difficult (but putting them aside means he retrieves them for me!)
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Dentist's Visit
In my previous post (wow, a long time ago!), I mentioned the list of veterinary procedures that Peggy Hogan posted on her "Clicker Training Horses" Facebook page (list provided by a vet in that group). Taking up the challenge, I decided to focus on teeth for a project with Percy. He had not been impressed when I asked my vet to check his teeth last Spring. I quickly asked the vet to abandon ship rather than get in a battle with my little red pirate. I wanted to work with him first so that things would go smoothly.
When I was younger, I had been shown how to grab a horse's tongue and then flip my fist vertically to wedge the mouth open to view inside. But I'd also heard of the damage that can be done (to the hyoid apparatus, TMJ, etc) by handling the tongue in this way. I was hoping to teach Percy to open his mouth willingly and be comfortable with hands in his mouth so this would not be necessary. I began by just inserting a finger in the side of his mouth the way, pre-clicker, I would open a horse's mouth for the bit. As soon as his gums parted slightly, I clicked and well, in no time he was happily opening his mouth wider and wider with just my finger touching the corner of his lips. One day he was jealous of me working with Ande and he actually came his stall door and yawned at me about 5 times! And yes, I rewarded it!
I was invited to observe a dentist at a friend's house. I took the opportunity to see how he handled the horses as well as how he did his job. I was very glad to have this opportunity as watching him gave me more things to work on. First, he simply stood in the stall letting the horse get used to him. The horses I observed hid in the back of their stalls. I knew Percy would undress him if he stood still that long (Percy loves zipper pulls, hood strings, hats, etc). Then the dentist slid his forefingers in the horse's mouth along the side "to give them an idea of what was coming" as well as do a preliminary exam. So there was my first new task: familiarize Percy with that feeling.
The dentist had his tools in the standard stainless steel bucket full of water that he stood in the corner of his stall...there was task number 2. Familiarize Percy with the sound and appearance of a clangy shiny bucket. Was this "necessary"? Would he totally freak out if I didn't? Of course not, but any new little things like this which were all added up could set a horse to being wary and I didn't want him wary. I wanted him as ho-hum as possible before the really freaky stuff started happening! So I took several of my kitchen serving spoons, metal and wood, and put them in a very small stainless bucket I had for dog water. I carried them out to the barn and let Percy play chef with all the spoons and make noise. He was thrilled to be clicked for all this fun play. Then I used the handle of a wooden spoon to poke in his mouth. This was all done with the clicker of course: open your mouth for the spoon, CT. Open wider, CT. All four feet still and head still while I slide the spoon in your mouth, CT. If he moved or put his head up, I just stood and did nothing until he approached me and wanted the spoon again, CT.
While working on my friend's horses, the dentist used a speculum. (to see a photo of one, http://www.amazon.com/Horse-speculum-dental-device-stainless/dp/B000M9QH9M ). I studied it carefully and asked if he always used it. He did and said the horses didn't usually mind it. I was very skeptical if a horse who thought he had "choices" would agree to that. Luckily, the dentist liked my idea of coming to just meet Percy and seeing what he could see without putting any pressure on him so I didn't worry too much about the speculum. He said he rarely got that far in a first visit with a young horse.
Last but not least was the way the dentist held the horse. While working on the mouth, he took a death grip on the halter with his left hand. I was sure this was to steady himself for arduous work as much as to prevent the horse from leaving but my little pirate does not like to be restricted. The beauty of Clicker Training has been that I never had to restrict him. I have always been able to present things in such a way that he wanted to participate. I had a discussion with Peggy about a horse of hers who feels the same way. Are there times we need to tell these horses "just deal with it"? Traditional trainers do this all the time and their answer would be "of course!". But when you see how much more you get when you don't deal with horses this way, you start to question. Percy has been taught to respond to the lightest touch by yielding...how was I going to teach him to brace in this situation? I have learned how sensitive horses can be, they feel the slightest touch on the end of a lead so that I never lead a horse by the halter...it's too much! It would be like grabbing a friend's necklace to get them to go with you!
Luckily, in our (Facebook) discussions, Peggy used the term "halter grab" and I remembered watching a DVD of a dog trainer who taught a "collar grab". She taught this as a safety measure: dogs frequently duck away when someone tries to grab their collar and if a car, dangerous dog, etc is approaching, you do not want your dog ducking away. This trainer did not use a clicker- just food, but I knew a clicker always works better.
I had done all the previous mouth work with no halter and Percy loose in his stall or paddock. I always begin things this way so that I am sure the horse has the choice of not participating. If he doesn't participate, I need to adjust my training so that he wants to.
So now I could add criteria by beginning with the halter. I put it on him and decided that my cue to "brace" would eventually be the fact that I was standing in front of him and the way I took his halter. I reached up with my left hand and just put a finger on the left side of his halter (his right side). He stood still, so CT. I repeated that a couple times so he understood that just standing was what I was asking of him...no response. Then I began taking the halter with several fingers and progressed to where I could reach up and grab his halter in a fierce grip and he just stood quietly. Phew. Had I done that without the gradual training, I know he would have stood up (which is what he did when the vet tried). OK, now I needed to add pressure. I grabbed the halter with a fist on each side and began tugging lightly left and right- I thought he'd resist that less than if I tugged down. He definitely yielded to me still (which I wanted) but he didn't look concerned that I was being so heavy handed. I did this all over several days and eventually could pull down, up, left right on his halter and he was happy to be manhandled around, yet still remained light to my rope cues when I was leading him otherwise.
After observing the dentist at the other farm, I had made an appointment for him to come meet Percy, as well as work on Mariah who was showing a little awkwardness in chewing. My last task was one I did not manage to get done before the appointment. I wanted to have some other people come and play in his mouth, especially a good friend who is a small animal vet and carries the requisite smells on her person! Because it was the holidays, however, I did not want to pull people away from their lives so this hasn't been done.
Of course the day he was scheduled to come was the day of the "blizzard" so we rescheduled for later in the week. My plan was to have the dentist observe what I had done, hoping he'd see how I handled Percy as well as have Percy "warm up" to the situation. Then I thought we'd give him a break, go do Mariah, and then come back to Percy. As it turned out, Percy was so comfortable with the situation that wasn't necessary. The dentist stood outside and watched as Percy opened his mouth, let me rub his teeth and I showed and explained about the halter grab. Then he went in with him. Percy sniffed him lightly and then came to me at the door. Here I got stuck. I didn't know what to do with myself! If I was in reach, Percy wanted to be with me. I went to the other side of the aisle and watched from a distance as Percy investigated the dentist's hat and pockets. He was perfectly happy to let him slip his fingers in the sides of his mouth and feel around and look. Oh- that was one other thing I'd seen him do with the other horses that we practiced...shining a flashlight in his mouth. I thought the bright light in his eyes might be startling so we practiced that. He was fine.
The dentist said he was really very good for his age. He certainly hadn't been as good for him as he was for me so I regretted not having other people work with him. But he didn't pull away when the dentist had his halter. I know that boy well enough to know he could have stood up or done any number of things to get away if he'd really wanted to. The first time the farrier came when he was only weeks old, I made the mistake of having my husband help hold him. My husband is accustomed to wrestling beef cattle but both Percy and my husband were on the floor in no time. He is now much bigger and stronger, which is why I do not engage in battle with him!
I went back in the stall to review his lessons and once again, he was perfect for me, so I asked the dentist which float he used first. He pointed it out and we just played touch the target a couple times until of course, Percy offered to grab it with his teeth and pretty soon I had it in his mouth. The dentist was thrilled and so I handed it to him and he actually was able to do a little floating, enough to make him happy. Then I grabbed the speculum and played touch the target with that as well. We went until he was happily biting onto the edge, which is where it sits in his mouth. We didn't do any more with that but I was really happy to stop there.
I did try to get some pictures but didn't want the flash going off and it was too dark without it. Percy has very cute teeth. The dentist wants to come back in April and pull his caps off. Neither of the other babies has needed this and I asked if there was something "wrong" that this would need to be done. He said no, he has a nice mouth, but it's just a good idea. I'd love to know from any of you reading this whether you feel that this type of dentistry is necessary, excessive, etc. I'm all in favor of doing what's necessary but don't like interfering if Mother Nature can do without.
When I was younger, I had been shown how to grab a horse's tongue and then flip my fist vertically to wedge the mouth open to view inside. But I'd also heard of the damage that can be done (to the hyoid apparatus, TMJ, etc) by handling the tongue in this way. I was hoping to teach Percy to open his mouth willingly and be comfortable with hands in his mouth so this would not be necessary. I began by just inserting a finger in the side of his mouth the way, pre-clicker, I would open a horse's mouth for the bit. As soon as his gums parted slightly, I clicked and well, in no time he was happily opening his mouth wider and wider with just my finger touching the corner of his lips. One day he was jealous of me working with Ande and he actually came his stall door and yawned at me about 5 times! And yes, I rewarded it!
I was invited to observe a dentist at a friend's house. I took the opportunity to see how he handled the horses as well as how he did his job. I was very glad to have this opportunity as watching him gave me more things to work on. First, he simply stood in the stall letting the horse get used to him. The horses I observed hid in the back of their stalls. I knew Percy would undress him if he stood still that long (Percy loves zipper pulls, hood strings, hats, etc). Then the dentist slid his forefingers in the horse's mouth along the side "to give them an idea of what was coming" as well as do a preliminary exam. So there was my first new task: familiarize Percy with that feeling.
The dentist had his tools in the standard stainless steel bucket full of water that he stood in the corner of his stall...there was task number 2. Familiarize Percy with the sound and appearance of a clangy shiny bucket. Was this "necessary"? Would he totally freak out if I didn't? Of course not, but any new little things like this which were all added up could set a horse to being wary and I didn't want him wary. I wanted him as ho-hum as possible before the really freaky stuff started happening! So I took several of my kitchen serving spoons, metal and wood, and put them in a very small stainless bucket I had for dog water. I carried them out to the barn and let Percy play chef with all the spoons and make noise. He was thrilled to be clicked for all this fun play. Then I used the handle of a wooden spoon to poke in his mouth. This was all done with the clicker of course: open your mouth for the spoon, CT. Open wider, CT. All four feet still and head still while I slide the spoon in your mouth, CT. If he moved or put his head up, I just stood and did nothing until he approached me and wanted the spoon again, CT.
While working on my friend's horses, the dentist used a speculum. (to see a photo of one, http://www.amazon.com/Horse-speculum-dental-device-stainless/dp/B000M9QH9M ). I studied it carefully and asked if he always used it. He did and said the horses didn't usually mind it. I was very skeptical if a horse who thought he had "choices" would agree to that. Luckily, the dentist liked my idea of coming to just meet Percy and seeing what he could see without putting any pressure on him so I didn't worry too much about the speculum. He said he rarely got that far in a first visit with a young horse.
Last but not least was the way the dentist held the horse. While working on the mouth, he took a death grip on the halter with his left hand. I was sure this was to steady himself for arduous work as much as to prevent the horse from leaving but my little pirate does not like to be restricted. The beauty of Clicker Training has been that I never had to restrict him. I have always been able to present things in such a way that he wanted to participate. I had a discussion with Peggy about a horse of hers who feels the same way. Are there times we need to tell these horses "just deal with it"? Traditional trainers do this all the time and their answer would be "of course!". But when you see how much more you get when you don't deal with horses this way, you start to question. Percy has been taught to respond to the lightest touch by yielding...how was I going to teach him to brace in this situation? I have learned how sensitive horses can be, they feel the slightest touch on the end of a lead so that I never lead a horse by the halter...it's too much! It would be like grabbing a friend's necklace to get them to go with you!
Luckily, in our (Facebook) discussions, Peggy used the term "halter grab" and I remembered watching a DVD of a dog trainer who taught a "collar grab". She taught this as a safety measure: dogs frequently duck away when someone tries to grab their collar and if a car, dangerous dog, etc is approaching, you do not want your dog ducking away. This trainer did not use a clicker- just food, but I knew a clicker always works better.
I had done all the previous mouth work with no halter and Percy loose in his stall or paddock. I always begin things this way so that I am sure the horse has the choice of not participating. If he doesn't participate, I need to adjust my training so that he wants to.
So now I could add criteria by beginning with the halter. I put it on him and decided that my cue to "brace" would eventually be the fact that I was standing in front of him and the way I took his halter. I reached up with my left hand and just put a finger on the left side of his halter (his right side). He stood still, so CT. I repeated that a couple times so he understood that just standing was what I was asking of him...no response. Then I began taking the halter with several fingers and progressed to where I could reach up and grab his halter in a fierce grip and he just stood quietly. Phew. Had I done that without the gradual training, I know he would have stood up (which is what he did when the vet tried). OK, now I needed to add pressure. I grabbed the halter with a fist on each side and began tugging lightly left and right- I thought he'd resist that less than if I tugged down. He definitely yielded to me still (which I wanted) but he didn't look concerned that I was being so heavy handed. I did this all over several days and eventually could pull down, up, left right on his halter and he was happy to be manhandled around, yet still remained light to my rope cues when I was leading him otherwise.
After observing the dentist at the other farm, I had made an appointment for him to come meet Percy, as well as work on Mariah who was showing a little awkwardness in chewing. My last task was one I did not manage to get done before the appointment. I wanted to have some other people come and play in his mouth, especially a good friend who is a small animal vet and carries the requisite smells on her person! Because it was the holidays, however, I did not want to pull people away from their lives so this hasn't been done.
Of course the day he was scheduled to come was the day of the "blizzard" so we rescheduled for later in the week. My plan was to have the dentist observe what I had done, hoping he'd see how I handled Percy as well as have Percy "warm up" to the situation. Then I thought we'd give him a break, go do Mariah, and then come back to Percy. As it turned out, Percy was so comfortable with the situation that wasn't necessary. The dentist stood outside and watched as Percy opened his mouth, let me rub his teeth and I showed and explained about the halter grab. Then he went in with him. Percy sniffed him lightly and then came to me at the door. Here I got stuck. I didn't know what to do with myself! If I was in reach, Percy wanted to be with me. I went to the other side of the aisle and watched from a distance as Percy investigated the dentist's hat and pockets. He was perfectly happy to let him slip his fingers in the sides of his mouth and feel around and look. Oh- that was one other thing I'd seen him do with the other horses that we practiced...shining a flashlight in his mouth. I thought the bright light in his eyes might be startling so we practiced that. He was fine.
The dentist said he was really very good for his age. He certainly hadn't been as good for him as he was for me so I regretted not having other people work with him. But he didn't pull away when the dentist had his halter. I know that boy well enough to know he could have stood up or done any number of things to get away if he'd really wanted to. The first time the farrier came when he was only weeks old, I made the mistake of having my husband help hold him. My husband is accustomed to wrestling beef cattle but both Percy and my husband were on the floor in no time. He is now much bigger and stronger, which is why I do not engage in battle with him!
I went back in the stall to review his lessons and once again, he was perfect for me, so I asked the dentist which float he used first. He pointed it out and we just played touch the target a couple times until of course, Percy offered to grab it with his teeth and pretty soon I had it in his mouth. The dentist was thrilled and so I handed it to him and he actually was able to do a little floating, enough to make him happy. Then I grabbed the speculum and played touch the target with that as well. We went until he was happily biting onto the edge, which is where it sits in his mouth. We didn't do any more with that but I was really happy to stop there.
I did try to get some pictures but didn't want the flash going off and it was too dark without it. Percy has very cute teeth. The dentist wants to come back in April and pull his caps off. Neither of the other babies has needed this and I asked if there was something "wrong" that this would need to be done. He said no, he has a nice mouth, but it's just a good idea. I'd love to know from any of you reading this whether you feel that this type of dentistry is necessary, excessive, etc. I'm all in favor of doing what's necessary but don't like interfering if Mother Nature can do without.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
More Medical Procedures
Peggy Hogan, in California, hosts a great group and site on Facebook called Clicker Training Horses. If you're on Facebook, I highly recommend you check it out. The subject of training for medical procedures came up recently, right as I was dealing with the same issue myself.
Percy, my TB x WB, age 2, came in with a fat hock. Fat hocks make me nervous. This was unusual in that it was high and inside. There was very little heat, and no pain or lameness. I didn't really think it was joint related but hocks aren't something I like to ignore. I was torn because I know how to throw the book at a hock on sport horses (icing, medicating, wrapping, sweating, x-rays, injections etc) and I know how to look the other way when a lesson pony has a puffy spot (they just get better). But Percy didn't fit either of those categories. I didn't need to worry about losing training days but I also didn't want to ignore anything which could cause problems for his career as a sport horse down the road.
Oh, and one other problem. We've been working on having him pick his feet up nicely with just a touch on the hind leg. Oops. Now I needed him to leave his foot DOWN so I could palpate. I decided to give the leg 24 hours to get better by itself. It didn't. I called the vet. He offered to come out immediately as it was the only time in the next 2 days he could get here. I decided it was a good idea. Time to panic train. I had 20 minutes to convince Percy that leaving the leg down was as reinforcing as picking it up. Thankfully, that was a breeze- a much smaller problem in reality than it was in my mind. I just clicked for leaving his foot on the ground when I touched his stifle (not anywhere near where I touch him for picking up his foot) and then worked my way down. I was also careful to maintain a very different body position- squatting and facing him, not bending over toward the rear. He got it in minutes. By the time the vet arrived, I could poke, rub, massage all over that rear leg from either side.
Feeling confident, I led the vet to him. Percy was in the round pen because it was bright natural light and we have had so much rain this fall, it was the driest place outside. The only problem with the round pen is that Percy feels Important when he's in there and likes to puff up a bit and show off. Funny boy. As the vet approached him and reached out to stroke his neck, Percy flattened his ears back. Wow. I realized that was the first time in his life I had seen him do that. He is SUCH a sweet and inquisitive soul, but I had never realized that he never put his ears back until I saw him do it and it was a shock. (Ande used to pin his ears at only days old when his mother tried to move when he was nursing!) I have to admit that I was struck incapable at this. I just did not know how to react.
I really like our vet- he's capable, common-sense, quiet and unafraid. But he's not a clicker trainer. I have never felt comfortable asking either my vet or farrier to adapt to my training techniques. I know I could make their work with my horses go better if I did and I should get over it but for some reason, I just feel that they are professionals and I shouldn't be telling them how to do their job. Perhaps if I felt that either one was too harsh, I would feel differently. But they both have wonderful, if traditional, approaches that do not intimidate the horses. And while I can get the horses to do things for me with CT, sometimes they need to learn that others need to work with them as well. I can do the prep work, but I can't BE somebody else.
So here was Percy, head up in the air, ears back and my vet simply continuing on slowly. OK, so he wasn't being reinforced for his behavior- the vet did not back off. But I also know how talented Percy is at standing up (he demonstrated that at his first hoof trimming as a baby and practices regularly in the field while playing with others) and I feared that was next. I needed to redirect this before we went there because that WOULD stop forward progress and be reinforcing. I tried putting a fist out to target, but his eye was on the vet. So I said "HEY!" to get his attention and instantly put my hand on his poll (I could barely reach it). Thankfully, we have practiced that a zillion times and he reacted instantly by dropping his head a couple inches. Click and treat and hand on the poll again. Rapidly. Normally a hand on his poll instantly puts his nose in the dirt, but even in this tense situation, I got an immediate reaction of some kind which I could reward and we were on the road. I continued to CT as the vet worked his way back toward his hind end and down the leg. He lifted his leg once, I put a tiny bit of pressure on the lead and was quiet. When his head came down a fraction, his leg did as well- CT and we were making progress again. He put his leg all the way down and left it on the ground. Phew.
The vet agreed it was probably not the joint (another big Phew!) but a sprain/strain in the lower gaskin area. We discussed hosing but Percy hates being hosed. We have worked on it I know his mother hates it as well, as do most TBs unless the air and water temperatures are just right. They just have very sensitive skin. In northern VT with no hot water in the barn, I had 2 days this summer when it was hot enough that he enjoyed being hosed with icy water. Now it's fall, cold and muddy. Luckily the vet understood that and thought bute and massaging would be good as long as we saw progress. He suggested an IV injection of banamine and dexamethazone to get the healing started. I let Percy loose for a moment in case he wanted to let off steam while the vet went to his truck for the meds. No, he wanted to follow us.
When we went back in, Percy's ears went back again. It made me so sad! It reminded me of a certain little girl who needed some nasty medicine when she was about 2 years old. Normally a very cooperative child, she did not want that medicine! She fought like a wildcat kitten and it took three adults to hold her down to squeeze it in her mouth. At the same time, she was using her best adult verbal skills to bargain with us to no avail. With Percy, there were only two adults and he weighed a lot more than that little peanut of a girl. My Clicker Training skills were all I had to explain the process. Thank goodness they worked! Head down= CT. Any level was accepted as long as it kept getting lower. My vet slipped the needle in in a split second and I just kept clicking away as long as the head came down when asked. The ears waffled between back and sideways but he stood like a rock for 2 syringes worth. My biggest concern at that point was Ande who was reaching through the round pen to chew on him! The vet kept saying, "he's really doing quite well, don't you think?" Amen!
Next project: twice daily bute paste. I hadn't done anything with a paste syringe since worming him a couple weeks ago. The first time with the bute, I tried putting a halter on him and CT'd him to stand while I approached his lips with the syringe. I got it in but it really didn't feel right. So the next time I went in his stall without a halter and just stood with the syringe. Being friendly and curious, he couldn't stand it and took a step toward me. CT. That continued to be my approach. I kept my standard to 10 clicks before increasing the criteria. He usually increased it on his own before I had to. I think the important part of letting him approach rather than me approach him, along with the 10 clicks at the same criteria level, was that it gave him a LOT of opportunities to sniff the bute paste. He got a little in his nose just from the end of the tube, he got to walk away and come back. He got to sniff and sniff and sniff without being at all threatened by it. He volunteered to take it in his mouth and then I walked a step forward between each click until he was pursuing me around the stall trying to grab the syringe. Mentally, that was a big step for him.
Then I stepped back by his shoulder so he had to turn to touch it and that's how I managed to get him to target it with the corner of his lips rather than his muzzle. I made sure to get a full 10 trials with it in his mouth before squirting the bute in on the 11th. Then I clicked and offered the hay stretcher pellets. He took them and dropped them. I continued to CT for any interest in the syringe. This is the hard part because he got "punished" by the nasty medicine and I wanted to override that with many more positive experiences but they can't taste anything good afterward. He has a lifetime of reinforcement for the click though and it seemed to work for me here because he kept touching it for the clicks, even though he dropped the treats each time. After a few times like that, he stopped taking the treats so each time I dropped the treats into his feed tub. Even though he wasn't eating them, I think the noise of them falling into his tub was reinforcing and they would be there for him. I also unwrapped a couple peppermints. I think the noise of those unwrapping is highly reinforcing and hoped that their strong smell would overpower the bad taste. I kept this up until he was taking the syringe in his mouth again and then just dropped a handful of hay stretcher pellets in his tub along with a couple more peppermints and left him. He had been trying to eat a couple and so I was pretty sure that left alone, he would commence to eating, which he did. AND he'd taken the syringe in his mouth many times without the punishing taste being repeated. So now I'm going to go back out and do it again.
There is a whole list of veterinary procedures on this discussion on Peggy's Facebook site that were put together by a vet who recently attended one of her clinics:
I think these are great winter projects!!!
Percy, my TB x WB, age 2, came in with a fat hock. Fat hocks make me nervous. This was unusual in that it was high and inside. There was very little heat, and no pain or lameness. I didn't really think it was joint related but hocks aren't something I like to ignore. I was torn because I know how to throw the book at a hock on sport horses (icing, medicating, wrapping, sweating, x-rays, injections etc) and I know how to look the other way when a lesson pony has a puffy spot (they just get better). But Percy didn't fit either of those categories. I didn't need to worry about losing training days but I also didn't want to ignore anything which could cause problems for his career as a sport horse down the road.
Oh, and one other problem. We've been working on having him pick his feet up nicely with just a touch on the hind leg. Oops. Now I needed him to leave his foot DOWN so I could palpate. I decided to give the leg 24 hours to get better by itself. It didn't. I called the vet. He offered to come out immediately as it was the only time in the next 2 days he could get here. I decided it was a good idea. Time to panic train. I had 20 minutes to convince Percy that leaving the leg down was as reinforcing as picking it up. Thankfully, that was a breeze- a much smaller problem in reality than it was in my mind. I just clicked for leaving his foot on the ground when I touched his stifle (not anywhere near where I touch him for picking up his foot) and then worked my way down. I was also careful to maintain a very different body position- squatting and facing him, not bending over toward the rear. He got it in minutes. By the time the vet arrived, I could poke, rub, massage all over that rear leg from either side.
Feeling confident, I led the vet to him. Percy was in the round pen because it was bright natural light and we have had so much rain this fall, it was the driest place outside. The only problem with the round pen is that Percy feels Important when he's in there and likes to puff up a bit and show off. Funny boy. As the vet approached him and reached out to stroke his neck, Percy flattened his ears back. Wow. I realized that was the first time in his life I had seen him do that. He is SUCH a sweet and inquisitive soul, but I had never realized that he never put his ears back until I saw him do it and it was a shock. (Ande used to pin his ears at only days old when his mother tried to move when he was nursing!) I have to admit that I was struck incapable at this. I just did not know how to react.
I really like our vet- he's capable, common-sense, quiet and unafraid. But he's not a clicker trainer. I have never felt comfortable asking either my vet or farrier to adapt to my training techniques. I know I could make their work with my horses go better if I did and I should get over it but for some reason, I just feel that they are professionals and I shouldn't be telling them how to do their job. Perhaps if I felt that either one was too harsh, I would feel differently. But they both have wonderful, if traditional, approaches that do not intimidate the horses. And while I can get the horses to do things for me with CT, sometimes they need to learn that others need to work with them as well. I can do the prep work, but I can't BE somebody else.
So here was Percy, head up in the air, ears back and my vet simply continuing on slowly. OK, so he wasn't being reinforced for his behavior- the vet did not back off. But I also know how talented Percy is at standing up (he demonstrated that at his first hoof trimming as a baby and practices regularly in the field while playing with others) and I feared that was next. I needed to redirect this before we went there because that WOULD stop forward progress and be reinforcing. I tried putting a fist out to target, but his eye was on the vet. So I said "HEY!" to get his attention and instantly put my hand on his poll (I could barely reach it). Thankfully, we have practiced that a zillion times and he reacted instantly by dropping his head a couple inches. Click and treat and hand on the poll again. Rapidly. Normally a hand on his poll instantly puts his nose in the dirt, but even in this tense situation, I got an immediate reaction of some kind which I could reward and we were on the road. I continued to CT as the vet worked his way back toward his hind end and down the leg. He lifted his leg once, I put a tiny bit of pressure on the lead and was quiet. When his head came down a fraction, his leg did as well- CT and we were making progress again. He put his leg all the way down and left it on the ground. Phew.
The vet agreed it was probably not the joint (another big Phew!) but a sprain/strain in the lower gaskin area. We discussed hosing but Percy hates being hosed. We have worked on it I know his mother hates it as well, as do most TBs unless the air and water temperatures are just right. They just have very sensitive skin. In northern VT with no hot water in the barn, I had 2 days this summer when it was hot enough that he enjoyed being hosed with icy water. Now it's fall, cold and muddy. Luckily the vet understood that and thought bute and massaging would be good as long as we saw progress. He suggested an IV injection of banamine and dexamethazone to get the healing started. I let Percy loose for a moment in case he wanted to let off steam while the vet went to his truck for the meds. No, he wanted to follow us.
When we went back in, Percy's ears went back again. It made me so sad! It reminded me of a certain little girl who needed some nasty medicine when she was about 2 years old. Normally a very cooperative child, she did not want that medicine! She fought like a wildcat kitten and it took three adults to hold her down to squeeze it in her mouth. At the same time, she was using her best adult verbal skills to bargain with us to no avail. With Percy, there were only two adults and he weighed a lot more than that little peanut of a girl. My Clicker Training skills were all I had to explain the process. Thank goodness they worked! Head down= CT. Any level was accepted as long as it kept getting lower. My vet slipped the needle in in a split second and I just kept clicking away as long as the head came down when asked. The ears waffled between back and sideways but he stood like a rock for 2 syringes worth. My biggest concern at that point was Ande who was reaching through the round pen to chew on him! The vet kept saying, "he's really doing quite well, don't you think?" Amen!
Next project: twice daily bute paste. I hadn't done anything with a paste syringe since worming him a couple weeks ago. The first time with the bute, I tried putting a halter on him and CT'd him to stand while I approached his lips with the syringe. I got it in but it really didn't feel right. So the next time I went in his stall without a halter and just stood with the syringe. Being friendly and curious, he couldn't stand it and took a step toward me. CT. That continued to be my approach. I kept my standard to 10 clicks before increasing the criteria. He usually increased it on his own before I had to. I think the important part of letting him approach rather than me approach him, along with the 10 clicks at the same criteria level, was that it gave him a LOT of opportunities to sniff the bute paste. He got a little in his nose just from the end of the tube, he got to walk away and come back. He got to sniff and sniff and sniff without being at all threatened by it. He volunteered to take it in his mouth and then I walked a step forward between each click until he was pursuing me around the stall trying to grab the syringe. Mentally, that was a big step for him.
Then I stepped back by his shoulder so he had to turn to touch it and that's how I managed to get him to target it with the corner of his lips rather than his muzzle. I made sure to get a full 10 trials with it in his mouth before squirting the bute in on the 11th. Then I clicked and offered the hay stretcher pellets. He took them and dropped them. I continued to CT for any interest in the syringe. This is the hard part because he got "punished" by the nasty medicine and I wanted to override that with many more positive experiences but they can't taste anything good afterward. He has a lifetime of reinforcement for the click though and it seemed to work for me here because he kept touching it for the clicks, even though he dropped the treats each time. After a few times like that, he stopped taking the treats so each time I dropped the treats into his feed tub. Even though he wasn't eating them, I think the noise of them falling into his tub was reinforcing and they would be there for him. I also unwrapped a couple peppermints. I think the noise of those unwrapping is highly reinforcing and hoped that their strong smell would overpower the bad taste. I kept this up until he was taking the syringe in his mouth again and then just dropped a handful of hay stretcher pellets in his tub along with a couple more peppermints and left him. He had been trying to eat a couple and so I was pretty sure that left alone, he would commence to eating, which he did. AND he'd taken the syringe in his mouth many times without the punishing taste being repeated. So now I'm going to go back out and do it again.
There is a whole list of veterinary procedures on this discussion on Peggy's Facebook site that were put together by a vet who recently attended one of her clinics:
I think these are great winter projects!!!
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