NEI Workshop: Introductory Training

On the first day of the workshop, we were told to capture or shape three behaviors on our Macaw. This helped those of us who had minimal or no experience with birds get a feel for their offered behaviors, their style and speed of learning, learn a little about our individual bird and see what it felt like to feed a treat to a bird! I had zero experience with birds except for farm chickens. I was in awe. 

These first sessions were done in protected contact (meaning the bird was in a cage and we were outside it and feeding treats through the wire). I came to think of the enclosures the Macaws were in as comparable to horse keeping. There was a large “flight” they all shared, probably 20’ x 80’ and also 20’ or 30’ high. I thought of these as horse pastures. There were four or five birds “turned out” together when we weren’t training them.

Using his foot to hold the seed while eating

Inside that flight, there were a couple smaller cages probably 5’ by 5’ and 12’ high which were kind of like run in sheds. 2 or 3  birds were put in each to be out of the way when we were training. There was also a smaller cage on wheels, more stall sized, where the bird I worked with was put when others were training because “he didn’t play well with others”. He was out with all of them when we weren’t training, but the smaller confines must have brought out the same sort of behavior that one sees when horses are bunched together in a small area.

After that first protected contact session, we needed some more basics. Because we had not yet learned how to “lead” a bird (again, I revert to horse terminology), when we were ready to train out of protected contact, Wouter (pronounced Vowter) brought each bird out for us. The first afternoon he placed the birds onto a perch which was about eye level in the corner of the flight. The birds had the option to fly off into their “pasture” so it was only because they chose to stay that allowed us to work with them (and there were the occasional fly offs but not often and they came back pretty easily). We taught them to turn around on this perch and also to station on a piece of wood nailed to the perch. That became a high value place to be for the rest of the week. 

The next morning we learned how to cue the bird to fly to our hand and how to return them to the perch in a manner that they felt safe and comfortable. In Susan’s LLA class, she frequently uses the behavior of a bird “stepping up” onto a hand as an example. Last week the clarity of that term hit me. The birds truly do prefer stepping UP to stepping over or down. So when we returned a bird to a perch, we had to place the bird a little lower than the perch for him to be comfortable stepping up onto it, rather than dumping the bird out of our hands. We were taught to have them fly to our hands before stepping onto our hands because it’s easier for the bird.

Stepping up

Having the birds step up was an example of the choice that these birds are given. Traditionally, I guess people kind of press their hands into the birds chest to knock them off their balance so they have to step onto the hand. At NEI, the birds are offered a cue of right hand up which means the bird has a choice. If he chooses to step up, he picks his foot up in, I’m sorry but the cutest little darn posture you could ask for. It reminded me of a toddler reaching up a tiny hand in that trusting way that you will offer yours back to help them. In any case, when they pick up that foot, then you offer your left hand in front of them and they step on (and if you are Wouter, you accompany that offering with “did you call for an Uber?”).  

I had no idea what to expect when this bird flew to me but what I found was that he was very light (compared to a broiler chicken!) and the little feet are very gentle.  There were more mechanics to learn so we could turn this bird who was now facing us around so he could step back up onto the perch. All this needed to be done smoothly to keep the bird comfortable or he’d take to his wings. 

There was, of course, relationship to build. When I think of building a relationship with an animal, I tend to think of long term such as months at least. Here we were asking the birds to trust us in just a matter of days. I’m not a fan of flying myself, so it would have taken me a lot longer to trust someone if I was going to fly over and land on their hand. It also made me think about what we offer to an animal that we are asking to trust us. Certainly my teammates and I had the best of intentions for these birds. But we needed to quickly build our skills so we could offer clear communication in addition to our good intentions. This was obvious when comparing us to Wouter. He no longer worked at NEI and did not necessarily know these individual birds, but they responded to his cues quickly and comfortably. He had the body language, if you will, that they understood. I think that’s an important point to think about regardless of the animals we work with. So many people have great intentions with their animals but they just don’t have the education to understand that the human way they are communicating with them is not received with the emotion that it is given. Something as simple as stroking or patting may be done to an animal to convey appreciation or love, and yet it could be very aversive to the animal.

Next up: Training Projects

Natural Encounters Workshop 2016: Overview

Last week I attended the Natural Encounters Workshop in Winter Haven, Florida. It was a full five days of education with some wonderful instructors, headed up by Steve Martin and Dr. Susan Friedman. I had heard about the workshop while taking Susan’s Living and Learning with Animals (LLA) online course. I recommend that course and this workshop for anyone wishing to learn more about the science of behavior.

It’s always interesting to see how clinics and workshops are set up and experience different styles of teaching and presenting. I felt this workshop was a wonderful balance of lecture/presentation, demonstrations, sharing, and hands-on training. Attending any event which is based in positive reinforcement methods is a joy: Clicker Expo, clinics with Alexandra Kurland, and others really make one appreciate how different it feels to be with other positive reinforcement trainers. 

The daily schedule began with a wonderful spread of breakfast options with which to fill our plates before we sat down in the classroom. We were encouraged throughout to eat, drink and be merry. Steve is an amazing host who welcomed each of us onto his ranch, into his home, and into the lives and training of his birds. When telling anyone who I was going to be learning from, I would say, “Steve Martin, not the comedian”. But I have to revise that because Steve is not only warm and welcoming but pretty funny in his own right. 

After we had our breakfast and coffee laid out around our notebooks (fat binders we were handed on arrival with printouts of all power point slides as well as a resource section), either Susan or Steve would present a power point. Susan’s were as meaty as in her LLA course; they were filled with gem quotes, thought provoking slides, and video clips to illustrate various points. This was my third time hearing some of this information (having taken advantage of the opportunity to re-take the LLA course for free after the first time through) but I still found myself listening intently, scribbling notes, and having new “ahas”.  

Steve’s presentations included amazing videos, slides and stories of training animals all over the world. He’s been a consultant for zoos on many continents, travels regularly for enjoyment and photography (Africa and the Far East to name a few places), and has influenced the lives of many animals for the better. He has watched the evolution of training over the decades and is a treasure trove of training history up to the present moment as Natural Encounters has shows at Disney World and two (I believe) that travel around the country. He is dedicated to the absolute best welfare that he and his trainers and staff can provide. 

After the morning presentation, Steve would outline our training plans for the day. We were broken down into teams for the week of four participants assigned to a team leader, most of whom were NEI trainers. The participants were a wonderful blend of zookeepers, animal trainers (including dog trainers), companion bird owners, and other professionals. If you think Disney World is all about Mickey Mouse and the rides, let me tell you there is a whole subculture of incredible animal trainers as well.  I considered myself very fortunate to have Wouter Stellaard as team leader. Currently the head trainer at Columbus Zoo, Wouter had previously been a trainer and VP at NEI. He was an excellent coach with a wonderful sense of humor. 

When we headed to the birds, Steve began by demonstrating our training plan for that session. We had each been assigned a Macaw to train for the week, and each team had been assigned a Corvid. After watching the demonstration we broke into our teams and moved on to our own birds, taking turns with the Corvid day to day, and taking turns with our team leader’s attention with our Macaws. 

After the morning training, we returned to the classroom for a hearty lunch and a few minutes to share stories with each other. The afternoon repeated the morning schedule of lecture, demo and training. Each day ended with more food (this time crackers and cheese and vegetables and more, along with quite a variety of wine, beer and other beverages) and a “talk down” where participants and team leaders alike shared thoughts from their day. All the team leaders were confident, friendly and encouraging which I believe is a testament to Steve’s work. 

next up: Introductory Training

Viper, the Pied Crow our team worked with

Do Horses Really Need Routine or Is It Just Cues?

I was taught growing up that horses like and need routine. They should be fed and turned out at the same time every day. I adhered to that for years, religiously showing up at the barn for chores with no more than a 10 minute window of flexibility (and feeling horribly guilty if a family outing disrupted it). And it certainly appeared that it was true. The horses always gave indications that they were desperate to be fed or were found waiting impatiently at the gate if I was late. 

In recent years, I have started to question this and now am feeling a lot less convinced. One argument backing this requirement is the sensitive nature of the horse's digestive system. I won't dispute that horses can suffer maladies from ulcers to colic if their routine is upset. But is it routine they crave? I recently read a highly respected trainer's website which stated that the horse is a creature of habit with an internal clock. I can go along with that, but it went on to say there are certain times to graze and certain times to rest. This is where I question.

I think we all have an internal clock ("all" meaning humans, dogs, cats, horses and livestock: the species with which I am most familiar). I think those do become finely tuned, as people who have dogs and cats who know dinner time within one minute will attest. Anyone who has traveled from the East Coast to the West Coast with a toddler and been joyously woken at 4: AM because it's breakfast time on the East Coast can support me on that one. And anyone who has then tried to tell that toddler that it's not breakfast time will understand that yes, there is a NEED for breakfast at that time.

So it seems like I'm arguing against myself but think about the following: we are the ones who have clocks that we set to feed animals. In the natural world, horses eat almost constantly; they don't have a meal time at all. Wild canines and felines eat when they catch something, which is determined as much by what is being pursued as by when the animal decides to go hunt. So I say we are the ones who set their internal clocks and I question how necessary that is.

I'm not suggesting that anyone who feeds two or three meals start feeding them to their horses at random times of the day. I am suggesting that if we respect the true nature of the horse by having something available to go through that digestive tract at all times, then they won't really care whether that arrives at 6: AM or 10: AM. We do know that grain is not the best food for horses and many of us avoid feeding it. With the invention of the slow feeder hay nets or boxes, we can make a flake of hay last much longer than if we throw it on the ground and in my experience, the horses are much less desperate when I show up with the next meal. They don't behave differently if I show up an hour early or an hour late from any random time I choose to do my chores. That's a 2 hour window rather than a 15 minute one. More than that and I think the tummies have been empty long enough that they are impatient.

The reasons we have times to feed is for human need.  We need to get a shower and get to work or the employees show up at a certain time and need to get the feeding and mucking done so that the riding and training can begin. When we are consistent for our human needs, then yes, the internal clocks of the animals, who are under our complete control as to when and what they eat, get set as well.

In my corner of the world, many people, including myself, turn horses out at night during the summer which is when the heat and bugs are least bothersome. During the winter, we turn them out during the day when it's warmer and they are snug in their barns at night when it's bitterly cold outside. Every Spring and Fall, there is The Switch. When does one change the turnout schedule? Labor Day? Talk about a random date! First frost? Also random and not necessarily indicative of what the next several weeks' weather will be. 

If left to their own devices, this schedule would be much more gradual. I do believe horses in this climate like to be locked in away from the wind at night in winter and I also believe they like being in their stalls where it's cooler and less buggy during the summer days. However, I like to let them choose as much as possible. If I have someone arriving for a lesson, I make sure the horses are in and have had their breakfasts before then. But on days like today, when my schedule doesn't require their cooperation, I watch to see what they choose. On hot, muggy days, they come up to the barn earlier, tails switching and feet stomping in the run-in until I let them in. On cooler, breezy, late summer days, they come up for a drink, but then go back out to graze some more. The "grain" they get is simply a forage supplement but they do get this each morning. Yet the opportunity to move and graze, come and go, seems more compelling than getting in their stalls for this artificial meal. If they truly had an internal clock which either their bodies or their minds needed, then wouldn't they be waiting for this routine at the same time each day?

Many times we are simply cueing our animals to expect to be fed or turned out. Because of chubbiness, I bring the two smaller ponies into a dirt paddock at dark, rather than leaving them out on grass all night with the others. Everyone gets turned out together at about 4: PM. When I go out as it begins to get dark (which happens just a tiny bit earlier each night), those two ponies come up to the barn. This isn't 100% consistent but any time it happens, it does surprise me. They are coming off grass, to be put on dirt with a flake of last year's 1st cut hay. I think the reinforcement is different for each. Kizzy gets her grazing muzzle taken off and she must find eating hay without a muzzle preferable to fighting for grass with one.  She's usually the first one to appear. Rumer likes Kizzy and likes to be with her, so when she sees Kizzy come up, or sees me move her to the other paddock, she comes running as well. So in that instance, I think we have a cue (my arrival at the barn and Kizzy's arrival at the barn) which predicts a behavior (their arrival at the barn) and then reinforcers (hay/no muzzle and companionship). 

Likewise, I think that given freedom to choose when to eat and when to rest, environmental cues are a lot more causative than "routine". Therefore, I make a point to be inconsistent so that my horses don't fret if something changes. I make sure there is sufficient forage for digestive health, that they have free access to water and shelter, and then I do chores when it's convenient for me, or when it's convenient for them.

As always, I'd love to hear what others think about this. 

Expectations: Consistency in Training Routines

snuffling up the pellets

I've been amazed for a long time, and commented before on how much Percy seems to like his hay stretcher pellets that I use for training reinforcement. It's an extension of the way clicker trained horses feel about the training itself.  They will leave amazing reinforcers such as grass to come and work for a couple pellets.  Today he showed me again how powerful the training is, and how much that transfers to everything involved with it. 

In getting ready for our Training Intensive Practical Clinic with Cindy Martin and Katie Bartlett in two weeks, I am trying to work with each of my horses (it's been a busy Spring and early Summer so they haven't gotten the attention I'd hoped and I need to decide the best projects for our clinic participants). The last one I got out to play this afternoon was Ande. When we were done, I realized it was turnout time so I led him to the paddock they are currently grazing and turned him out.  Percy is usually the first one out because most days they go out through his paddock so it makes sense to let him out first. So this was unusual and he became very animated seeing Ande go out first. He galloped the fence line, did some bucking and squealing, ran back into his stall and back out again.

I opened his stall door with his halter in hand, and he came running to stuff his head into it, but then pulled it back out and ran back outside again. Choice is important.
I stepped into the aisle, closed the door and put Stowaway out instead. This got Percy more excited and I felt stupid for doing it.  Thank goodness Mariah was still in and though she was whickering to go out, she didn't do anything to further exacerbate the situation. 

I stepped into Percy's stall again and this time he managed to put his head in the halter and hold still while I pulled it over his ears and buckled it. This is always a difficult moment for him because even when the situation is calm, he gets excited about training and has a hard time being patient about leaving his stall but we've developed a routine that works.  I don't ask for anything in the stall, but immediately take him out to explore the aisle (thank you to Katie for this process!). But today I knew he wanted to go out to pasture, not explore the aisle, and I felt he needed help with calming before we stepped out. 

We worked on head down and targeting for a while until we got up to a quiet 20 seconds of head down with no fidgeting. Then I stepped into the aisle and repeated it.  The head down exercise was working its magic; when I clicked, his head only came up about 12 inches from the ground for the treat, compared to when it had been way over my head initially. 

We stepped outside the barn and he eagerly looked to Stow and Ande in the paddock, but willingly repeated the head downs again; this time he was able to immediately go the full 20 seconds so I walked him to the gate. He was polite while I opened it, he turned carefully and quietly, and did another nice head down. Here by the gate, the grass had been chewed short. I had opened an additional gate for Ande and Stow where the grass was ankle and knee deep. But Percy was quiet and I carefully slipped his halter off over his ears, expecting him to spin and gallop to his buddies.  But he stood and looked at me expectantly.

The routine.  There are rules we follow.  End of session means he gets a handful of hay stretcher pellets on the ground before I leave. He wanted them. I dug a handful out of my treat apron and dropped them in front of him. Rather than running off to fresh grass and buddies, he began lipping up the pellets from the ground.

When I returned with Mariah, he was still vacuuming and I had to wait for him to find the last one or two before I could go in with Mariah (she was happy to be kept busy with some targeting). When he did finish, he stepped back so Mariah could come in and it was then he remembered what he was out there for.  He turned quietly and trotted toward his friends, then broke into a canter as he reached them and instigated some play before settling down to graze. 

It's always nice to see the results of our training!

A Clicker Training Clinic with Alexandra Kurland at Cavalia's Home Farm

A distant view of the Cavalia home farm

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of attending an Alexandra Kurland clinic at the Cavalia home farm in Quebec. I was there as an assistant but it felt like a holiday: the education was of the excellent caliber which Alex always provides; the site was ideal with two indoor arenas, a classroom, dining room and beautiful setting; and we were very well fed throughout! The horses at the farm are magnificent and supported by a team dedicated to their care.

One of the amazing catered meals

Our host for the weekend was Dominique Day, one of the co-founders of Cavalia. A beautiful person, inside and out, Dominique is very involved in the daily activities at the farm. She knows very one of the more than 50 horses on the farm as well as anyone and is both knowledgable and passionate about their husbandry. Dominique was only willing to pursue this dream of a performance show if the welfare of all the horses was at the forefront. She has researched every facet with tenacity. Researching the most humane methods of training horses led her to Clicker Training. Researching Equine Clicker Training led her to "the best": Alexandra Kurland. Dominique says when she met with Alex the first time, she was ecstatic to find a kindred spirit.

Dominique shared some of the history of the Cavalia show and its early development. When they began exploring what was possible, they saw that in traditional circus shows, the horses worked in a small circular stage so they were always within reach of the whips.  That's not what they wanted for Cavalia.  They wanted the horses to be actors just like all the other performers, so they expanded the stage, and took away the whips. If a horse leaves or did extra laps, that's okay and becomes part of the show. They want the horses expressing their personality. 

The Cavalia trainers and show designers have always been innovators. Now Dominique is taking that a step further by bringing Clicker Training to the Cavalia Retirement Farm. The horses at the home farm are the retirees from the show, the occasional layups due to injury and the horses on vacation from performing. Some horses who retire from the shows are adopted out through a very careful process, again overseen by Dominique. Hearing her talk about the requirements for adopting a Cavalia horse, one is confident that she looks into all aspects of the horse's physical, mental and emotional needs before releasing them and she follows up with them. Those who are not adopted out have a home for life. In fact the very first Cavalia horse is still there. You can see a brief video with Dominique and footage of the home farm on youtube.

As you can imagine, horses coming off of a high energy show like Cavalia or Odysseo take some time to adjust to a quieter farm life. If they need to be confined to a stall or hand walking due to injury, the transition is a larger challenge. From daily turnout and handling to veterinary procedures, these horses are managed and enriched with Positive Reinforcement.

Marla and Bilbo

After Dominique's initial meetings and discussions with Alex, she asked her to recommend someone to come to the farm as a full time trainer. Marla Foreman was the ideal candidate.  Having been raised on a remote ranch in New Mexico, with experience in many equine disciplines, as well as being a veterinarian, there isn't much that intimidates her. She had been attending clinics in Washington State with Alexandra for twelve years so is very familiar with her work.

All the horses come into the barn with the energy of a fit performance animal, but they also seem to come in sizes big, bigger, biggest and enormous. From Arabs, Quarter Horses and Appaloosas to Draft Horses, warmbloods and Iberic breeds (with necks that put their heads in the clouds), walking through the barn can feel as if you are walking though a book on horse breeds of the world. The fabulous Bilbo, pictured here with Marla, is a perfect example.  An Ardennais, Bilbo weighs in at about a ton and was one of the vaulting horses in the show. Cavalia retires their vaulting horses after only three years: before they show signs of the wear and tear they are predisposed to from their difficult work. Although a draft breed, Bilbo is fit and quite active; he loves to gallop and play. Marla's excellent skill set lets her work with that energy while still maintaining the soft and and listening demeanor of a Clicker Trainer. 

Rounding out the support team for these horses is the lovely Gabriela as barn manager. With an impressive history in hotel management, Gabriela keeps things running like clockwork. She greets everyone with a welcoming smile; anticipates the needs of her employer, the horses and the guests; and is as much a student of positive reinforcement training as everyone else. 

Being able to attend a clinic with Alexandra Kurland at his amazing site with these amazing horses as demonstrators is an opportunity not to be missed. They are hosting regular clinics and I highly recommend attending! I will save my actual clinic report for a future post.

Gabriela and Alexandra demonstrating the Minuet Dance of working with horses
(more on that in the next post!)

Sharing Attention: Improving Relationships Between Horses and Dogs

This is my first blog post with training tips for the HORSES AND DOGS CLICK! challenge on my Bookends Farm Facebook page. If you aren't on Facebook and want more information, let me know and we'll get you involved somehow.

I was inspired by seeing a video clip of a Dog and Horse Trail competition in Germany. I shared the video and wished we had something similar.  A friend suggested I start an online contest, so I did! It's very casual, the purpose being to encourage people to work with their dogs and horses together and train them, rather than avoiding the problems that sometimes come up when you have both species. 

I've had a lot of interest and I want to keep this fun, collaborative and encouraging. I'm going to post videos and blog posts about the way I would go about working toward this goal myself.

In order to start a project like this, I think of two main approaches.  One is to work each animal separately on the various criteria required (I'll copy the details at the end of this post). The other is to be sure the animals are comfortable in each others' presence. 

Since we still have complete snow cover here, I can't be working in the arena but there are certainly things I can start working on. One is the relationship piece. As we have six dogs and six horses, I have lots of pairs to choose from. I'll be using different individuals for different posts, depending on which ones I think will best demonstrate the topic.

For this post I have chosen to use Beetle as the demo dog.  Beetle is 15 years old and while he has always been very comfortable and confident around the horses, he never had what I would call a good relationship with them. He was comfortable and confident because he would quickly snap at them if they got too close.  He didn't chase them; just didn't want them in his bubble. As a senior citizen, he deserves some training time and anything to make his life more pleasant is a good goal. He no longer sees or hears well, so can be pretty anxious in the barn. I hope this will help.

The horse I have chosen to use is Mariah. She also is a senior who deserves some training time. She's a good match for this job because although she is enormous, she is very, very good with the terriers.  I once locked Eloise in her stall by mistake shortly after I got her and didn't discover it until I got back to the house.  I didn't realize what happened so I went hunting for her and finally checked Mariah's stall. They were both in there, Mariah happily eating her hay and Eloise safe as could be. 

In the past, if a horse has threatened Beetle with lowered head and pinned ears, he'd fight back. I am confident that Mariah won't do this so I can focus on Beetle's emotions. If I was concerned, I would begin with them much further away. 

Since this is the beginning of this project, I like to begin with a bit of a dry run.  This is something I have heard Ken Ramirez speak of on several occasions. Set up the training and run through without the animals to make sure you have the equipment, yourself, props, etc all as you need them. It doesn't eliminate the possibility of missing something, but it helps and you will see me find a couple problems here. 

I decided that shavings bags would be a good platform for Beetle in order to get him closer to the height of Mariah's nose. Keeping her in her stall keeps her big feet out of the equation and her head can still come out of the grill window for training. Rather than doing a complete dry run, I try a little session with just Beetle.

What did I learn in my run through with Beetle alone? Before I began, I thought about my treat situation. Many years ago I accidentally used the same pouch for horse treats that I had liver treats in for the dog earlier. That horse was NOT happy. Since then I have been careful to make sure all horse treats are clean of anything which might offend their noses or taste buds. The dogs are fine if I feed them a hay stretcher pellet by mistake, but not the other way around. In the winter, I keep my left coat pocket well stocked with hay stretcher pellets for use during the day. I keep a pouch clipped on to my right pocket with dog treats. I realized that put the treats on the opposite side of the animals the way I had the setup in mind but thought that might actually be a good thing so that I could turn to each animal, rather than getting sloppy in my treat delivery which could encourage them to come for the treat rather than wait for it. And in practice, it felt right. 

The first thing I noticed after turning the camera on is that Beetle wouldn't be able to get up on the shavings bags by himself.  A couple years ago it would have been no problem but he isn't as spry as he used to be.  I had to pick him up and he really doesn't like to be picked up so for the next run I add a step for him (and you will see why that turned out to be a very good thing!). 

The next problem is that I automatically expected a polite sit from him. That's kind of a default for me in expectations of dogs. Sit before we do anything. I really wasn't thinking clearly to expect this of Beetle because he has not been comfortable sitting for a couple years. His knees pain him and when he, along with my other older dog, became reluctant to sit when cars passed us on walks, I realized it was because it hurt! I no longer ask him to but here I was expecting it. After a couple times when he slowly does sit, I remember and stop expecting it. 

Finally, you saw me find that even though I had carefully placed the shavings bags where I thought they should be, I had my back to the imaginary Mariah and needed to change my position.

I was ready to bring Mariah into the next session and here's how that went:

I thought about having Beetle stay on the lower step at first but he jumped right up to the top so there we were. Another Ken Ramirez tip: when working with multiples, everybody gets reinforced even if they haven't been cued for a specific behavior.  If nothing else, they have to sit there while somebody else gets attention! In this case, I just wanted both animals to find out that there was reinforcement for both and they could be happy together. 

First I ask Mariah for a fist target. She complies (not a touch but close and we're not looking for precision at this point) and I click and both Beetle and Mariah get a treat. Then I ask Beetle to target but oops! I give him a fist target and I use a flat hand as a hand target for dogs, while I use a fist for horses. I switch and open my hand. My brain is starting to smoke already. 

I wanted to start out by asking for something specific from each animal to give them something to do and reward each so they knew they were both "working" and wouldn't be tempted to offer unwanted behaviors. Once they had each responded to a hand target, I moved to seeing if they could both just be patient.  And I measure patience in nanoseconds. We aren't building behaviors, or duration or precision. The goal here is to just be together and see that it's good. As long as Mariah keeps her head away from me, I click. We do that three times but I begin to feed them closer and closer so their heads are practically touching. So close that poor Beetle gets bumped (by my hand, not Mariah!) and tumbles backwards off the bags. Next time I will turn the bags the other direction so he has a better platform!

At the end, I give each of them a final handful: Mariah in her feed tub and Beetle on the lower step so that they are separated a bit and no problems ensue when my back is turned as I turn the camera off.

Safety and comfort is a priority here. I didn't exactly set that up successfully for Beetle by having him take a tumble. Next time I will be more careful. I am happy with the behavior from each of them, however! I saw no unpleasant emotions. Beetle might look worried from someone else's point of view- his tail is pretty tight. But at his age and in winter, that's not unusual. I will keep an eye on this as I don't want him climbing up on the shavings bags just for food if it hurts or he's uneasy. I will probably do more with him alone and might see if I can find something with a little better grip for him to stand on. Mariah was her saintly self and I think would be happy to repeat this again.

Here are my rules/guidelines for the contest:

Team of three: one human, one equine, one canine
Goals- to promote happy interactions among species in practical setting using positive reinforcement training.
Criteria- marker and food reinforcer must be used for each of the 10 exercises for both horse and dog. 

Course- design your own! Must include:
1. Dog to be on leash at beginning, let loose for all exercises, then put back on leash at conclusion.
2. “Heeling” of dog next to horse’s shoulder and/or person’s side; minimum of 10 yards at walk and 5 yards of trot. 
3. Horse and dog together over a rail type obstacle of any height
4. Horse to demonstrate correct nose-to-tail bend through 2 consecutive changes of direction, using cones or similar object (handler may change sides in-hand)
5. Dog to stay in marked, but not confined, area (rails, colored sand) while horse and human go 10 yards and demonstrate backing of 5 steps minimum
6. Dog to recall over or through any obstacle while horse remains calm and still
7. Horse, dog and handler to cross “bridge” of any safe material (plywood, secured tarp), large enough that all four of horse’s feet will be on it at once (no height necessary)
8. Dog to stay at safe distance while horse and handler open gate, pass through, recall dog to stay again while horse and handler latch gate.
9. Dog to demonstrate sit and down for minimum of 5 seconds (can be during any of the above exercises)
10. Bonus- dog to retrieve object to handler while horse remains calm and still. Object can be thrown or placed prior to retrieve.

Judging to be both objective (completion of all 10 exercises) and subjective (happiness of all three team members, quality of work). I will choose my own favorite (or maybe favorite 3?) and will also tally “likes” of each video submitted.
SAFETY IS THE PRIORITY.
All riders must wear a helmet! (or your video will be removed)

Two divisions- one ridden and one with horse in-hand. For in-hand division, horse must be connected to handler (no horse liberty work).

Videos may be submitted starting July 1 and ending July 4 at midnight EST. Judging by myself and likes will be July 5th through the 12th.

Sparkle and Drive

Whenever my daughter and I heard words like this paired, we’d immediately think what great names they’d be for a pair of driving ponies. I’m not thinking of anything nearly so concrete with these words. 

As a science based trainer, I have been taught by many that behavioral criteria must be definable, measurable and observable. What exactly are we looking for when we ask the dog to stay: can he wander around the area we’ve left him; or must he be statue-like still; or somewhere in between (in which case define that!). If we ask a horse to trot, is transitioning upward with one trot step acceptable (ideally that is what is reinforced at the beginning of training) or must he maintain a certain number of steps? Is there a certain amount of time in which he must respond? Clarity is critical for shaping better performance.

Drive is a word that is not defined with clarity, yet it is used all the time in dog sports. When I took Susan Garrett’s Recaller course several years ago, I found myself wondering how drive related to horses. I came up with the same ambivalence. The clearest example would be a Thoroughbred breaking from the starting gate and digging into the dirt as he or she raced down the track. Similarly, an event horse in the start box, fidgeting as the timer counted down to “Go!” would then leap out of the box with great drive to attack the course ahead. It is more than speed, which is something which could be measured. It is a readiness to respond and a willingness recover from a stumble on the course and fight on.

But it’s even more than that. I think Dressage horses, trail horses, and even horses being clicker trained in a barn aisle can have drive. For these it seems more appropriate to transition to “sparkle”. The word sparkle is from a conversation I had with Alexandra Kurland last Fall.  We were actually discussing horses with whom the clicker had been used, but sadly these horses were missing the clicker sparkle. Just as some people “train with a clicker” while others are “clicker trainers”, there are horses who understand the clicker, but do not have the clicker sparkle. And they are related. 

A sparkling morning

There are some really good trainers (of many species) out there with young children. I’ve seen the kids on Facebook and oh, those lucky children. They have a clicker in their little hands as toddlers. Their parents are serious trainers so no animals are having to endure ill-timed clicks.  These kids are rock stars who are learning from the beginning how to be a clicker trainer.  The positive reinforcement mindset is how they are being raised themselves. Those kids will be able to say they truly started as clicker trainers. They will sparkle.

The rest of us have baggage and we have to start by “training with a clicker”. Regardless of how much training, with whom or for how long, we probably have a history of something other than positive reinforcement. Then we may meet “the horse” who inspires us to explore something different. Or as with me, it might be a more gradual crossover as I tried it, stepped back, and then tried again over many years. It takes time to get oneself living completely under the clicker umbrella, which is when we become “clicker trainers”. Even when we are willing, we have all these punishing habits and self defense mechanisms popping up like monsters on a carnival ride. 

Horses respond to the crossover process differently. Some start to sparkle right away, happy to offer little behaviors and be reinforced for it. My retired event horse Smarty was one of those.  He caught on quickly and would give a little nicker when he heard the click. It warmed my heart every time. Other horses are more cautious. They suspect a trick or simply cannot really believe this is true. This may be due to their history or temperament. Or it may be trainer related.  A person who teaches his horse with a clicker but will still use a stick or a yell or a sharp movement in certain situations, will create a horse who decides she just cannot trust. It sounded good for a while, but if punishment is still used, the sparkle cannot emerge. And the longer this goes on, one moment getting treats for one thing, the next moment getting punished for another, the less hope the horse has. The fear of punishment runs deep.

Don’t get me wrong, punishment happens.  It happens in the environment, it happens from other horses, it happens by accident. Dr. Susan Friedman says that it’s the ratio of reinforcement to punishment which is important.  If we strive for 100% reinforcement in our training, the occasional unavoidable punishment can be overridden. By unavoidable, I don’t mean planned punishments for something we perceive as “unacceptable”. I mean things like veterinary intervention. We can train and train in preparation for vaccinations and blood draws, but the fact is, when it happens, it might still hurt. Ken Ramirez says the protocol for his trainers is one hundred reinforcers in a training situation for every one actual veterinary procedure. Those animals sparkle. They have one hundred times the experiences of reinforcement to punishment (the punishment being the possible physical pain of an injection).  

As someone who teaches others how to train, I can’t count the number of times I have heard “but what do I do when...”? The problem with this question is that people are planning to fail. They want to know what they can do when the horse or dog is “wrong”. Guess what? The horse or dog is never wrong. They do what they have been trained to do. Period. A behavior which is reinforced is repeated. If a horse has been reinforced many times for biting someone (perhaps the horse preferred begin left alone to unpleasant training), then adding a little reinforcement isn’t going to magically change things. You need to overwhelm the previous history with reinforcement for what you want.  This takes time. Training requires planning. Rather than planning to fail and asking what to do when that happens, it is our responsibility, as trainers, to set things up so the animal succeeds and we can reinforce that. Keep yourself in protective contact if you need to feel safe but don’t ask what to do when the horse does something “wrong”. Train “right”! 

It can require a lot of creativity to set up a situation in which we can be safe and the horse can keep learning what we want. If our brains don’t have practice, it’s even harder. Luckily, these days there are more and more positive reinforcement trainers out there from whom to learn. Ask for help, get some coaching from a reputable trainer, reach out to peers to brainstorm.  It can often feel like the cards are stacked against us due to our environment. Not everyone has their own ideal training facility with staff (oh, how we wish we did). But we have each other to look to for support.

While removing Ed's hat is reinforcing to Percy,
 it does not reinforce my husband for helping to shovel the run-in!

Just be sure that have a good long think about the responses you get. Play it through in  your mind and ask, “Am I trying to stop a behavior or teach a behavior?”  If someone gives you a suggestion that will stop a behavior, it is not a “clicker compatible” method. You are risking the sparkle. Toss that suggestion out the window and look for one which is clickerly; look for the suggestion which is a creative approach to train something incompatible with the unwanted behavior.  You will be training your horse what To Do and you will be polishing your horse’s sparkle, not dulling it or throwing dirt on it.

It’s easy to fall for the folks who say “I’ve been there and I had to do “x” to stop that”.  That’s exactly how we feel and we feel vindicated when someone else offers a solution. But if all we want is someone to validate punishment, well those are a dime a dozen.  As true clicker trainers, we instead need to challenge ourselves not to fall for the easy out.  

And remember that punishment is defined by the learner. I still find myself having the occasional accident. Percy loves to nibble on my clothes in the winter.  I trained that when he was a youngster by finding it amusing when he fetched gloves, tugged at my zipper and took off my hat. My physical expression of amusement was reinforcing to him. He’s gentle: there is no danger involved, but it’s annoying to have an adult horse grabbing at my clothes. I have to own that, however. 

I did not want to punish him, so I simply pulled away quickly and left. He showed me that’s still punishment. It’s negative punishment (removing something the horse wants to stop a behavior), but it’s still punishment. And Percy began to respond. He’d nibble at my coat and then pull away quickly. Not the goal I was after.  And no sparkle. There was always sparkle when he played with my clothes. I need to substitute one sparkling behavior for another. If I don’t want him tugging on my sleeve, I need to train him what To Do instead. He’s a smart horse. He’ll figure it out. Just as long as I come up with a creative solution. 

Please, set up your environment and training sessions so your horse can sparkle. 

Sparkle is not always easy to catch in still photos, but this young horse has it in spades. You can see it here in his attentive ears and curious eyes, even though this was his first introduction to flexions. The tilt of his head shows he is still being shaped for a correct flexion, but he has not been told this effort was "wrong". He was clicked for his effort and asked again.