"You want to be careful not to inadvertently reinforce other concurrent behaviors, such as tail swishing or ear-pinning," notes Dr. Hanggi.
Remember, too, that this learning process will take quite a few trials, not just one or two.
"When I train new behaviors," Dr. Hanngi explains, "I usually get a pretty decent result within about 10 minutes. I then improve on it, shape it, during short sessions for a few days."
You might also need to relax your parameters for a moment and backtrack if the horse becomes confused.
The final step is to connect the behavior to a cue, such as a hand gesture or a word. In this situation, perhaps you'd use the word "foot." Right before your horse lifts his foot, you say the cue word. This has to be done consistently. After you get good at this, you can almost sense what the horse will do next.
"Remember, though," cautions Dr. Hanggi, "that it takes time and skill to get good at this."
Until then, you can give the cue at the earliest moment of the lift. If you only reinforce him when he lifts his foot in response to that cue word, he will quickly make the connection that "foot" means to pick up his foot high and hold it there.
So, do you now become the walking grain bag or carrot keeper to get your horse to do what you want? Dr. Hanggi says no.
"Once the horse understands your cues, you can put him on a variable reinforcement schedule," she says. That's a fancy way of saying, instead of giving the horse a reward each and every time he responds correctly, you'll reinforce the right behavior intermittently.
Dr. Hanggi has found that horses will work harder and respond more enthusiastically when rewards are not given on a predictable basis. Once a behavior is learned, food is faded out and only given occasionally, such as at the end of a training session, or even not at all. Eventually, the secondary reinforcer (that word of praise, for example) is reinforcement enough.
Clicker Training & More
Of course, there is still a mindset in the horse world that questions using food to reinforce desired behavior. If you train by reinforcing with food, do you then run the risk of having 1,000 pounds of pushy, irritating horse who is always looking for food and disrespecting your space?
Not only would this be annoying, it could be dangerous.
"When food reinforcement is involved, it is extremely important to know when to reinforce, when not to, and how to gradually fade out food so you're not encumbered by it," Dr. Hanggi says. "Do not confuse positive reinforcement training with treat-giving."
The key is to reinforce only appropriate and correct behaviors, and to time the reinforcement precisely so that it's most effective. Be careful not to reinforce undesirable behavior, such as biting or licking at your pockets or encroaching on your space. Conditioning horses to be polite is paramount. In fact, this is the first thing Dr. Hanggi and her associates teach participants who attend their positive reinforcement clinics.
For years, the dog world has been using positive reinforcement as a training tool. In fact, a whole discipline called "clicker training" has evolved, an adaptation of what has long been used with dolphins and whales. The metallic clicking sound made by a small, hand-held device is used as the bridge. The dog recognizes the click as a "good boy, that's right" signal. Clicker training is also being used with horses, eliciting rave reviews from those involved.
Ultimately, we all want to be nice to our horses. By being able to thank them for performing in a way that we want, we both win. And as we progress with our positive reinforcement program, we will begin to see the value of working in a truly rewarding way with our perfect horses.
