How to Start Clicker Training Your Horse Part 1: Relaxation and the Marker

Clicker training is certainly an effective training technique, but getting started the right way really sets you both up for making great progress and having a smooth journey with it. Our focus is always on relaxation, softness and connection. Your horse should be working with you and not just thinking only about the food or getting tense during your time together.

Like many people, I also learned the hard way that focusing too much on behaviour and not enough on emotion can cause problems like over-arousal, tension, frustration and anxiety in your horse. I’ve spent the past 7 years exploring and refining my approach to enable horses to stay relaxed and confident during to training and to stay focused on you and not the food.

This video is part 1 on how to get started successfully, showing practical techniques to ensure your horse is calm, relaxed and focused on you as you introduce clicker training, and is also helpful if you’ve already started clicker training but are having problems with tension.

Parts 2 and 3 cover teaching the first 2 behaviours we teach in Connection Training – Stand Quietly Together and Walk together.

Watch it now:

This is just a snippet, really, as there is always so much variation in the training depending on the horse you’re working with. To find out more, our online Club is the place to go. In the Complete Training Foundation online home study course, we have videos on the science of emotions, tailoring the training to your horse, balancing relaxation and motivation featuring a wide range of horses, as well as step-by-step video tutorials on the 7 different Foundation course behaviours. There are also complete training sessions with 3 different case studies from Hope Pastures rescue centre, including Lady and Tino who featured in this video. These are invaluable for seeing the training in real-life speed and how I deal with the different personalities and issues that arise. You can find out more about the CT Club here and I look forward to seeing you there! 🙂

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2 thoughts on “How to Start Clicker Training Your Horse Part 1: Relaxation and the Marker”

  1. Pingback: Resources: Getting Started with Clicker Training – Journey Equine

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