You can choose the value of the food reward to start training your horse. The treat that you use can have a big impact on the success of the training.
Too exciting and your horse might get tense, find it hard to concentrate on anything else and that can lead to frustration and pushiness. Too boring and you won’t get the fantastic benefits that a bit of tasty motivation can bring to your training and relationship.
So, in this video, I talk you through 7 different options, from low value to high value and when and why I might use each one. Whether you have a foody, fussy, excited, disinterested, greedy, suspicious, old, fat or thin horse – I have options for you!!
As a general rule, we always recommend starting with as low value as possible, because we want to maximise relaxation. It’s usually much easier to build motivation later by adding in some higher value rewards, than it is to calm down a horse who is too excited or tense about the food. So, bear that in mind as you’re starting out – too little interest in the food is better than too much.
However, you’ll see in the video that there are exceptions, so use the information you gathered through the enrichment and empowerment exercises to make the best choice for your horse. You can always change it later if necessary, and we encourage you to experiment with the rewards to see how your horse responds.
➣ If you’d like to find out more about my positive reinforcement horse training approach and learn how to clicker train your horse this way, please check out the Connection Training Club. The CT Club is an online membership site where you can get access to hundreds of step-by-step training videos on training your horse using positive reinforcement. You can learn and see exactly how I train my horses and how to train yours using rewards, from starting off with a fantastic foundation to effective and practical techniques for despooking, loading, riding and more. You can find out more and sign up here. We look forward to seeing you there 🙂
➤ You can also find out more in the #1 bestselling Connection Training BOOK 📖 Get it on Amazon (search for ‘Connection Training’) or download Chapter 1 free here for a preview 👀
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