I Love Clicker Training

I Love Clicker Training 

I have continued riding Trifecta on short rides in the arena followed by riding him down the hill to the river and back.  He has been doing it pretty well, but he still gets so excited when we leave the barn.  He isn't worried about things--just excited he is going out and about.  He just loves it out in the big world.  Someday, he will be the most wonderful trail horse because of his eager attitude.  Right now, it makes things tough for me.

The biggest drawback to that is that he tends to go really fast.  I love a fast walk.  That's not the problem.  The problem is that there are two very short and steep slopes on our hill and gravity gets the better of him.  He tries to fly down them with his legs completely out of control.  Once, he started to trot when he was close to the bottom, and he was difficult to stop.

I have tried using walk/whoa transitions, and that helped a lot to keep him from getting too much momentum, but it was still a struggle.  He just couldn't understand that I needed him to slow down.

I have been on this road before.  Both Cruiser and Cole had a lot of trouble going down steep hills.  (Dante used to live in the mountains and never had a problem.)  Where I used to ride Cruiser in his early days, there were several very long, steep hills.  I ended up just riding up and down, over and over with him and he learned his lesson.

I did something similar with Cole, but I did it with clicker training and on a lead rope.  It took one lesson of up and down, over and over and he learned quite well.  

I tried that with Trifecta last fall, and he was just impossible.  I was never able to slow him down enough for him to earn a treat, and he just exhausted me.  I gave up.  He wasn't much better this summer when I was leading him before I began riding him.  I just struggled.

He did better once I started to ride him down the hill because I had more control from the saddle, but he never walked slow--just better.  That is, until last week.  I was riding him down the first slope and he broke into a trot.  While I was trying to stop him, he decided cantering was a better idea.  That wouldn't have been so bad, except he headed for the cliff.  I got him to turn back on the trail, but we got way, way too close.  He really scared me.

As scared as I was, I knew just what needed to be done.  We had to do it again and again until we got it right.  I was willing to spend all afternoon.  Eventually, he would get demoralized enough that he would slow down and get a click.  Ellen agreed.  To be on the safe side, she hooked the lead rope up to him.  I rode him back up the slope, turned him around to go down and he immediately walked slow.  Of course, I clicked him and gave him his treat.  We continued down the slope; clicking and treating the whole way.  He walked like a gentleman, and we were able to show him that that is what we wanted.  When we got to the bottom, we turned around and did it again.  This time, I had him walk a few more steps between clicks.

Did he offer to go slower because he was demoralized?  I really don't think so.  When we have turned him around to go back down the hill in the past, he would go slower, but not that much slower.  I think that he slowed down because the whole event scared him, too.  He didn't want to leave Ellen who was walking slowly next to him--and then came all the clicks and treats!

The next test was steep slope #2.  This one is longer and goes around a corner.  He always had a harder time with it, but since it was at the bottom of the hill, there was no cliff to go over.  On my very first request, he stepped down the hill at a slow speed.  I did multiple clicks and treats.  When we got to the bottom, I rewarded him by riding down the the end of the trail.  He did want to go to the river, but I made him pass up the exit ramp.

We turned around and went back to the slope.  We then practiced it 2 times, and he was perfect.  I increased the steps between clicks again.  We were going to practice slope #1 again, but there were a lot of vehicle noises coming from a nearby house that startled him.  I decided I would do better by leading him home through it, and I was right.  I didn't feel like remounting when I got to the slope, and we just went straight home.

The next day I rode him, I knew what I had to do.  We had to go back to the hill and try it again.  The weather is getting questionable, and I didn't know if I would have another day in the near future to reinforce his lesson.  I must confess, I was a little nervous about it--and Ellen was, too.  Still, it needed to be done whether we were nervous or not.

There was no reason to be nervous.  Trifecta is a genius.  He remembered his lesson and remembered it well.  He walked down both slopes like a gentleman.  I continued to click and treat him for it--I want him to remember it well.  Trifecta is a good boy.  If he knows what I want, he usually will try his best to do it.  My problem all along was that I couldn't find a way to show him what I wanted from him.  

We did just one trip down the hill without re-doing the steep slopes.  He was so good that he didn't need to practice them.  Now, if it rains for the next 2 weeks, I will feel confident that even if he doesn't remember what we want right away, it won't be that hard to remind him.

Willow Bend

Willow Bend

It was time to challenge Trifecta a little more.  We would ride to Willow Bend.  It is the name of a picnic area across the street from the bridle path and a perfect goal.  Round trip would be about 2 miles.  This time, we enlisted Kevin's help.  He would ride Starry with me.  Once we got across the river, Ellen would be on the other side to join us.

Before all of this, we took Cole and Dante out for their ride.  All along, I was noticing things that might worry Trifecta.  How would he be with the cars when we were close to the road?  What about over by Cougar Rock where the road and the paved bike trail is above us?  That bothered him in the past.  What if something noisy comes down the road?

When we got back from our ride, Kevin was there waiting for us.   I saddled up Trifecta and tested him out in the arena for a few minutes.  I don't need to lounge him before riding, but I do like to see how his mood is.  All seemed normal, so I told Kevin we were ready to go.

Kevin mounted Starry in the arena who then refused to go out the door.  He doesn't like to lead.  I led Trifecta, and Starry slowly followed.  This is Starry's slow time of year.  When there are a lot of bugs, he is a different horse, but after the frost, he likes to just meander.

I led Trifecta down the street, and Starry lagged behind us.  I pictured Trifecta following Starry to help with his confidence down the hill, since Ellen wouldn't be there, but we were basically on our own.  I mounted up and away we went.  Trifecta was so excited!  We had to keep stopping to let Starry catch up, but he might as well learn that lesson now.  When we got down to the river, he was a little worried about a loose dog and the man yelling for the dog to come back.  I was glad to see Ellen there to run interference.  Trifecta saw Ellen, and he flew across the river-- much too fast.  I tried to stop him, but he just ignored me.  

We waited for Starry to cross, and then Trifecta just marched down the trail.  Ellen was a little nervous, so she attached his lead rope and walked next to us.  The first part of the trail goes along a fence that is next to the paved bike trail which is next to the street.  I stopped him for each car that came by so he could watch it and see the leaves that the cars blew along the road.  Last year, he had a really bad spook caused by just that.  I am happy to say there was no spooking--just looking.

At that is basically the theme of the whole ride--looking.  He was fascinated by everything--particularly logs.  Oddly, there was a small log across the trail, and he wasn't fascinated by that at all.  He just stepped right over it without even pausing to sniff it.

Kevin would trot Starry up to us when he got too far behind--Trifecta was so excited that he was walking really fast and Starry didn't want to work that hard.  I don't know how Ellen kept up.  She kept the lead rope on just in case, but we didn't need it.  The Cougar Rock section of the trail was uneventful except for a newly cut log by the side of the trail.  He couldn't take his eyes off that, but he did pass it with no drama.

Finally, we made it to Willow Bend and turned around.  Starry came towards us, and Trifecta's head went way up in the air and his eyes got really big.  We think he forgot Kevin and Starry were behind us.  Starry passed us up so that he didn't have to lead, and we headed home.

Trifecta always settles down on the way home.  Whether it is because things aren't as novel or he is tired, I don't know.  At least it gave Ellen a break.  Starry still plodded along, and we stopped to let him catch up multiple times.  When we got to the river, Ellen unhooked us and let us go alone.  She did walk with us down the river bank.  He went a little fast, but I was able to stop him at the bottom.  I also made a point of stopping him as he was crossing the water.  That slowed him down, and he crossed much better than on the way out.  I thought he would rush up the river bank on the other side, but he walked halfway up and stopped when he didn't see Ellen.  I gently urged him to continue and we made it to the top and turned around to watch Starry.  I was concerned that his splashing might startle Trifecta--as it did with Cole on his early rides, but he was fine.

I was hoping that Starry would take the lead up the hill, but he refused, so Trifecta led on the way up, too.  He walked up the hill better than  he ever has--and I am sure this time it was because he was tired.  At the top, we met Ellen who had driven back to the barn and we went home all smiles.  For his first real trail ride, he was just wonderful!

Crossing the River

Crossing the River

I hadn't tried crossing the river with Trifecta since the day that he didn't want to go up the river bank.  We spent our time practicing the hill.  It has been really interesting doing the hill with him.  He wasn't very coordinated on the early rides.  I guess going up steep slopes with me on his back made him awkward.  For the most part, he would rush wherever it was steep.  

One day, Ellen, who has been walking with us, got the idea to tell him to put his head down when going up the steeper slopes.  He had been going up with his head way up in the air like an Alpaca.  As we walked up the hill, Ellen stooped over and pointed to the ground with both her hands.  My genius baby figured out right away what she wanted and put his head down.  I immediately felt him re-balance himself.  He went up slower and used his hindquarters--it was awesome!  Ellen continued to do that for the next few rides, and he followed her lead.  He now understands that it is an easier way to travel up a steep slope.  

We accidentally found out a way to slow him down when he goes downhill.  One ride, Ellen just started petting his neck, and he didn't want to walk fast and leave her.  We did that for several rides and it helped him learn to get control of his legs.  He can now walk down the steep sections on his own much better--though there is still room for improvement. 

We have added a new hill game that we call "Demoralization."  That is where we do more than one trip.  I don't think it demoralizes him at all, but the first time we did it, he was very confused.  He refused to go back down.  I didn't make a big deal about it.  I just kept gently asking him to walk.   When he did, I clicked and treated him.  I asked him again and he readily took some steps forward--and I clicked again.  After that, we just walked down the hill.  He did go slower and more relaxed on his second trip.  Each time we play this game, we go up the hill a little further before turning around.  

Finally, after demoralization, Ellen suggested I try crossing again.  Remember the last time when we crossed and he decided he didn't want to go up the river bank?  Well, since we had the time and he was doing so well, I decided to give it a try.  I would be solo since the water was too cold for Ellen to cross and there was no one on the other side to meet him.

I rode down to the river and let him look at the water.  He went to take a drink, but grabbed a fallen leaf instead.  After that, he just wanted to catch leaves.  (I have been having a lot of trouble with Cole trying to catch the leaves as they float down the river, too.)  I wouldn't let him put his head back down.  We just stood by the water's edge.  After about a minute, he decided to cross.  He carefully crossed to the other side.  I pointed him up the river bank--not knowing what he would do--and he walked right up.  I told him how wonderful he was, and we walked down the trail.  I could hear Ellen yelling to us to not go to far.  I sighed.  She was right.  We went a very short distance when I stopped him.  His head was way up in the air, and I could hear his breathing--he was very excited.  We turned around and headed back to the river.  He calmed down because he knew where he was going.

My biggest worry about the whole adventure was that he would rush down the river bank and charge into the water.  I used to have trouble with Cole in the early days.  I stopped him at the top to let him assess the situation.  I then asked him to walk down.  He did go on the faster side, but it wasn't bad.  When we got to the water, he stepped in calmly and we went right across.

I pointed him towards Ellen, and he got all happy!  These next photos show him going towards her while she was taking the pictures.

We are both smiling!

By the way, you can see the cool piece of tack on his neck.  Ellen got it for me for my birthday from our favorite tack supplier, Two Horse Tack.  It is a biothane lead rope that goes around his neck and hooks to his bridle.  If I need a lead rope, I can just unhook it from his neck.  She also got me an attachment for my bridle that goes from the throat latch to the nose band to convert it into a halter bridle--and that is where his lead rope hooks to.  

We continued up the hill.  Our last challenge was to pass a couple of friends with their horses.  My biggest problem with Trifecta is he is so friendly that he wants to visit all the people and horses he sees.  He did really well with that, too.  

He really has been such a joy.  Oh, and I measured him.  He has reached 14.2 and 1/2!  He is officially taller than Cole.