OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 THE RIDER /39 ^Between The Ears^ TARGET TRAINING


fairly quickly so that there can be as many repetitions in as short a time span as possible. Treats should be easily accessible by you and not your horse. We will start by selecting


something that is going to be our initial target. I prefer a white disc (Frisbee) of some sort or a tennis ball on a dowel, but you can choose anything you want. Begin by holding the target about a 1/2 inch in front of the horse’s nose and hold it still. Do not give in to the temptation to move the target. Your posture should be still as well. Don’t shift your weight, talk etc., as all those things will retard the learning process. The criteria initially are


By Ellie Ross Now that your horse has


been conditioned to the reward mark, you are ready to explore the endless possibilities of target training. Target training effectively


builds confidence in our horses and provides unlimited possibili- ties for equine learning and com- munication! It’s amazing how horses respond once they under- stand this process. I have person-


ally target trained horses to actu- ally seek out and even retrieve items they were previously terri- fied of. White plastic bags are a fine example. But before you at- tempt that, we must educate the horse about the target, what we expect, and that it is always their choice. Prepare your treats. You


will want the treat to be some- thing desirable and small. The horse should to be able to eat it


very low so the moment your horse looks at the target, use your reward mark and pair it with a treat. It is important to remember the rules about using food re- wards with horses. Incrementally, increase the criteria to touching the target. Once you have had ten successful touches in a row, progress to moving the target a little further away or to the side. Hold it still and be patient! Good things come to those who wait! These sessions should be no longer than 2-5 minutes and you will want to get as many repeti- tions in that time as possible. If


suddenly the horse is not show- ing interest, you may have in- creased your criteria too quickly, so go back to where you started. Be patient and be sure your choice of rewards is desirable. You will need to repeat this exer- cise a few times but always keep the sessions short. The next goal will be to in-


crease your distance so the horse must go out to the target, essen- tially leaving you to perform the task of touching the target. Be considerate of the environment in which you choose to teach your horse. If your horse has the op- portunity to reward himself/her- self, for example by grazing, then you are unlikely to have success. Personally, I would start this in a stall and the horse would be loose. This is about operant be- havior so don’t lure or prompt your horse. We want the horse to make the choice and be rewarded for making good choices. Secure the target to a wall or place it on the floor and begin again in close proximity, gradually increasing the distance. This could easily be put on cue as a directional behav- ior leading to go out, go left, go right, and even recalling the horse back to you. Make sure you don’t miss


saying your reward mark! This is


vital. You only have less than 3 seconds for this to be effective. • The behavior occurs (touches target) • You use reward mark (say yes) • Reinforce the behavior with the reward • Move the horse away from the target and repeat Anytime you don’t have


success, you must lower your cri- teria, be patient, and slowly in- crease your distance again. Slowly means literally an inch at a time. The mistake I often see is that people increase the distance too quickly, get frustrated, start bribing or luring the horse, and so on. None of that is success. Suc- cess is the horse making the choice, offering the behavior and be willing to repeat it. Treats only come following the reward mark! Treats presented beforehand would be bribery and that is not what we want. Once your horse is consis-


tently targeting, which I would say is at least 9 out of 10 times, you are ready to put it on cue. Add the word ‘touch’ at the be- ginning. Do not repeat your cue! Do not prompt further. Wait; and it’s a good idea for you to be looking at the target. Through these short sessions, your horse will associate the word ‘touch’


with touching the target and knowing that good things will happen. At this point you are ready to reduce your rate of rein- forcement as we don’t want to have to treat the horse every sin- gle time. Your reward mark will become the primary reinforcer and the treat will be the second- ary. However, whenever we are teaching something new, our rate of reinforcement using the treat, is 100%. Next issue we will work on


transferring the target and shap- ing behaviors.


Author Bio: Ellie Ross is a pro- fessional animal trainer that spe- cializes in behaviour. She has 30 years experience including being a wrangler in the film and televi- sion industry. Ellie resided in Los Angeles and was in charge of In- ternational Large Animal Air Transport. Ellie was the Pet Ex- pert for CTV, Reader’s Digest, Local, Satellite Radio and Rogers Television. Formerly an Eventer/Dressage/ Endurance rider, she is now active in Ex- treme Cowboy, Western Dressage and Cowboy Mounted Shooting.


Reaching for a Higher Level of Horsemanship


By Ellie Ross. There was a wide spec-


trum of rider ability at the Jim Anderson clinic near Newmarket this fall. All with one goal in mind – to improve their horse- manship and, in turn, improve their horses.


I have attended


many clinics over the years, but Jim Anderson’s ranks as one of the best I have had the honour to observe. The clinic ran for five days and the improvements were remarkable. Jim’s approach with people is so calm, yet confident. He has such a soothing voice that one person said ‘Jim should be recorded to read bedtime stories’. I would have to agree with that. We all know that feeling where our nerves get to us and some of us suffer more anxiety than oth- ers, especially when being cri- tiqued in front of an audience. Jim could easily put even the most nervous rider at ease, allow- ing them to focus on the instruc- tion vs. their anxiety. Not all the


“We can slow horses down using our hands but their minds are still fast. We have to slow down their minds as well and this is best achieved using our bodies, not our reins”. Jim made many ref- erences to the horse’s mind and this is often overlooked and under utilized. Another example he provided was about horses that get


labelled as ‘hard


mouthed’. “People say their horse has a hard mouth, yet if you poked a pin in every horse’s mouth, they all feel it the same way. It’s not their mouth that is hard, it’s their mind”. I have hard many times


riders were nervous, but some horses were, and Jim never hesi- tated to request the reins as he ap- plied his training. It was truly inspiring to watch. This man’s


passion is 100% authentic and sincere as he had the greatest smile on his face, even while teaching an adult rider how to post. Now, many would think that someone at his skill level would not be in- terested in such a novice rider, but his in- terest was the same for her as it was for the sea- soned competitors. There were times when


a horse or two showed some undesirable be- haviours and Jim’s ap- proach was simple: “If my horse bucks, it means I didn’t prepare enough. Never have I said that I prepared too much”. He also ad- dressed the common issue of riders default- ing to their hands to slow horses down when they are going too fast.


from trainers that, when teaching a horse to go over obstacles, you must always do this from the sad- dle. It was enlightening to hear Jim share with us that 70% of his obstacle work is done on the ground, not in the saddle. “Its about their mind” he explained, “not about whether or not I am in the saddle or on the ground”. One of my most favourite


highlights of the clinic was hearing Jim ex- plain that we need to say ‘please’ and ask our horses vs. begin with pressure and demands. The goal was to create a happier approach as- sociated with the task and to incrementally in- crease the expectation. The results were clear. The horses were re- laxed, the riders confi- dent and all achieved success. When we begin


to focus more on the horse’s mind vs. being physical with their bod- ies, we can certainly connect in a kinder, more effective manner.


His approach to the horses was equal to his approach with the people. It is easy to understand his record of success, including winning the Road to the Horse


this year in Kentucky. I look forward to his return


in June of 2019 when he will be at the Drury Horse Park in Barrie.


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