Topper has been trained exclusively with a Clicker - his trained behaviours are freely offered in exchange for rewards during his training sessions. At no time have "conventional training methods" (ropes, whips etc.) been employed.
To see this pony in short QuickTime Movies, Click here
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Topper, a few days
after he was rescued at the end of 1997.
Topper was taken in to a horse rescue centre unbroken, uncastrated and covered in lice. He attacked anyone who came near him with his teeth and front feet. Step 1 was to condition him to the clicker so that whenever he heard the noise he knew something good was going to happen. As he hated people so much I used the clicker in rather a novel way... I clicked and 'treated' him by leaving the yard! He was castrated after he remained unclaimed some five weeks later. By this time the training was going really well, he had discovered carrots and the Wave and the Bow were well underway. As he had to have a general anaesthetic for his operation we used this first 'safe' opportunity to look at his teeth - you can imagine how shocked we were to find out that he was somewhere between 12-14 years old! |
| The Retrieve April 2002
Teaching a horse to retrieve isn't very difficult so long as he has motivation to do it and the article he is to retrieve is easy to pick up. I chose a large dog's dumbbell to teach this exercise. Unfortunately, pictures don't do this exercise much justice as he will go out and collect his dumbbell from approximately 20 feet away and return with it to me. If you want to teach your horse or pony to retrieve, remember to reward very small increments towards the general goal. These might be: sniffing the dumbbell, touching it with nose, nuzzling it, grating teeth over it, holding it, picking it up from the floor, holding on to it for a short period, walking a step or so to get it, walking a step or two back with it, etc. Multi-Tasking (ie, walking and holding the dumbbell,) was the hardest bit for Topper to learn. To see a movie of Topper Retrieving,
Click Here! |
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Approaching the Dumbbell
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Picking up the Dumbbell
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Returning with the Dumbbell
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Carrying the Dumbbell
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Presenting the Dumbbell
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Handing over the Dumbbell
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In this sequence you can see the steps neccessary to teach a pony/horse to retrieve. Some ponies may make a "quantum leap" during this process, so you need to work out all the stages you're going to try before starting to teach this exercise.
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The Wave.
Here is Topper in March 1998. I used Clicker Training to get him to wave his hoof at me. Again, I clicked very small increments - to start with it was just for shifting his weight from one foreleg to the other. As he became more proficient at this exercise, I only clicked if he picked his foot up. If you're going on with this exercise (to Spanish Walk for instance) make SURE you shape each leg individually to reach the same height. I lost a lot of time at this point and had to "go back to kindergarten" with the Spanish Walk. |
| The Bow (1st Attempt).
August 1998. This is the initial stage of teaching the pony to Bow. (And I was REALLY pleased with it at the time!) The pony/horse should lift and bend one foreleg whilst nodding his head. You may not be able to get any further than this if the pony/horse is chiropractically unsound. If you think he knows what you want him to do, but he can't go any further, invest in a couple of chiropractic sessions with a qualified and experienced equine chiropractor. It took about three weeks of daily sessions to get Topper to this stage. |
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Jumping.
August 1998. Topper was taught to jump free style, getting clicked for first walking over a pole, then trotting over it, then jumping it etc. Again, we applied the principle that all increments must be tiny and that it is no sin to go back to kindergarten if you don't think the exercise is right. Its a good idea to teach targeting before this exercise, that way you can get the pony/horse to follow the target stick over the jump. (My target stick is a converted lunge whip - its most amusing to watch him following it!!!) Topper is seen here jumping a 3' fence with a 2'9" spread. He just loves jumping... |
| The Bow (Finished)
June 1999. As you can see, Topper has progressed quite a way since last year when I first started to teach the bow. I was given some invaluable advice from another equine clicker trainer... Visualise, as you're working with your horse, exactly what it is that you want him to do. As soon as I started 'visualising' in my own mind what I wanted the completed exercise to look like, Topper started dipping lower and lower. Then he stopped again. It was at this point (when I felt he knew what I wanted, but was unable to offer it) that I called in the services of Sharon Elkins, a qualified and immensely experienced Equine Chiropractor. And Just look at the difference it made! |
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The Spanish Walk
is usually reserved for high school dressage horses. Topper doesn't know this and now frequently offers this behaviour of his own volition. This behaviour has its routes in the wave as previously explained. Teach wave right (right foreleg) and wave left (left foreleg) and DON'T FORGET the Multi-Tasking element of this exercise! (I couldn't work out why Topper had given me three steps, right, left and right, then wouldn't offer me any more... A quick peek at the side view revealed all - his back feet hadn't moved an inch and he was stretched out as far as he could reach!) Topper is currently up to 25 paces of Spanish Walk and it's looking really good. (He even does it when coming in from the field!) To see a movie of Topper in Spanish Walk, Click Here! |
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The Rear.
June 2000. Now you must be very careful with this exercise. Ask yourself the million dollar question, do you really want your horse/pony rearing up at you on a regular basis? Remember, when you are clicker training any animal the behaviour will be offered voluntarily and "off cue" many times before you establish Stimulus Control. This could be potentially dangerous and you must not forget it. Whilst working on the Hackney Trot (see below) there were times when Topper would 'explode' forwards, lunging up before he went forward. I used the clicker's split second timing to isolate this and it turned into a very small and unimpressive bunny hop. I then used the same shaping methods that I had used for other exercises to get the rear a) stationary and b) higher and higher. To see a movie of Topper Rearing, Click Here! |
Rearing April 2002
(oops, who's been eating too much spring grass?) |
| The Hackney Trot, Piaffe and Passage
June 2000
are all derivatives of the Wave and the Spanish Walk. By teaching Topper an intermediary cue to induce height of front leg lift, I was able to introduce the first steps of Hackney Trot. Because Topper does excellent heelwork (well, what would you expect from a dog trainer?) I was able to control his pace by simply speeding up or slowing down. We've definitely got the Hackney Trot (can't wait to see what the judges make of it in the show ring later this summer!!) and Passage (elevated trot at a very slow pace) is well underway. So far we get spasmodic attempts at Piaffe (trotting on the spot) which is encouraging and we'll keep working at it. To see a movie of Topper in Passage, Click Here! |
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Canter In-Hand, April
2002
Here Topper demonstrates the strike-off into canter for the canter in-hand exercise. We currently have about 9 strides before he breaks, and quite frequently the back end is still trotting whilst the front end is cantering. We've also lost hackney trot temporarily, but I'm not worried about this. Once he's mastered the canter, we can reintroduce the hackney trot into his repertoire. |
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The Rocking Horse
June 2000. This is the start of the show stand, Hackney Style. As you can see, Topper hasn't quite got it yet - or I've not shaped it correctly. I'm looking for forelegs nearly vertical and hindlegs stretched way out behind, Topper however, is convinced I'm looking for a Rocking Horse impression! |
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(September 2000)
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July 2000. I looked at the picture above, many times, and it struck me that rather than teaching the pony to do a hackney stand (interesting but a bit pointless since he's CLEARLY not a hackney pony), I'd try to turn it into something useful. Everyone knows that gymnasts and athletes "warm up" prior to working, so I decided to click for the stretch in the front legs and use this, plus other exercises to make Topper really supple before I started working with him. This has added a new dimension to his training and we're currently working on several new exercises. See below. |
(October 2000)  |
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July 2000. I've used the targeting technique to teach the correct show stand to Topper. This was derived from the Rocking Horse and the Doggy Play Bow. (You never know where clicker training will take you!) Because the Play Bow entails Topper moving his feet further apart, it was relatively simple to then get him to target my hand and move his body forwards without moving his feet. Another very good stretching exercise. |
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July 2000. Continuing on the above theme, I thought it might be useful if I could teach Topper to stretch around and look at his tail. Within two sessions, he'd devised this new stretch, which he does most happily on both sides! Interestingly, he can hold this stretch, as per picture, for several seconds - on the other side he is much stiffer and we're having to work on him holding it for a short period. |
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| The Roll Over
Ask any pony owner, what is the first thing their pony does after he's been bathed then turned out into a sand school and they'll tell you that their pony is violently allergic to being clean and they'd bet their last penny that the little bugger will get down and roll. For those of you who think by now that Topper is some kind of saint, take heart, he does it too! The difference being, of course, that he is now clicker-wise and will drop and roll on cue. (Well, almost, it's not quite under Stimulus Control ... yet!) Once the drop and roll is on cue, I'll be working on getting him to just lie down. Should be great fun! |
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The Snort
July 2000. This is the first of Topper's "Vocalisations". At first he just put his head down and snorted. I've shaped this so he can do it with his head up, eventually I'd like him to be able to do this so that he'll blow a handful of glitter (or something similar) out of my hand. I think this will look good in an evening demo in under artificial lighting... |
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July 2000. He worked exceptionally well under the artificial lighting, and, as you can see, we're getting close to having him blow glitter out of my hand! I was very pleased as he seemed to get better and better as the audience applauded. Thanks to Catherine Howe and her family for this opportunity. |
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Feb 2001. I guess most people would consider that being ridden or driven is a normal occupation for a pony. Not so for Topper. It has taken 3 years to gain enough of his confidence to attempt this. (Also, I had no access to a "dispensable" child before). Topper chose Rachael Ellis, (aged 8 and now totally indispensable) during a freestyle training session. After repeatedly leaving me to bump her boot with his nose (she was sitting on the fence watching) I finally realised that he had chosen his rider. These pictures are from session 5, we even managed a short session of Trot during this session! |
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Not only is Rachael a gentle and subtle rider with a true horseman's gut instinct, she is also a georgous kid both inside and out. Rachael is going to be dynamite on the summer show circuit - competitors watch out! New pictures will be uploaded soon - these were taken with my antiquated digital camera, Philippa Short has taken some super pics with her far more modern equipment! Also, thanks to Gillian for lending me Jingles' Saddle! |
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this book is essential... "Clicker Training for your Horse"
To order Alexandra Kurland's book right now, just click on this link! |
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Topper has moved home! He now lives in Nottingham, UK |
Topper in his new stable ...
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with its own personal "garden"... |
... and new friend "Boris" the pot bellied pig, ... |
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... a couple of pigmy goats ... |
... and a selection of new equine friends... |
