Clicker training uses positive reinforcement (treats!) to reshape behaviours, whether you'd like to overcome a problem behaviour or teach your horse fun tricks. It's a fantastic tool for developing your relationship with your horse and is so versatile that you can translate it to almost any area of training, including ridden work.
One of the biggest advantage to this type of training is that it can be used to quickly improve potentially dangerous behaviours, such as running backwards or rearing during injections. It's also great for desensitising horses that are afraid of clippers.
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With clicker training you can:
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-overcome loading problems
-help reduce separation anxiety
-improve head shyness
-worm your horse easily
-teach your horse better manners
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As well as all the fun tricks like bow, Spanish walk and lying down!
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Behavioural Session
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This is a one to one session used to target a particular behavioural issue.
Before the day of the consultation, Laura requests a brief history of your horse and the issue(s) you're dealing with. This can be done over the phone, email or Facebook messenger. On the day Laura will take a full history, covering your horse's daily routine, any past veterinary history, and discuss in detail when your problem arose, how it has developed, and how it affects you both. Once she has a clear picture of the situation, and if it is safe and appropriate to do so, you will be asked to demonstrate the behaviour under investigation.
Laura will then spend some time introducing your horse to the concept of clicker training; most horses can pick this up in around 5 to 10 minutes, the more food motivated your horse is the better. Once they've learned to associate the clicker with a reward she can then use it to reshape their response to what is being asked of them.
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Each session will last around an hour, dependant on your horse's threshold of attention, but will not exceed 90 minutes. This will usually be enough to see a significant improvement in, if not resolve, an undesirable behaviour. However, this is dependant on how ingrained the problem is and repeated sessions may be required.
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Initial Consultation & Training - £45* (60-90 min)
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Introduction to Clicker Training Session/Clinic
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This is a fun session for you and your horse, or groups of up to four horse and rider pairs, to learn the basics of clicker training and get you started on your clicker training journey.
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During a session Laura will introduce you to the basic training concepts that underpin clicker training, explaining the reasoning behind their use and ensuring you understand how to implement the technique successfully. Once you're happy with this Laura will then begin the practical aspect of introducing your horse to the training.
Once your horse has grasped the basics securely it should then be possible to introduce some more fun activities, such as target training; every horse is different but most will pick this up within a single training session.
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Laura will then hand over to you to continue the training, with her guidance, for the rest of the session. As you build confidence with the technique Laura can explain some of the ways in which you can expand on the days progress by introducing some simple trick training. You can also use this time to talk about how to transfer what you've learned to other areas of training.
The session will last between 45 minutes to an hour for a private booking with extra time being allotted for additional participants.
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Book as private sessions for £45* or get your friends involved for only £15 for each additional horse!
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For more information or to book please get in touch.
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