Hi all
I wanted to share this with you. I recently did a newspaper interview and there is a video of the process with the horse owner. As always, the press "big it up" and I am embarrassed to say I was described as a "horse psychologist" - a rather grand title that I promise I did not give them haha. I have mentioned Monty and it was good that I got his name in however I will send the link to Debbie too and pray I haven't misquoted him ;-)
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Bear with it, it takes a while to load and there is a lot of annoying advertising on there!
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:http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/watch-taffy-shire-horse-playing-11322270
Amazing story !
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Well done :)
Brilliant Vicci.
Thank you Vicci. The owner describes you as the trainer - not to worry. You got all the important bits in, I think. I will copy/paste part here:
Training a horse using a clicker isn’t something Vicci Holbrook-Hughes would usually advocate.
And as Taffy had been hand-reared, the animal expert was initially wary of the implications, as bottle-feeding can alter a horse’s temperament and their relationship with other horses.
“They have trouble learning horse language,” she said.
“For example most horses, when spooked, will run. But initially Taffy didn’t: he’d just stand there looking a little bewildered while the other horse scattered.
“It’s a credit to Kath that she has been able to bring him on as well as she has.”
Asked by Kath to assess Taffy, she decided to engage him with target practice using clicker training, a technique usually associated with dogs.
It was, she admitted, something she was initially reluctant to do.
“I don’t usually use clicker training with horses as they have a different relationship with food that dogs have,” she said.
“Dogs, as predators, know they have to work for food, whereas horses don’t. As Monty Roberts (the US horse trainer) said, a blade of grass doesn’t run away.
“So when training horses, they key is to prevent them mugging you for food. It’s one thing being mugged by a small dog, it’s entirely another being mugged by an 18hh Shire.” Whenever Taffy tried to snatch food, it was withdrawn, and very quickly he learned to take a step away before being rewarded with a treat.
The training dispelled any lingering notions that Taffy was not the brightest horse in the yard.
“When Kath said he was like a big dog – but a bit thick – I saw the clicker training as a bit of an experiment,” said Vicci.
“He took to it like a duck to water. It was like a part of his brain had lit up. He grasped the idea very quickly.