Archive

Tag Archives: fetch

Rethinking how to teach a horse to play fetch

March 25, 2012
Tricks
4 Comments

Sadly, I have no video. It’s windy and the camera kept getting knocked over.

Zahra and I have come so far in the fetch game, but I’m puzzling over how to get to the end.

I was trying to use my “come to me” hand signal after she had the cone in her mouth…but she’s dropping the cone and then coming to me. I’ve been clicking it, but I think I’m both asking the wrong question and clicking the wrong behavior.

A friend whose only name is keysfins (who is an ex marine mammal trainer) has made some suggestions.

  1. Get more clear on the outcome I want
  2. Make a more detailed training plan.
  3. Break 3 steps into 12. (These aren’t necessarily literal numbers, but a solid reminder that with clicker training everything needs to be broken down into the tiniest bits. There is no other way to progress.)
  4. Consider using back chaining (more on that after I figure it out better!

Here are the tiny steps we’ve done just to teach TOUCH. One step becomes 7.

  1. touch a cone with nose while I hold the cone
  2. touch nose to cone when I hold it up high
  3. touch nose to cone when I hold it down low
  4. touch nose to cone when I hold it left
  5. touch to cone when I hold it right
  6. touch to cone when the cone is very very low but I’m still holding it
  7. touch to cone when the cone is on the ground
Big steps = failure
Tiny micro steps = success
Tiny steps seem slow but actually, the progress is rapid if I get the right tiny steps.
Currently, she can come to me with a hand gesture, so I’ve been trying to get her to come to me when the cone is in her mouth.
That’s a giant leap. That isn’t clicker training.
I’m also losing track of shaping and that’s not clicker training either. She can pick up the cone and she can come to me, but that doesn’t mean she can pick up the cone AND come to me.
My next big step:
Have her hand me the cone
So how does that ONE step become 7? (Or some other bigger number)
Maybe nudge the cone towards me on the ground?
I’m not sure if that’s a next good step.
Or maybe, when she’s already holding the cone, click for her moving it near me then?