6 Reasons Why Clicker Training Doesn\’t Work (and What You Can Do About It)

The first thought that comes to my mind when a person tells me \’Clicker training doesn\’t work for my horse\’ is \’Why not? Is he sleeping?\’ Just kidding. (Klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie van dit artikel).

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Horses can be trained either by using an aversive to reinforce behaviour (negative reinforcement, -R) or using an appetitive to reinforce behaviour (positive reinforcement,+R).

What does the statement \’Clicker training doesn\’t work for my horse\’ mean, when someone says that? Does it mean that:

  • The trainer doesn\’t understand the concept of +R and therefor is not applying it properly?
  • The horse doesn\’t respond to the marker, the clicker?
  • The horse is not interested in the reward the trainer offers?
  • The horse is not paying attention to the trainer and therefor doesn\’t respond to the cues and/or clicker?
  • It only seems to works part of the time (with some behaviours)
  • The horse (sometimes) performs \’worse\’ during clicker training

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#1 Trainer doesn\’t understand the concept
A lot can go \’wrong\’ if the trainer isn\’t conscious of what he is doing or doesn\’t understand what he is doing and expects a different result. The basic terms to understand are: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcementmarker or bridge signaltimingshaping behaviourproper hand-feeding, cues, reinforcer and learning theory.

#2 The horse does not respond to the clicker
Can your horse hear the marker (the click)? Does he knows what your marker/bridge signal means? It usually takes 30 – 50 repetitions (marker+reinforcer, marker+reinforcer etc.) before the animal has learned that the marker is an announcement of an appetitive.

Does your marker sounds the same every time? A clicker always makes the same sound, therefor it \’travels\’ the same pathways in the brain. If you use a special word, it can take longer for your horse to generalize the marker sound, so it can take a little longer for your horse to respond and repeat the behaviour you\’ve marked. If you use different markers make sure your horse has been introduced properly to each of them.

The marker is not (yet) paired associated with an appetitive or the trainer has not yet figured out what the horse considers a reward, see #3.

#3 Horse is not interested in rewards
The key is that the reward must be reinforcing the behaviour. \’The receiver determines the reward\’. If the behaviour is not getting stronger, the reward did not reinforce the behaviour so it wasn\’t a real reward.

Pay attention to your horses needs and wants. A reward can also vary in value: a tuft of hay can be reinforcing in winter, but not in Spring when you keep your horse in a field full of juicy grass. It is the trainers responsibility to find out what the horse wants to work for at that moment.

#4 The horse is not paying attention
Why not? Is there something more urgent going on for the horse than the trainers cues? Can the distraction be removed or the horse taken somewhere else to train? Does the horse think he’s in danger? It doesn\’t matter if the trainer doesn\’t see the danger, for the horse it is real. Is the horse in \’learning mode\’? Is he relaxed and engaged enough to learn?

Does the horse responds to the marker, see #2? Are the cues clear and fully understood by the horse? Does the trainer keeps the horse involved or is he distracted himself? Is the horse frustrated or maybe has mentally shut down for one reason or the other? Are the rewards reinforcing? Is the proper behaviour reinforced? It is all about timing: you get what you reinforce.

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#5 It only seems to works part of the time
The horse is not interested in the \’rewards\’ you are offering that day, see #3. He might be distracted, see #4.  The cue is not yet established in a different context. The horse doesn\’t respond well because the training steps are too big, the criterion has been raised to quickly (also known as \’lumping\’). Or your rewarding schedule is too predictable, see #6.

#6 The horse performs \’worse\’ during clicker training
The rewards have lost their value or the reinforcement schedule is too predictable for the horse and therefor the behaviour becomes extinct. In other words: the click doesn\’t motivate the horse anymore.

Of course this is only the tip of the iceberg for the many reasons that positive reinforcement aka clicker training doesn\’t work for you(r horse). Can you name another reason? Tell me in the comment section.

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Happy Horse training!

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Sandra Poppema, B.Sc.
I help horse owners get the results in training they really, really want with joy and easy for both horse and human. I always aim for win-win!
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1 thought on “6 Reasons Why Clicker Training Doesn\’t Work (and What You Can Do About It)”

  1. Pingback: 6 Things That You Might Not Know About Clicker Training (5/6) | HippoLogic

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