The time it takes for your horse to learn a new trick will depend on several things. These include age, temperament, attitude and previous training (both yours and the horse’s).
How long to learn a trick?
Also horses are very much like people in that they learn at different speeds and they find some things easier or more enjoyable than others.
WHERE you practice your horse trick training can have a big impact on how quickly your horse learns new tricks. If you train your horse in an area where they are relaxed and comfortable they will learn much quicker and retain more of what you teach them.
Introducing a new trick object
To really get the most out of your trick training sessions your horse needs to be focussed on you and what you are trying to teach them. The worst place to teach your horse tricks is in an area where they are unsure and constantly looking around. A horse that is nervous and worried has very little ability to learn new things. All their attention is focussed on what is going on around them and not on you.
Try and practice your trick training in an area familiar to your horse. I use a small yard that serves as my training area and is also the area I feed my horse. He is very comfortable and relaxed in this area. He is in the right frame of mind and he is focused on what I am teaching him – he isn’t worried about his surroundings. Once my horse is completely accomplished at doing a particular trick I will then practice in other areas.
It is very important that once you start teaching your horse tricks that you ONLY feed your horse from your hand if he does something that you have asked him to do. You horse needs to learn that from now on the only time he gets a treat is if he does something you ask AND he does it correctly.
If you feed your horse treats at other times he won’t make the connection between doing something right and getting a treat. You may also find that several other things will happen – your horse may get confused during trick training or he won’t try very hard to learn a new trick or he will be constantly mugging you for treats.
Only use a small amount of each treat (carrots are about 2.5cm long)
Many people like to give their horses a treat just because it’s a nice thing to do and because we love them, but if you are serious about trick training you need to resist the temptation to feed them treats at any time other than trick training time.
If I want to teach my horse a trick I think about the final result I want, then try and break the trick into as many smaller parts as possible. I use a ‘Horse Trick Planner’ to work out how I am going to teach the trick.
Horses learn much quicker and are less likely to get confused, if you teach them in small steps rather than attempting a trick all at once.
Make sure that your horse understands each part thoroughly before you move onto the next part.
Your horse may already do tricks or he may do something that can be turned into a trick.
Watch them and think about what they do naturally each day, especially around feeding time or when you are grooming them. Could this form part of a trick? It makes it much easier to teach a trick if they already do part of it. For example does your horse stamp his foot when waiting for his food? This is the start of a trick where your horse can count by stomping.
Does your horse like picking things up?
I have owned horses that love picking things up. If I’m grooming them, they will pick up brushes, hoof picks – anything that is lying around. This horse tends to be very good at the ‘fetch’ trick. They can usually be taught very easily to run after a ball and return it to you, or pick up your hat if it falls off.
My horse can open gates. He came with this trick. I watched him one day playing with the latch on a gate until he worked out how to open it and then he just pushed the gate open with his nose. He obviously knew what he was doing and had performed the same ‘trick’ on several other gates. Without much work I have taught him to open gates while I’m out riding. I don’t need to get off him. I just undo the latch and he does the rest.
It’s easy to teach a horse two or three simple tricks. Holding a treat in a certain position will tempt most horses to do simple things like drop their heads or give you a hug – they are just following the treat. But if you really want to increase communication with your horse and teach them more complicated tricks you need to teach them to actively work to learn a trick. This makes it possible to teach them just about anything.
Working out a trick
Active learning is a stage a horse gets to where they understand that you want them to do something and they will try really hard to work out what that is. For example when I first taught Trigger to follow me backward by pulling (very gently) on his tail he initially didn’t understand what I wanted. At first he actually pulled away from me. (Pulling away from pressure is a natural response for a horse). However because Trigger and I now have an excellent system of communication he will keep trying different things until I tell him that he has done the right thing.
When I first tried the tail pulling trick he tried pulling against me, then he tried stepping sideways, then stepping sideways in the other direction, then standing still but I just stood there and he kept trying. Finally he stepped backward and I told him this was the right thing to do.
It’s hard to admit but a few years ago I realised that most of the horses I had owned would rather be in a large field, eating grass with their horse friends, than being ridden or working with me.
Make it fun when you are around
Now I understand why.
I used to catch my horse, groom it, saddle it, ride it, put it back in the paddock. Next day I would catch my horse, groom it, saddle it, ride it and put it back in the paddock etc, etc, etc. Not much fun for my horse (except maybe the grooming part).
Hi, welcome to Jain & Trigger’s horse trick training site.
Trick training is fun for you and your horse
Teaching your horse tricks is an excellent way to build a better bond with your horse.
You will find that Horse Trick Training opens up communication between you and your horse and you will understand each other much better. Your horse will become very keen to learn and will really enjoy these training session.
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It’s simple, fun and only takes 10 minutes a day.
My current trick horse ‘Trigger’ and I are working on a series of ebooks that cover the basics of Horse Trick Training and includes a step by step guide to some of the simpler horse tricks, basic horse trick training equipment you will need, yummy recipes for trick treats and ideas to make trick training lots of fun.
If you would like a copy of the Horse Trick Training ebook just fill in the form up the top right and we will email you a free copy of Part 1 titled “How To Get Started”.
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Here is what you will find inside Part One of the ebook…..
1. Introduction
2. Why Teach Your Horse Tricks?
3. All Work and No Play (having fun with your horse)
4. Trust & Training (the importance of trust)
5. When to Train (when & how often you should trick train)
6. Getting it right (teaching your horse to know when they do the right thing)
7. Getting it wrong (teaching your horse to know when they do the wrong thing)
8. Equipment (you probably have most of it already or it is cheap to buy)
9. Rewards & Treats (my horse’s favourite part – ideas & recipes for treats)
10. Homework (some things you need to do to make training easy)
If you have any issues you would like help with or any good ideas that you’d like to share then join us on the forum (click on the Forum link at the top of the page).
Have fun,
Jain & Trigger.
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