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Trick or Treat?
To trick or to treat? Why not both? Well that’s what I
do when teaching my horse tricks: he tricks, I treat.
That is what this article is about: Trick training your
horse. There are different ways to teach your horse
tricks, but I decided I would use treats as a reward. So
far, I have made excellent progress.
About the Tricker and Treater
Training a horse to do tricks is completely new for me.
I have trained horses in western, English, and trail
riding, but I have never asked my horses to do tricks.
So as I write these articles, you will be seeing my
first struggles at trick training.
My horse, Jackson, is a 4-year-old quarter horse/paint
cross. I have had him since he was a weanling and I
started him under saddle a year ago. Jackson is a great
horse to start training something new with because he is
the calmest horse I have ever seen. He has always been
calm, and with trick training, this is a huge asset.
Attention Span
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When I first started training Jackson tricks (beginning
of March) he was always falling asleep where he was
standing (one of the downsides of a really calm horse).
After a week or so of the training though, he started to
pay more attention to me. This is a very normal
beginning. If you decide to teach your horse tricks, be
prepared to do short lessons until your horse has a
longer attention span.
Tricks
Before you start trick training your horse, make sure
that you have a good relationship with your horse; this
means your horse should have manners and respect you. I
really recommend Jackie Johnson’s book Step by Step
Trick Training. It is very good.
When I started with Jackson, I only worked on 2 or 3
tricks a day. Now I do around 10 and that number is
growing. As his attention span grows, I can add new
tricks. You are only limited as to what you can do with
your horse by how much time you are willing to work with
him. I try to work with Jackson every day when the
weather is nice and twice a day is even better. I plan
to teach Jackson a whole lot of tricks, but here is a
list of the ones we are currently working on. The trick
is listed and is followed by a description of the
finished trick, not what my horse now does.
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KISS: I lean slightly forward and ask Jackson for
a “kiss.” Jackson reaches forward and touches my face
with his nose.
YES: I ask a question and Jackson and he answers
by nodding his head yes.
SMILE: I tell Jackson to “smile” and he lifts his
lip in a smile. : )
NO: I ask Jackson another question and he shakes
his head no.
STEP: I tell Jackson to “go step” and he walks to
the pedestal and steps up.
SALUTE: While on the pedestal, I tell Jackson
“salute” and he extends his right leg in a salute.
CHUP: “Chup” is the cue that I use for Jackson to
touch a target, in this case, a plastic bag at the end
of a whip. When I say “chup”, Jackson touches the bag
with his nose.
GROUND REAR: Facing Jackson, I raise the whip in
the air and say “up.” Jackson responds by calmly rearing
up where he is standing.
MARCH: The March is similar to the Spanish walk.
While riding Jackson I say “march” and he walks forward
and extends his front legs farther than normal.
ROLL the BALL: I tell Jackson “roll the ball,” he
walks to the ball and pushes it with his nose.
BOW: I tell Jackson “bow” and tap his right
shoulder, he then bends his right leg and bows.
These tricks are listed as a finished trick horse would
perform them. When the horse knows these tricks, he
should be able to do the tricks when cued from a
distance. There are, of course, many more tricks that
can be taught. The ones listed are just the ones that I
am working on now. Jackson can do “yes,” “step,” and
“salute” fairly well. He is quickly learning some of the
other ones.
Treats
The way I am training Jackson is to give him a treat as
a reward when he is trying or completes a trick. As a
result, I go through a lot of treats. I was very
disappointed when I started looking for bulk horse
treats; everything that I found had artificial flavors
it. I have found that animals, as well as people, don’t
react well to the artificial in food. So I have been
making all my own horse treats.
I also had to come up with my own recipe for treats. My
original recipe wasn’t very good and then went through
three revisions. I now have a recipe that’s easy to
make, easy to bake, and cheap. It still takes time to
make, but I have a safe, healthful horse treats now.
Conclusions
Trick training is very fun. You can never run out of
things to do with your horse. As you teach your horse
tricks, you and your horse will learn to communicate
better with each other. Your horse will learn to give
you his full attention.
Once your horse starts to learn some tricks, you will
have the added pleasure of being able to show off your
horse. Have fun.
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Don’t forget: Trick and Treat!
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