YOU GOT YOUR START AS A TRAINER AT SEA WORLD – IS THAT WHERE YOU LEARNED ABOUT CLICKER TRAINING?
I worked at Sea World in San Diego, California for 10 years and this is where I learned to train animals and study animal behavior. I worked with whales, dolphins, sea lions, otters and walruses. I trained them to do the shows and I performed in the shows with them. It was a blessing to have such a great opportunity to grow and learn. We actually never called it clicker training at Sea World or the marine mammal training industry. We called it target training and we used tools other than clickers to tell the animals when they did something correctly like whistles or verbal bridge signals. The term clicker training seemed to come from the dog training world but has become a term that people recognize.
WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO MAKE THE SWITCH AND WORK EXCLUSIVELY WITH HORSES?
It was 1992 when I went to see a show jumping Grand Prix in Del Mar and I remember thinking “I want to do this one day”. Keep in mind I have ridden killer whales and perhaps I am a little bolder than most! I began looking into how horses are trained and realized that the methods were completely different than how we trained the marine mammals. It is all based in operant conditioning but positive reinforcement really wasn’t being used. In 1994 I began taking lessons at Rancho Riding Club in Rancho Santa Fe, where I also met Vinton Karrasch. Vinton was an accomplished Grand Prix rider who had come to Sea World to acquire a job training marine mammals. We began to discuss the potential of applying the positive reinforcement to horses. In 1995, we decided to forge ahead and focus solely on training horses with marine mammal training techniques. That same year, we moved to John Madden Sales in Cazenovia, New York and started the business, OnTarget Training, with John and Beezie Madden (She was Beezie Patton at the time). We developed how to merge the “new” training with traditional horse training and from then on we watched the success of it grow.
WHAT IS CLICKER TRAINING?
Clicker training is a misleading term. It seems to put the emphasis on the clicker but the clicker isn’t the key to this training. The clicker is a conditioned reinforcer, also known as a bridge signal. It serves as a “yes” signal that tells them what they have just done is correct now come to me for reinforcement. This training is based on the proven principles of operant conditioning. The focus is the use of positive reinforcement to motivate our horses. The strongest motivators are the things that they need to survive. These primary reinforcers include food, air, water. Newborn foals have an innate instinct to find food; in fact they stand and nurse usually with in the first hours of life. This is not taught, it is instinctive. Because of this inner drive, food is the strongest motivator that we have in the training equation. The key is to learn how to correctly utilize this to develop a highly motivated horse with a great attitude who loves to learn and do his job, whatever it might be.
YOU WERE INVITED TO SHOW “ON TARGET TRAINING” TO INTERNATIONAL SHOW JUMPING TEAM MEMBER, BEEZIE PATTON-MADDEN. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
That time of my life was truly special. John and Beezie Madden are exceptional horsemen. Beezie is an extraordinary rider who has a real communication with every horse. She talks and also listens to the horses, establishing an important two-way conversation. John Madden not only taught me a lot about horses but also about business and life. While other Grand Prix rider’s had dismissed the idea of positive reinforcement with horses, John really listened and encouraged it and invited us to move to his farm to further develop the methods. During this time we had the opportunity to work with horses with varied backgrounds and at various levels of training. After a year, Vinton and I realized that it wasn’t just for the international competitor but for horse people of every discipline and every level. John and Beezie still use On Target Training. One of their jumpers, Judgment, had issues jumping the water jump. John and Beezie used On Target Training and positive reinforcement to train him to overcome this fear.
YOU’VE DEMONSTRATED “ON TARGET TRAINING” AT NUMEROUS EQUINE SHOWS AND TELL YOUR FANS “YOU CAN GET YOUR HORSE TO DO ANYTHING” ! CAN ANYONE LEARN CLICKER TRAINING? CAN ANY HORSE LEARN CLICKER TRAINING?
Yes and yes! It is a very safe and highly effective way to train horses. It helps horses, of every age and background, to overcome fears, change behavior patterns and transform the horse/trainer relationship for the better. Horses really embrace their training program when it is based on positive reinforcement and reward. Timid horses gain confidence, rude horses gain respect and develop boundaries, spooky horses become sensible. The horses start to look forward to the time that they get to spend with you.
WHAT TOOLS DO YOU NEED?
You need a basic understanding of the principles, which are explained thoroughly in my book and video. I recommend a side bucket or container where you can carry food (reinforcements), a target and a clicker. You can find these on my website at https://shawnakarrasch.com Not a big investment for a big reward for both you and your horse!
YOU INVITE PEOPLE TO WRITE TO YOU THROUGH YOUR WEBSITE. WHAT IS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING QUESTIONS…AND ANSWER YOU HAVE GOTTEN?
That is hard to answer – I’ve received a lot of interesting questions. I’ve addressed a number of them via my exclusive video answers and also on my blog, (all free) and continue to do so on a regular basis. What I love about the questions is the opportunity to start a conversation. More questions, success stories, a chance for horse people around the world to get On Target with their horses and talk about it! I encourage people to participate on the blog so we can all share.
YOU ARE ONE OF THE FIRST INNOVATORS TO UTILIZE “HELMET CAM”. HOW HAS THIS WORKED FOR “ON TARGET TRAINING”?
The helmet cam has been great fun and a wonderful resource for my students. I have also made a helmet cam for my horses. That is highly entertaining and educational because you can view the experiences from the horse’s point of view.
