Has anyone here clicker trained a horse to trailer load?

[atr]

Thanks, all. I re-read Kurland’s book last night, and it would appear that when I read and played with this some years ago to teach something completely different, some of it stuck, because I think I’m on the right lines even now, just need to clarify things a bit.

Fortunately I’m a very patient person…

This guy was taken away from the only home and herd he’d ever known as a 9 year old (never been loaded onto a trailer before, and apparently it took four hours and in the end wasn’t pretty, apparently,) and then trailered across country for 3 days to my place.

I then apparently made a rod for my own back by not being thorough enough about instilling the basics of getting on and off, and on and off, and on and off, etc., closing the butt bar, opening the butt bar, putting up the ramp, etc., etc., before I loaded him up and took him to another barn. So it’s my fault and I need to fix it.

[quietann]

@clanter;7957102

We have Morgans, no clicker needed just tell them to load, they walk-in and stand by the ties. Upload, say way…just undo head and tell them to back out.

Have you found your Morgans to have a great sense of what is “fair” and to act badly when you make them do something that “isn’t fair”? This is how my mare lost her trailer training, temporarily. A very bad (coercive) loading experience into an unsafe trailer basically undid it.

OP – have you considered teaching your horse to self-load? No worries about running to get the butt bar then, and I think it’s much safer because you aren’t in the trailer with the horse. For my very food motivated mare, what did the trick in reteaching her was making her unload as soon as she grabbed a bite to eat. That violated her standards of fairness

You may also be asking a bit too much too soon. Right now, just get him on the trailer and let him relax and eat. Maybe find someone else to do the butt bar, if he’s OK with that. Baby steps!

[Wirt]

I understand the idea of a target.

Here is my thought.

Why can’t the horse trailer itself be the target?

I believe that that is ultimately what happens with a horse that learns to really load well. That is what we are after, I think.
Show him the open door of a horse trailer, he loads himself.

Presented right, the trailer becomes the target.

?

[Eleanor]

All my horses are self loaders. I just work on it till they walk on, on their own.

[enjoytheride]

I don’t think it sounds like he needs to be clicker trained, I think it sounds like he’s never really been trained.

[Lady_Eboshi]

Grain him on the trailer, and ONLY on the trailer, every day for 2 weeks and I can almost guarantee you he’ll learn to self-load. Morgans are incredibly smart but they definitely look out for No. 1. Doesn’t sound like people have given tons of reason to trust him in the past, and he’s probably confused.

Swing the center partition wide so he’s not bumping himself on a sharp corner when he walks on. BTW, keep the trailer hitched to the truck when you do this–NEVER load a horse on an unhitched trailer, they roll!

Good, solid, relationship-building horsemanship is what’s needed. Leave out the clicker and just reward him directly any time his feet move in response to your request. Earn his trust. No gimmicks required.

[inca]

[QUOTE=GraceLikeRain;7956933]
If you can lure him on with food can you feed him on it. If he backs off, no big deal, quietly lead him back up. Keep repeating until you can move around inside the trailer, touch him, etc. without him feeling pressured into trying to back out. If you can get to a point where he elects to stay on long enough for you to walk around, then you don’t have to worry about beating him to the butt bar.

No experience with clicker training but it seems like it could be a viable option if you feel comfortable with timing.[/QUOTE]

This definitely!

Plus, is there are horse he know that is TOTALLY ho-hum about the trailer? If so, when your horse is starting to get super comfy in the trailer, I would add the other horse for a few session BEFORE you try closing your horse in the trailer. I have found that a buddy usually does wonders for a nervous horse. But, don’t add the buddy until your horse is feeling pretty okay about the trailer. And load the buddy first. It needs to be a horse that is completely okay with standing on the trailer for 30 minutes and won’t be banging about.

[Sandy_M]

FWIW, we had a gal at our barn who earnestly clicker trained her horse to do everything (or TRIED, anyway). After 2 hours of clickering at the horse to load it into a trailer, she asked for help. BO had horse loaded in trailer within 5 minutes - owner at the lead, gentle taps of a dressage whip on the horse’s butt, reward of slack in rope and praise whenever horse moved forward. Five minutes. shrug

Not saying it doesn’t work - I’m sure it does. But, y’know, standard, non-abusive methods are just as good in most cases.

[LookmaNohands]

I hold carrot parties in my trailer. I love carrots and I snack away. You want carrots? You gotta step in the trailer to get one. And you better move fast or I will eat all the carrots!!

Never fails.

[Doctracy]

[QUOTE=Bluey;7957146]
I have, but more by teaching a horse to go to a target in different places and one of those was the trailer, but the horse already loaded fine.

Clicker training works fine for any you want to teach.[/QUOTE]
What do you like for your target? I’m just starting clicker training my pony and having her nose touch a rubber pan. Also using it while ground driving to reward whoa/tolerating scary stuff. Wish it was easier to use for more active training but I’m getting it figured out. I trained my Dobe for agility only using the clicker and it’s amazing how they learn to problem solve!

[Doctracy]

[QUOTE=Sandy M;7960291]
FWIW, we had a gal at our barn who earnestly clicker trained her horse to do everything (or TRIED, anyway). After 2 hours of clickering at the horse to load it into a trailer, she asked for help. BO had horse loaded in trailer within 5 minutes - owner at the lead, gentle taps of a dressage whip on the horse’s butt, reward of slack in rope and praise whenever horse moved forward. Five minutes. shrug

Not saying it doesn’t work - I’m sure it does. But, y’know, standard, non-abusive methods are just as good in most cases.[/QUOTE]what I’ve normally done. Things are different for a truly traumatized horse,though.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=BEARCAT;7957521]
In simple terms:
Luring would be enticing the horse by shaking a bucket of oats in the trailer.
Shaping would be clicking and treating for every small movement the horse makes towards the trailer.
Targeting would be having the horse keep his nose on a target and follow it onto the trailer.
It takes good mechanics (food handling and delivery) and perfect timing.

I would start AWAY from the trailer and teach the horse to get on a platform, bridge, piece of plywood and also between the fence and some poles, raised poles, barrels or “load” them in a stall before moving on to the trailer.[/QUOTE]

Thanks.

I know the difference between luring and shaping, but thought more description from others about exactly how they shaped their horses would be useful.

I like the idea of teaching the horse to step on plywood, etc. because I personally think the end result has to be trust - the horse trusts you to lead (or send) them into a safe environment…whether it’s a trailer, bridge, chute, whatever.

I want to try working the horse over other obstacles like this before reintroducing the trailer. I have gotten both my horses on trailers (under various forms of coercion, including luring) but I would like to work up to a horse willing to be trustfully “sent” or “led” on. I don’t want to coerce them, because (as I found out the hard way)…when it doesn’t work - it REALLY doesn’t work.

Thanks!

[atr]

[QUOTE=Sandy M;7960291]
FWIW, we had a gal at our barn who earnestly clicker trained her horse to do everything (or TRIED, anyway). After 2 hours of clickering at the horse to load it into a trailer, she asked for help. BO had horse loaded in trailer within 5 minutes - owner at the lead, gentle taps of a dressage whip on the horse’s butt, reward of slack in rope and praise whenever horse moved forward. Five minutes. shrug

Not saying it doesn’t work - I’m sure it does. But, y’know, standard, non-abusive methods are just as good in most cases.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, we tried that. It didn’t end well and rather shaken (very experienced, capable) barn owner agreed that this horse might need a different approach…

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=atr;7960625]
Yeah, we tried that. It didn’t end well and rather shaken (very experienced, capable) barn owner agreed that this horse might need a different approach…[/QUOTE]
the one i mentioned… cannot be forced into a trailer. :no: one day i tried to get him on, barn biddies came over assured they knew better… ended up doing more harm than good and STILL couldn’t get him on the trailer.

soft, gentle approach - horse is telling you he isn’t sure – listen to him and formulate a regime that caters to his confidence level :yes:

[BEARCAT]

Not everyone will agree, but I think this is a great “trailer loading” video
http://youtu.be/QQ2MpmxUgSA

I know we have been brainwashed into thinking we must “make our horse” do this or that, or “show them who’s the boss,” but if we look at it from the animal’s point of view, there are better ways.
Horses are such adaptable and forgiving creatures…

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=BEARCAT;7962004]
Not everyone will agree, but I think this is a great “trailer loading” video
http://youtu.be/QQ2MpmxUgSA

I know we have been brainwashed into thinking we must “make our horse” do this or that, or “show them who’s the boss,” but if we look at it from the animal’s point of view, there are better ways.
Horses are such adaptable and forgiving creatures…[/QUOTE]

all i can say is… birds are SO smart.

really like the video’s approach… it is how i have always thought too… some might think it wishy-washy, feeble – but when an animal tells you something, you should listen. :yes:

[brody]

Sorry to be late back to the party. Well covered in the posts above. Clicker training is simply a reward marker followed by reward. It can mark a lured behaviour too. It is often linked with shaping though.

I loaded and shipped 6 horses in the space of 2 months. 4 of the 6 had varying degrees of loading issues. In a single session I shaped 3 of the 4 and had them on trailer in 5 minutes or less. Took two sessions and about 40 minutes of pretty careful work for the last guy.

I will need to decide if he’s ever leaving here again and if yes work on him a ton more.

All I do is reward forward interest then movement and place the reward a stretch above where the horse would want it.