Scottish Clicker Centre

Getting started

You can show your horse what the click means by teaching him to touch his nose to a target to earn a treat (see below). Once your horse has mastered this, it is important to focus on some initial exercises that will keep you safe and build polite manners in your clicker trained horse!

Below is a sample of basic behaviours we like to teach in the early stages of clicker training. They are borrowed from the six foundation lessons from Alexandra Kurland’s “The Click That Teaches” series. Please note that this is a very basic overview of the lessons and much more detail can be found in the books and DVD series, on the website (www.theclickercenter.com) and also by attending one of her clinics

Targeting – teaches your horse what the click means
“Grown-ups are Talking” – teaches polite manners with food
Backing – for politeness with space
Head lowering – your “calm down” cue

By spending a bit of time on mastering these lessons, you will be able to work with highly motivated horse and stay totally safe.