Has anyone ever trained their horse to do tricks?

[chickenwhisperer123]

Matt Mcglaughlin http://www.matt-mclaughlin.com/ tought our Mustang to bow at the Nebraska Horse Expo last year.
Other than that mine dont do tricks.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Misha bows, kneels, waves, shakes hands, balances on a drum, and a few other little cute tricks.

And yes, when he first learned them, he would "offer" the behaviors (especially bowing) whether asked for them or not, hoping for a treat. I had to be very firm about that, so whenever he did one of his tricks on his own, I'd turn my back or walk away.

18 years later, he still does them all, but still only when asked.

One of our favorite things to do together, trick-wise, was just a kind of "invisible leadrope" routine that I now realize looked very very similar to the dance routines you see with dogs...we just didn't have music! He would stand and walk beside me, and move side to side, execute turns on the haunches and the forehand, back up, etc., just by watching me and maintaining what I think of as a "heel" position, except on my right instead of on my left like a dog would be.

These were just the kinds of things we did when he was very young, since Arabians have that first three years to wait before starting under saddle training. I firmly believe that it made for a stronger bond, and gave me a huge headstart when it came time to ride. Later foals that I didn't spend so much on the ground time with didn't come along nearly as quickly under saddle.

 

[Bantamlover23]

I have taught my Paint horse how to say "yes" and "no" and how to bow. Another paint that is boarded on the property was taught how to smile, give a hug, and to park out to make it easy to mount from the ground.

 

[CountryMom]

My daughter taught one of her ponies how to bow. She did so by lifting a front leg and asking her to back. It is cute and all, but our farrier about shot her. LOL We still to this day have issues with her when we trim or clean her feet. She is constantly wanting to bow.

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

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Rhett does that with no "extra" training at all. He was a raced until he was 8. He just turned 13. Good horsemanship is good horsemanship. Trick training is not necessary to achieve a bond. For that matter neither is Parelli or the games/levels.

 

[patandchickens]

Rhett&SarahsMom :

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Rhett does that with no "extra" training at all. <snip> Good horsemanship is good horsemanship. Trick training is not necessary to achieve a bond. For that matter neither is Parelli or the games/levels.

Indeed -- at some point when some NH guy was getting trendy with the 'get the horse to follow you around with no leadrope' thing, I wondered what would happen if I did that with the two horses I had at the time. I am *so* not a NH person (except that I admire the bejeebers out of the Dorrance brothers, but that's a bit different) and the horses came from backgrounds where they cannot possibly have been *trained* to do this.

Set the first one loose in the indoor with me. Asked him to follow. Bingo. Anywhere I wanted, no problem. Put him away, set second one loose in the indoor with me, same exact deal.

It *can* be trained as a trick by various means but I think that would kind of miss the point -- it is properly (IMO) a byproduct of good horsemanship, not a goal of it. Although, probably an enlightening test.

(Just to be clear, I am not saying you *did* train it as a trick, ninjapoodles, just commenting on it in general)

The thing about installing 'trick buttons' (which totally includes treating ridden work as tricks, like a special secret arbitrary cue for reinback or lead changes) is that when you want to do something new, you have to start over again; whereas if you focus on attuning yourself to the horse and the horse to you, and communicating on a much more fundamental basic level, you acquire the 'vocabulary' to ask him to do almost anything straight off the bat, first time you try, no training needed as such. Which is REALLY useful.

JME,

Pat​

 

[chickenzoo]

I have a 15 year old Quarb gelding I've had since he was 3 1/2 that I taught tricks too. He smiles, shakes hands, bows, lays down, touches cones with either foot or his nose from a distance.He'll walk around the cone then come back to you. He will touch the end of a whip with his nose or foot in any direction, any position I put it when asked, and will trot or canter a circle around me following it. He will go pick up things I throw if I say "pick it up". He will hold things in his mouth. He will stretch out on command, back up on command or if you tug his tail. He pulls a cart, has stood still through my sewing horse blanket pattern fittings, and numerous other things. I taught him the basic natural horsemanship from the beginning, then taught him tricks. The more he learned and understood that I was asking him to do something specific, the easier it was to teach him. I never taught him to rear, I don't feel that was a necessary skill for him. If you take your time and do the basics, have their trust then teach them the tricks and you'll enjoy it.

 

[Homesteading_Bound]

Does unlatching and pushing open the man door when my hands are full so I can just walk through count. Unfortunately, I didn't start it... I just reinforced it the first time he did it.

I am so impressed with all you wonderful horse people.

I'll have to check this section out more often. I'm Always game to learn from others....

 

[ninjapoodles]

Rhett&SarahsMom :

Quote:
Rhett does that with no "extra" training at all. He was a raced until he was 8. He just turned 13. Good horsemanship is good horsemanship. Trick training is not necessary to achieve a bond. For that matter neither is Parelli or the games/levels.

Honestly, I didn't think of that as a "trick" at the time. It was just something we did together, and it installed the foundation of training fundamentals for later. He already knew how to move away from the slightest cues, any part of his body, and was really attuned to my body language, voice, etc.

Spending time with a horse is spending time with a horse. I don't care what you call it; it's all good.​

 

[Whispering Winds]

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