"Operant Conditioning," or, I caught my horse!

First off, every comment left on my last post was genuinely good - many of them were multiple paragraphs long, too!  It inspired a lot of good discussion, and honestly might be the biggest help this blog has given me so far - but that's a post for another day, because...

I caught Connor like a normal horse today!  First time in two years!  And in a big field!

"Me?  Hard to catch?"

Bad Eventer recently inspired me to try clicker training.  She basically said, when all the desensitization/familiarization/obedience in the world didn't help her crazy Baby Seabiscuit, she tried operant conditioning, aka clicker training, and it worked.

And I thought, "Hmm...all the desensitization in the world and Connor is still spooky with stupid things, like his owner walking up to him in the field.  That's a good theory."  It was not an avenue I would normally consider for training, but it worked for Bad Eventer when all else failed, so I gave it a shot.

Step 1: New rule: Connor only gets treats if he does something clickable.
Step 2: Connor learns the command "Connor, touch!" means that he should touch his nose to the treat jar lid that I hold in front of him, and that he gets a click/treat when he does it right.
Step 3: We do a couple of touch target sessions in his stall, and then in his field after I turn him out after a ride, when he is totally not spooky about me being around him, unlike before the ride.

Then today, I get to the barn and he and his buddy are in a far pasture, while the two super easy keepers are in their drylot.  Since that situation looks permanent, I decided it was time to set new ground rules for the new field.  He was at the far end of his field, and I walked out about 15 feet from the gate and called his name.  When he raised his head in response, I clicked.  I said, "Connor, come on!" and when he started walking toward me, I clicked immediately to mark the good behavior.

He ended up walking about 75 feet toward me, stopping once or twice to consider his options.  When he stopped, I repeated "Connor, come on!" and when he started walking, I clicked again.  When he finally was close enough to reach out and touch the target, he was reactive and spooky, and started at the clicker once, but didn't run away.  We played the touch-click-treat game for a minute, and then I was able to halter him.

Just like a normal horse.

For the first time in 2.5 years.

I seriously hope that was not a fluke.