Clicker training for jumping?

[redwhiteblue]

To cut a long story short, I have a talented pony who jumps lovely at home but refuses at shows. We've pretty much tried everything, she isn't in any pain, all her tack fits, we've had lessons, my friend has competed her for me in case it's me and/or nerves causing the issue, she's not jump sick or show sick as I've never over jumped or over showed her, but she is still very inconsistent. She's not spooking, she doesn't seem under confident, she just gets half way round the course and seems to decide that she doesn't want to do any more. I'd be the first person to say oh she must be scared, she must be in pain, but it genuinely seems
like she just can't be bothered! Lol. Should also point out at this point that she is fit enough to jump.

Anyway, I've done clicker training with her before (just things like target touching etc) and she responded to it very well - she's very "foody" so this type of positive reinforcement seems to work for her. I thought I might give this a try for jumping with the idea that if she associates jumping with something positive, she might have more incentive to jump!

Has anyone else ever tried this or had a similar problem? I'd be interested to hear if anyone has had success with clicker training and jumping before - or any other tips or advice anyone has to offer in general!

[lulah]

Have you tried studs ? Mine was simular to yours jumping fantastic at home but would drastically back off when competing on grass. He has never slipped but must if been very wary about it. although with him you could immediately see what the problem was.

Do you keep her tack/bit exactly the same as what you use at home?

Never used clicker training so don't know much about it . I don't see how could you actually use it and reward whilst jumping?

Other things to try could be hiring different venues to practise. Doing xc practise maybe following a friend. try a sj class that's really low that you know that she's more than capable of and work up?

Good luck with her.

[redwhiteblue]

She first started doing this over winter in indoor arenas so don't think it's a slipping issue, but that's a good point. She's also unshod so studs wouldn't be an option unfortunately.

Tack etc is all exactly the same as at home. Hiring other venues is a good idea though I'm actually taking her to a low-key clear round SJ on Friday at a local indoor arena.

With regards to how to use clicker training whilst jumping, once you've taught them to associate the click with a reward (food) you can 'click' (I use my tongue to make the noise rather than an actual clicker) as they perform the desired behaviour (I.e. as they go over the jump) and this acts as a bridge between the behaviour and the ultimate reward, which is the treat. So you can pop a jump, click, then stop for the reward. Then build up to two jumps before clicking, stopping, rewarding, eventually building up to a full course

[lulah]

oh i understand now! i think i had visions on whipping out a polo mid flight !
how did you get on at clear round?

[redwhiteblue]

She jumped lovely, we did clear round (which was tiny cross poles) then did the novice which was only about 60cm and she jumped a double clear so I'm hoping that means its working lol, I have a riding club show on Sunday where she's done a lot of refusing before so that will be the real test!

[sundance20]

Would you mind PMing me about this and what you did?

My boy jumps cracking at home, 1.15 over farm animals/road blocks etc
at low key shows he will occasionally pop around a course but if it gets any higher he says no, sounds identical to your mare
x

[smalley]

I have a pony who is a fabulous jumper, she did really well at workers etc then she went to a family who apparently overfaced her and dropped her in some big parallels. She will always jump at home or out training, but at competitions she will either jump and win, or refuse to jump in the ring at all, even if the jump is tiny, if she's not in the right mood, that's it. She's not spooky, she's not in pain, she's just a quirky pony and I just put up with it, which led to a lot of disappointment - she was always worst at big shows.
She's also very keen on her food so I'd be interested to see if clicker training worked with her - we tried everything but gave up in the end

[redwhiteblue]

Hi sundance, yes yours sounds very similar! Will PM you later

Smalley, it's incredibly frustrating isn't it! When she jumps she wins, and has won working hunter championships. It's that, or get eliminated (more often than not!). I'm reserving complete judgement until my show on Sunday where I know she has refused a lot in the past. If she jumps clear - hurrah! lol. But she definitely seems to be trying that bit harder so far - whether it will extend to full on show environment we will see!

[bunny]

Keep us posted how it goes, very interested. Ours is a monkey in the ring too, only the odd stop or 2 in the ring but frustrating all the same.

[redwhiteblue]

Well, she jumped a lovely clear round today and consequently won her workers class what I noticed as well as the fact that she didn't even think about stopping, was that she was really enthusiastic and flew round the course, she felt great! I really think its working