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My yearling colt came from a place
where he was kept with a group of yearlings. All were fed their grain in
buckets along a fence line, with the buckets hung on posts. I now have
him in with one other yearling, a filly which I got at the same time
from the same place. When I go out to feed, they both run up anxiously
awaiting their stipend. The colt is very impolite. He lays back his ears
and turns his hind-end toward me offering to kick me. Of course, I
immediately put down his bucket to get him to stop. Then I proceed to
the filly. How do I change this rude behavior without scaring him away
from me? I would like him to allow me to approach him. He is still quite
leery of me.
Debbie, Florida
What a great description of a common
problem scenario. This food-related aggression is a natural behavior for
achieving access to a highly palatable limited resource (the grain) that
has been inadvertently reinforced on a continuous schedule by the
inevitable bailing out and giving the grain. In the colt's mind, he
learned that he has to do that in order to get his supper. Even though
it does seem rude and frustrating, it probably represents a healthy
ability to learn by association. That means he should be able to learn
alternative behavior that will be more "gentlemanly" and safe.
The procedure I have used to correct it will simultaneously eliminate
the aggressive behavior and overcome the leeriness. As a bonus, he will
learn to tie and to stand quietly on command. This is my usual
recommendation for the procedure.
Start by putting a halter with a short
catch-cord (24-inches or so of lightweight string or leather strap)
dangling from the lower ring (under the chin). At feeding time, go out
to the pasture area with the bucket of grain. Leave the bucket outside
the pasture, a few paces from the gate. Stand at the gate with an
outstretched hand that has a few grains of sweet feed. Just stand
quietly waiting for the colt and or filly to investigate. When one or
the other takes the treat, close the gate, say "good," then go
get a handful of grain and return. Repeat the handout gesture several
times. Every time feed is taken from your hand, say the word
"good" in a calm and consistent tone. Do this until all of the
grain is gone. It might take 30 minutes the first time. The point of the
first lesson is for the colt and filly to come to you and to learn the
conditioned stimulus "good," and to do something quiet and
positive for the feed reinforcement. I recommend feeding them the entire
supper from your hand on this Day 1 of this procedure.
On Day 2, repeat Day 1, but after a few
hand-fed handfuls, try quietly and calmly to get a hand on the halter
(or on the catch-cord) of the colt. The first couple times you might
have to simultaneously feed and catch. If he is leery of being caught,
you can say the word "good" to reassure him. He should by now
associate that word with a positive result. If you're not successful
with the catching, return to more hand-feeding for awhile, then go back
to trying to catch him. Once you are successful with catching the colt,
repeat the hand-feeding, each time waiting until he will allow you to
catch him before the feed is given. Continue to say the word
"good" each time the colt is taking the feed. Repeat until all
the feed is gone. The lesson will reinforce and extend the lessons of
Day 1 to include approaching you calmly, head first, and offering to be
caught in order to get a treat.
On Day 3 continue as on Day 2, but after
a few handfuls, lead the colt to a fence post, reinforcing him for each
step with a handful of his supper and the word "good." Once he
is near the post, feed him the rest of his supper one handful at a time.
If he hasn't already, he might start getting grabby for handfuls. In a
calm pleasant voice say "stand," wait until he stands quietly,
then give the grain. The point is for him to go to the post with you and
to learn to stand there. The previously learned lessons also will be
reinforced.
On Day 4 stand by his post with an
outstretched hand, and wait for the colt to come to you. When he gets
there, attach him to the post with a tie (with a quick-release of some
sort), say "stand" and give him a handful of feed. Do the same
for the filly. (I would always tie the colt first; since he seems to be
the most aggressive, he might attack her when she's tied). Then give
each their supper bucket attached to a post.
Gradually, you can use the word
"good" intermittently without the grain treat. You will see
that it has taken on special reinforcing qualities and can be as nearly
effective in reinforcing the desired behavior as the grain itself. It
will be a handy tool when you don't have grain or don't have a free hand
to dispense grain. Actually, you could have chosen any word to be the
conditioned reinforcer. You just have to use the same word in the same
tone of voice.
You can stop here or continue to teach
all sorts of lessons within the context of this feeding ritual. For
really aggressive horses, I also have taught the "back" and
"stand" command sequence to get them to back up a few steps
and wait for me to present the feed bucket. A horse cannot lunge forward
for feed or turn and offer to kick while it is backing up.
Teaching the horse to stand calmly or to
back up a few steps and to stand instead of charging in order to get his
feed is called counter-conditioning. This behavior modification
procedure simply involves eliminating an undesirable behavior by
teaching another behavior that is counter to it. Counter-conditioning
typically is more effective than you would intuitively expect with
aggressive horses. It always seems easier for them to do something else
rather than to stop doing something and just do nothing.
There is a newly popularized procedure
for horses that is known as clicker and target training that long has
been used with schooling performing wild animals, and more recently with
dogs. The learning principles are the same. The clicker is the
equivalent of the conditioned reinforcer "good." It is unique,
not threatening, and a very standard auditory stimulus that the horse
associates very quickly with the food reward. The target can be used as
the equivalent of the feeding post in our example. The horse learns to
go to or follow the positive target.
Hope this goes as smoothly for you as it
has for me and other clients with whom I have worked in person. If you
decide to do this, let us know of any questions or problems you have.
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