How to really click with people, horses or lions | Georgia Bruce | TEDxJCUCairns

Born with no radial bone or thumb on her right hand, Georgia Bruce had to learn to work with a horses mind rather than use force. Georgia can train horses to do anything, from dressage moves such as the piaffe and the passage to painting pictures and playing croquet. She is passionate about training all animals and believes that positive reinforcement and clicker training is the future for horse training.
Georgia Bruce is a bronze medal winning paralympian who has been training horses from wild brumbies through to elite performance horses for more than 20 years. Georgia has also worked with exotic animals including cheetahs, lemurs, spider monkeys and rhinos. Georgia uses positive reinforcement techniques (Clicker Training) and demonstrates these techniques at trick shows and training demonstrations around Australia with her quarter horse gelding, “Rumba the Wonder Horse.”
She grew up and enjoys living in Kuranda, Far North Queensland
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@jewelsruby]

Fantastic!!!! Go Georgia Bruce!! You are a wonderful force for change. The horse world needs this education. Horses everywhere thank you!!!

[@spanky5230]

This is the absolute singular best TED talk that I’ve ever heard/seen. Superlative. A must see/listen.

[@fairhorsemanship]

You delivered the message so well, well done :)

[@spilip1]

I have seen you riding around your place for the last 14 years without knowing that you were such an exceptional trainer. I just discovered last week your incredible clicker training method on your DVDs! This is an extraordinary achievement and I do hope that more and more riders or trainers will understand the benefice of your method. and try it.

[@education-positive-cheval7200]

Thanks for your talk as I also find the same thing here in France , people either dismiss completely Clicker training for horses, or think that it can only be used for tricks. Keep up the good work and thank you for showing us the way.

[@chloebailey7036]

Awesome Georgia! Keep up the good work. I have gotten into clicker training with my off the track Thoroughbred and found it has changed his whole attitude. I feel like I can actually see his personality coming out. I have come across your stuff on Facebook and am very excited that you are now based in Victoria. Also looking forward to your online course.

[@Elerian17]

Beautiful talk

[@johnstewartvet]

Good presentation & information . Well done . Agreed in the training of horses we still lag behind positive re inforcement in training dogs

[@suhaylett]

Thank you.

[@evasmith5952]

Love your work 😊

[@uncommonsense8193]

uhm, in a few of those clips, I noticed a whip. Is that POSITIVE?

[@TimeTravelingBirds]

+Aaron Long The whip is added into some clicker training methods around the lunging stage. It is not used to hit the animal but it used as a visual cue to ask to the horse to increase intensity. So for example, here's how it would be introduced into the training: The horse is on a lunge line, the trainer holds the whip towards the horse's mid line, and taps it up and down on the ground, not making a snapping noise or striking the animal. You keep this movement up until the horse offers to go faster, and they do this because the swishing of the whip recreates an 'annoying' affect that relates to the kind of nuisance a swarm of flies might create. Because the horse has been taught through clicker training to always be seeking answers (in order to gain the reward) the introduction of the whip and this swishing tells the horse that it needs to do -something- The horse then begins to seek the answer and will likely offer a lot of behaviours it already knows. You simply keep asking the horse in the same way, with no rise in frustration, anger or intensity. Eventually the horse may decide to try speeding up, and that's it! You click, stop swishing and the horse gets a reward and thinks "Huh, when I saw the whip (aid) and sped up (response), I got a treat (reward)." and from there on the horse will be quicker and quicker to associate the whip with the words "I want you to do what you are doing, but do more of it." The whip is not used as a threat but instead becomes a visual aid to tell the horse, do what you are doing right now, but with more intensity. Further, the whip can also be used as a target. The horse can be taught in the exact same way as I mentioned above (introduction of the whip, touching a spot on the leg, lets say the cannon bone, a rubbing or light tapping (like is a finger was tapping your arm) until the horse eventually tries to lift its leg, click, reward. The horse can now learn how to lift certain legs with the cue of having it's leg touched with the whip). The difference between positive reinforcement and traditional training on this topic is that the whip, doesn't need to be a whip in positive reinforcement. It may as well be a twig, or a pool noodle, but these things are not allowed in a lot of competitions, let alone a top dressage ring. There is still a lot of pushback from the traditional way of thinking and positive reinforcement as she said is the minority in the horse world. So we have to learn to pretend to play by their rules. They want us to carry whips? ok, but instead of it being a thing that represents pain, punishment and frustration, lets make it a target and a aid that has never and will never hit, harm or cause pain or fear. I hope I could help answer your question :)

[@uncommonsense8193]

Yes, thank you.

[@andrewpearson8216]

Yes all very good, he will do almost anything for a reward! Sorry.......but he is a horse! Wow, clicker training!

[@andrewpearson8216]

If you want a child, you know what you have to do, do not make the horse human, he is supposed to be a horse! What is the world coming to!