There is no limit to the things you can teach your horse except your imagination (and time). Here's some things that probably have little practical use but that I've started teaching my horse partly because they're fun, partly because they're hard for me and make me think hard about how to break down exercises into easy 'chunks'.

 

Teaching any trick can lead to undesired behaviours - if you teach a 'shake hands' for instance you may find that your horse will randomly flick his front leg out at you in an attempt to get goodies. You've taught him to do this, so DO NOT punish him! It's your role as teacher to understand where these behaviours come from, plan for them when you start training and to understand how to limit them (mainly by ignoring them when they're offered without a cue)

 

There are a number of methods to trick train your horse.  The most common involves using food treats and this is usually extremely successful.  Clicker training is highly suitable for trick training as you can quickly respond to the horse's attempts to work out what you want.  There are a number of books and videos with step-by-step instructions for trick training and if you are keen I suggest that you get one. 

 

Do not begin trick training until you have sufficient control over your horse and yourself to be safe.  If you cannot perform the basic exercises in the first two groundwork articles (leading and advanced) then I would strongly suggest that you get these down pat first and then look to start trick training.

 

Nodding "Yes" \ Shaking "No"

Head tricks are the easiest to start with.  You and your horse can start trick training and learn the processes required to learn new tricks without too many dangers or risks.

Both 'yes' and 'no' head shaking is based on simple reactions to stimulae.  To begin you horse nodding 'yes' - poke, scratch or lightly prick your horse in the lower chest.  You need to simulate a fly biting or some other annoyance that the horse will then try to shoo or bite away.  As with all other training, you need to reward the slightest positive reactions and build up the level of response. You can't expect to get a perfect 'yes' from the start but very quickly you will be able to lightly touch your horse's chest and he will nod.  If you remember to use a consistent body position and verbal cue you will then be able to simply ask a question (your verbal cue) and have the horse respond.

For the 'no' shake - again you are going to be an annoyance.  You need to find a spot that makes your horse shake his head\neck.  For most horses lightly tugging on a few hairs in his mane or touching his ear hairs will do this.   Reward any shake - build up the response over time and remember to give you cues in the same order each time i.e. verbal cue - physical cue - response - praise\treat. 

Smile!

This is a trick that will vary widely from horse to horse.  If you have a horse that is quite mouthy, he'll probably be good at this.  Others with thicker mouths or noses may only ever 'smirk'. 

Again this trick is based on normal horse behaviour - flehmen. When a horse smells something strange or interesting it will lift it's upper lip to allow the smell to waft over special sensory organs.

Find a smelly (but non toxic!!) substance and place a small amount on your finger.  Verbally cue the horse then place the substance on his muzzle - he'll flehmen.  Praise him and treat him (not with the smelly finger!) as soon as he recovers.  Repeat - he'll very quickly start to wiggle his upper lip or flehmen whenever he see's your finger going for his muzzle.  Remember to link the cue with a verbal cue and be consistent, you won't need the smelly substance for more than the first few goes.

 

Step up\Step high\Count

 

You'll never have a problem with your horse in a float (trailer\horsebox) if you can get him to step into or onto anything you point to (even if its difficult for him). The step high command was actually developed during the step up training - he didn't understand what I wanted and offered this 'step high' marching. Instead of ignoring or punishing him, I simply praised him for this new move and developed it into a separate command.

Shaking Hands - You can see how step up can be easily translated to 'shake hands' or other tricks with the foreleg, by simply asking the foreleg to be extended or repeatedly lifted. Some trainers use a rope around the pastern to teach shaking hands - you don't need to but it can be useful to show the horse what you want when you first start.

 

Bowing - OK I can't think of a think that this is useful for but its cute and my horse really thinks he's something special when he offers this one.  Here I'm trying to improve the bow by asking him right down (notice that his withers are lowered). Until now he simply lowered his head and lifted a leg up, slowly we'll build up his confidence into dropping his weight right down. 

Here is Imp performing a nice bow.  Interestingly I had almost given up on teaching the bow for several months.  Then I picked up clicker training and taught many behaviours with it.  Clicker rapidly became one of Imp's favourite training methods.  Then one day I quite accidentally gave a cue very similar to the old bow cue.  At first he tried a few behaviours and then as I withheld the 'click' he rapidly went into a deep bow with no further assistance or encouragement from me.  Latent learning and clicker training are powerful tools!

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