I have a pouch that I strap around my waist. Rock climbing chalk bags work great, I also like the Outward Hound bait bags sold by Clean Run (). Alexandra Kurland (and many others) really like fishing vests because of all the pockets. I like something that is easy to get my hand in and out of and that I can shut.
I have my clicker on one of those plastic flexible coil wrist key ring things, that way I can let go of the clicker without loosing it. Often I just click with my mouth as well, which frees up a hand.
In the clinic I did with Alex last fall, we practiced lots of food delivery without the horses. This was really helpful for working out some of the mechanics. One thing I learned (that I hadn’t been doing) is it’s often better to deliver the food with the hand that is farthest away from the horse.
So, if you’re at the horse’s shoulder, you click. Horse and you stop. You pivot so that you are facing the horse and then deliver the treat in the hand that was farthest from the horse. This gives you more control over where you are delivering the treat and can help keep the horse out of your space.
Feed where the perfect horse would be, rather than where the horse is. Don’t go to the horse’s mouth, make the horse come to the food! Even if this means the horse has to move forward a step or back up a step. Be careful about feeding too far forward or down, this often will throw the horse off balance.
Often I also see problems in food delivery when I’m asking for too much too soon or doing too much lumping. The horse gets frustrated and expresses this through mugging for food, not being careful about taking the food and other issues.
It’s one of those skills that takes practice! I still know my food delivery often needs work. Under saddle, I think it takes practice for both the horse and the rider to work out the coordination and the timing. The horse has to learn a new way of getting the food.
Mary