Urgent training question

My Morgan has become very difficult to vaccinate and will kick viciously. I started clicker training my horses this past winter using Alexandra Kurland's book, Clicker Training for Horses - A step by step guide in pictures, available at the following web site - http://theclickercenter.com/2004/. In this book she has directions for teaching a horse to accept vaccinations calmly. I haven't worked very long on the vaccination issue but clicker training has worked pretty much as Alexandra says for other training. The click tells the horse she did something right and then a treat follows. The way it works is you ask the horse to do a small think like let you pinch or touch in the area where the shot is to occur. If a pinch is too much, back up to a stroke. If the horse stands still, click and give a treat. Gradually work up to pricking slightly with a paper clip or bring the syringe up as if giving a shot and poke with the needle cover on. This may take several sessions. I haven't found that giving treats by hand spoils the horses. In fact, after a while they become better behaved overall. Clicker training was originally used to train dolphins but is also used for dogs and horses.

Thanks, Freya.. I'm going to try this- one of my students is using clicker training with her young horse and it seems to be working well. The vet came today to do WNV and although she was marginally better, we still have to give her an intramuscular tranq. before we can finish all three vaccines, plus the nasal strangles. SHe's really great with everything else--Stands for trimming, loads in the trailer, wears all kinds of tack, I've even ground driven her. So far this is her only bad thing.

I should have mentioned a few things regarding clicker training. First of all, Alexandra recommends doing some preliminary table manner training where the horse is taught to look straight ahead rather than mugging you for treats. There will probably be some mugging anyway but it doesn't matter if the horse isn't too agressive. The other thing is that I use the word "good" rather than a click because I'm always leaving the clicker somewhere else. A click is faster reinforcement, but a word works okay too. Hope it works for you. My horses are learning to stand at a target, to stay in place when I walk away, to free lead, to back and other things. I find it fun to do.