HOW TO BOND WITH YOUR HORSE

Tips for bonding with your horse



Whether you are buying a new horse or doing part-lease, it’s important to learn how to create a loving relationship and become partners with your new friend. It’s quite normal (as horses are not dogs) that your horse will not trust you immediately. Once you gain his trust, you will get the most amazing relationship you can ever have!


So here are the tips to better understand and communicate with your horse:


  • Be affirmative and consistent. You should be firm in your leadership. At the same time try to be fair. Don’t expect that your horse will do anything you ask for the first time. Be clear with what you ask and always communicate it the same way.

 

    • Bring Treats with you. Horses are very smart and they recognize people. Your Horse will remember you better if you bring treats every time you come to ride! Some of the best options are carrots, apples or packed horse treats. However, you can always experiment and make your own cookies for your horse as there are plenty of recipes out there on Pinterest right now! Also, you can try to feed your horse banana or peach if you want to surprise him with something sweet!

     



    • Grooming. If you would like to become closer to your horse, it’s good to groom him yourself from time to time.  It really helps to create that closer connection, that can be sometimes hard to achieve if you only come to ride.

     



    • Come a little bit earlier then your riding lesson starts! Especially if you are leasing the horse it can sometimes be a bit tempting to just come to ride and be done with it. However, it will really help if you come and give your horse some treats and scratch him a bit!

     



    • Understand your horse’s body language. Learn to indicate if he likes a certain action from you.


    • Learn some basic massage/physiotherapy! Your Horse will really appreciate a rub or a stretch. It can also increase his performance and it definitely has a lot of health benefits!

     



    • Play with your horse. Horses can play too! You should choose a safe space like a spacious paddock to play with your horse. You can buy a ball and encourage your horse to play or you can try to simply practice spook-busting games as a partnership, you and your horse will have tools and strategies in dealing with scary situations.
     

     

    We hope this article was useful for you! To read more about horsemanship click HERE.


    To check out our tack store click  We have some matchy tack you and your horse might like!


    1 comment


    • Lucy

      What if it’s not my horse?


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