Is your horse bored? Or would you like to try something new to engage your horse and motivate them? Here are some ideas that your horse should really enjoy.
1. Teach Your Horse to Paint
It seems that some horses are quite creative. Horses can be taught to pick up a paintbrush and apply paint to a canvas. The result is a beautiful, impressionistic painting.
2. Try Toys
There are lots of wonderful horse toys available now. Horses love to play and providing toys can really cure boredom. Try a toy that gets them thinking or gets them active.
3. Train at Liberty
Try training your horse without any restraints, at liberty. Your training will need to be fun and engaging to encourage your horse to stay with you. But it’s wonderful when they make the choice to be with you.
4. Find the ‘Favorite Scratching Spot’
A lot of horses love to be scratched in a certain spot. Find that special spot. It’s usually somewhere they can’t reach like their withers or the top of their neck. Looks for signs that you have found ‘The Spot’. These include eyes glazing over, quivering lips, or they may try and return the favor by trying to groom you.
5. Build an Obstacle Course
Build an obstacle horse course. Start simple and then add items as your horse gets more confidence. Horses are naturally curious so they will enjoy exploring these new objects. Plus obstacle courses are a great way to get your horse used to scary objects at home and this can make them calmer out on the trail.
6. Do a Little Dancin’
Teach your horse some simple steps, crank up the music, and dance! I’m currently teaching Bella to do the Hokey Pokey. She puts her left foot in, she puts her left foot out…
