Have fun. Bond with your horse.
I like to offer my horses different toys to play with and see what they want to do with them.
Letting your horse have a say in the play process will really increase your horse’s motivation and enjoyment.
I had been originally teaching Bella to fetch, but then she started to pick up the ball and throw it. She really enjoyed doing that so we played around with her throwing the ball to me to catch, rather than continuing with ‘fetch’.
RELATIONSHIP TIP: Find a brush your horse really likes
Horses that like each other, groom each other. This helps build their bond and relationship.
You can do something similar by finding a brush that your horse really likes and having regular grooming sessions. They only need to be short – just a few minutes every time you see your horse.
One of the best tricks to teach your horse is ‘touch’. It is SO simple but has many uses.
You can use ‘touch’ to help your horse accept and approach scary objects.
It works like magic!
Most horses will happily do anything you ask if these 3 principles apply:
Your horse must be able to physically do what you are asking and it must not cause him any pain or discomfort. If your horse finds something difficult or painful they just won’t want to do it. (And we want trick training to be lots of fun for you – and your horse).
If you have an older horse or one that has injuries then look at tricks that are easier for him to do. For example I rarely ask Trigger to do a Full Bow (down on his knee) because of his age. But there is a trick called the Simple Bow which is much easier for older horses to do and still looks really nice.
Some people worry that using treats during training will cause their horse to become pushy, nippy and turn them into a horrible food monster!
Unfortunately this is likely if your horse doesn’t learn how to behave around treats. For most horses food is their favorite thing and they just want some… NOW!
Thankfully it is easy to teach your horse to have perfect manners around treats.
Here are 31 fun and useful things to do with your horse – other than riding…
[Read more…] about 31 Things To Do With Your Horse (other than riding)
