Are you and your horse friends? Do you do friend things together?
One of the nicest and easiest way to become friends with your horse is to treat him to things you can do together that don’t demand anything from him and where you have no intent.
Some things you can try are:
- Going for in-hand walks together, grazing the hedgerows or grass along the tracks.
- Hanging out together in his field. Set up a chair and just ‘be’ together.
- Slow, peaceful grooming is very nice. Take as much time as you want and find your horses itchy spots.
- Sit down while your horse is laying down dozing and relax together.
- Stand with your horse, your hand on his/her shoulder and take each step they do, take the step the way they do and move the way they do, even listen to their breathing and try to breath with them.
- If you horse enjoys playing with ‘things’ then maybe even bring in a new ‘toy’ like a large ball and allow him just to play with it himself. You can push it back to him/her but don’t have any intent on making the play structured.
By doing things with no intent with your horse you can really strengthen the bond you have with him/her. SO try to ‘just be a horse with your horse’ for a while and get connected.
- Shelley – HorseSavvy