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What are good ways to bond with your horse2007-11-24 21:21:04

I'm sharing a horse with someone else and I'll be mounting her 4 times / week to prepare for competitions. I want to have a good and strong relationship with her, but she's a pretty hard headed horse who also doesn't always enjoy being brushed. Any suggestions?

Answers:

Hang around in her stall, feed her a few carrots, brush her, talk to her and love on her. This is what I do with my gelding. It helps in gaining trust in your horse and helps your horse gain trust in you.

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Spend a lot of time with her, stay at the barn as long as you can and just really get her to trust you, and WANT to be around you. Don't go there, get her and start brushing her if that is what she doesn't like. Hang out with her like it is one of your friends, read a book in her stall. Bond with her like it is a new friend! I bought a PMU mare, and this is what I am doing with her, it is really working and I can tell she is starting to really like me, and trust me!

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Some horses may not act like they enjoy brushing but I think that deep down some of them do- as long as you dont spend hours just fidgeting with them and doing everything in a day. I'd brush for 15 minutes-- long enough to get the job done but not so long that the horses get annoyed from standing there. Frequent treats are always nice too-- for example I always give my horse a treat after the curry comb, hard brush, soft brush and then after hoof picking if he is good.. You can also divide it up spend one day doing her tail, another doing her mane, another giving her a bath and then grazing her. A very good way to build up a bond is grazing the horse and just hanging out-- i've found that some horses would rather skip out on being pampered and just be grazed.

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Both answers are good so far. In my experience spending time with her is the best thing you can do. If your barn has a small ring that is not used you can go there without riding and just spend time together like she would with another horse in the pasture.