Bond Building

Emilieu said:
Take a chair and book up and just sit being quiet with them. The girls at the yard laugh at my wee chair but my boy loves it
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I do that to! I take a book or my homework or just draw. They love the company.
I spend alot of time grooming, plaiting(just for practice), sitting with him,taking pictures and taking him for walks (they especially love this if they dont have alot of grass in their field and you take them to lots of grass).
 
Find itchy bits to scratch - obvious ones are on the withers like horses do to eachother - you can be quite rough (careful he doesn't groom you back though, it hurts!), the girth area, and the bit between the bulbs of the heel and the ergot (my last horse used to love that and I would sit in the stable on the grooming box and he would stand with his bum to me and put one foot at a time onto my lap for me to scratch - I'd had him sometime before we built up that trust though!), underside of the dock - basically all the bits they find fairly tricky to reach themselves! It's worked wonders with all the horses I have had over the years. They get to learn your smell and all sorts of stuff - plus you get to trust them as they let you scratch them.
 
After a ride or a schooling session when he is a bit tired in his stable and its quiet on the yard, just lean over his stable door and watch him.
Mine always ends up coming over for a cuddle.
Its so beautiful - talk very very gently to him, give him a gentle stroke and scratch - i love to do this.
My boy ends up falling asleep on my shoulder or giving me a georgeous mutual groom and hes not the most affectionate of horses :)
 
Waffles said:
Find itchy bits to scratch - obvious ones are on the withers like horses do to eachother - you can be quite rough (careful he doesn't groom you back though, it hurts!), the girth area, and the bit between the bulbs of the heel and the ergot (my last horse used to love that and I would sit in the stable on the grooming box and he would stand with his bum to me and put one foot at a time onto my lap for me to scratch - I'd had him sometime before we built up that trust though!), underside of the dock - basically all the bits they find fairly tricky to reach themselves! It's worked wonders with all the horses I have had over the years. They get to learn your smell and all sorts of stuff - plus you get to trust them as they let you scratch them.
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ooh i might write some of those down (i sound sooo geeky!) so i see if they work :p would be really funny a horse just sticking their feet in your face :D

darkhorse123 said:
After a ride or a schooling session when he is a bit tired in his stable and its quiet on the yard, just lean over his stable door and watch him.
Mine always ends up coming over for a cuddle.
Its so beautiful - talk very very gently to him, give him a gentle stroke and scratch - i love to do this.
My boy ends up falling asleep on my shoulder or giving me a georgeous mutual groom and hes not the most affectionate of horses :)
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i just love watching horsies, this would be fun! you get to know all sorts of body language too :p
 
The "special scratching spot" when you find it works a treat- I'd secoond that.

Also found in-hand walking worked very well and as has been said, just standing with them. I used to find mine came over when I stood quietly with my back to the door and nuzzle my neck/shoulder and then put their head over my shoulder for a cuddle
 
It doesn't sound geeky at all to write the things down - just find the bits that your own horse likes being scratched. I've always done a thing when you are dong the girth up as well, if the horse looks at you a bit gone off (I've only had geldings, mind, and I know mares are worse with girth areas) I just scratch him a bit before doing it up and he's thinking "ooh, that's nice" - you can watch there upper lip/nose go all tense with pleasure. I thoroughbred I had used to love being scratched just by his kneecap where his back leg joined his body - he used to sort of jerk his leg in pleasure like dogs do when you scratch them! As I said, the only thing with this, is that the horse often tries to groom you back! Oh yes, get your fingers right into the base of his mane as well and give that a really good scratch!
 
Pampered Ponies said:
The "special scratching spot" when you find it works a treat- I'd secoond that.

Also found in-hand walking worked very well and as has been said, just standing with them. I used to find mine came over when I stood quietly with my back to the door and nuzzle my neck/shoulder and then put their head over my shoulder for a cuddle
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thank you, he tends just to stand sleeping in the stabe where you take the headcollar/bridle off or eats his hay :p

**Vanner** said:
Grooming, finding their itchy spot, walking in hand, ground work and basically spending time.
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thank you, i will be spending lots of time with him on my days :D

Hal1k1 said:
Taking your horse for a walk , works every time but if next to roads use a bridle..
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we are lucky that we have got a bit of off road hacking so will go for a wander around and have a look at things :D

Waffles said:
It doesn't sound geeky at all to write the things down - just find the bits that your own horse likes being scratched. I've always done a thing when you are dong the girth up as well, if the horse looks at you a bit gone off (I've only had geldings, mind, and I know mares are worse with girth areas) I just scratch him a bit before doing it up and he's thinking "ooh, that's nice" - you can watch there upper lip/nose go all tense with pleasure. I thoroughbred I had used to love being scratched just by his kneecap where his back leg joined his body - he used to sort of jerk his leg in pleasure like dogs do when you scratch them! As I said, the only thing with this, is that the horse often tries to groom you back! Oh yes, get your fingers right into the base of his mane as well and give that a really good scratch!
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haha, i took the list up and he didnt really seem bothered by any of them.. oh well will go with an updated list when i next go up :p my old mare used to do that with her leg too! no-one believed me till i showed them! :D:D
 
sometimes you have to scratch really hard to get a response! A brilliant way of catching (and Ideal if you don't want to be caught up with the herd in the winter) is to kind of say "here's a titbit"in the summer "follow me if you like and have a bit of a scratch and another titbit" then if they don't come, just leave them. Keep giving another titbit without the headcollar going on, and get them to come to the gate with you - just progress a bit more every day. Eventually, you can break into a "trot" yourself and he will follow (just watch the whole herd doesn't follow so you don't end up face down in the mud!). Think, though, of how hard horses scratch eachother when grooming - you have to be fairly rough!
 
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