Bonding with your horse

Ive never been as close to a horse as I am to Beau, and Ive only had him 6 months.

He is a very affectionate horse though, always tries to groom me and OH, and is very very protective of me.

Lance on the other hand, I love him to pieces but his first love will always be food!
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not sure, i suppose it takes less time if you go out of your way to bond with them? (just going out and fussing over them in their field and spending time grooming)

i've got a great bond with Oscar, and only had him since march
 
my 2nd pony I never really felt I had a bond with and she seemed to just do what ever she liked, when she liked. She would often put her ears back at me and would never really like being ridden so I didnt really get that close to her...owned her for 15 yrs...my first pony however who I still have is very loving and will often gently nudge at your hand for polos and rub you for attention...
My horse who I got last July however is very affectionate and will stand very close to you looking for cuddles and will often turn to look at you when out on a ride...never had a horse quite like it...it also helps that he runs over to see me calling to me no matter whether I have food or not...
 
i think it depends on your horse - they all show it in very different ways - my mare who ive had for 7 years, gets v jelous if i spend time with my gelding - strats to kick her stble door, nudges me over the half wall, winneys to me - but once im in with her she acts like its no big deal and like she cant be bothered with all the fuss!my gelding however is alawys snuffling me with his nose, follows me , always tries his hardest to understand wat it is we are doing etc. - lots of groundwork and messing about with them in the stable etc def helps get a bond
 
I have had my pony for 4 and a half months and can say that we have only properly bonded in the last month or so, it's been hard but we've got there and we have so much fun. I don't think you can put a time limit on how long it should take, it takes as long as it does for the horse/pony to put their trust and respect into you and you in them i think.
 
it took me a year to get on with belle :S now i love her to bits and will never part with her... have had her two years since saturday!!!
 
I bonded with George quite quickly, first couple of weeks were a bit hairy due to lack of brakes in the school and therefore some lack of trust between us, but once that was sorted we bonded really well. Don't know if I've ever mentioned that I love my George!!!
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I've had my mare 12 years and I love her to bits, but I don't think she's that bothered about me!! Having said that, there are no issues with trust - she's pretty much up for anything asked of her.

I've had my gelding for 3 years and he is just so much more affectionate - he comes over to see me, whickering away, when I go to his field, and just LOVES any fuss or attention he gets. He is extremely possessive and jealous, and batters his stable door if I dare to speak to any of the others! He's a total wimp when ridden, though - not nearly as bold as the mare.
 
i didnt take to my boy immediately but he really went out of his way to make me love him, and i thought i loved him for a while BUT something hit me about 3 weeks ago and i had tears in my eyes whilst riding and realised that i had literally just fallen in love with him. i told him off one night last week and the next day he was amazing, i didnt realise that they had a mind of a 5yr old child and know if they get sent out, smacked or loss of titbits understand this, and i was lucky that he wanted to make friends the next day, so yes weve bonded, and all since may. i wake up in the night and feel sick if ive had a nightmare about him, never experienced that about anyone apart from my oh. ah pass me a bucket haha. I do see him up to 5times a day tho, just sit with him in stable, have a drink with him in the field and ride him for hours on end so i guess it helps speed up the process that they say generally takes a year to fully pair with your horse?
 
about 6 months, and I am very close to pickle. Sometimes I just sit in his stable with him and he always comes down to see me
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Also I know he completely trusts me jumping, he will trust my judgement and do what I ask
 
It probably took about 6-8 months before it was anything more than his love of food that bonded him to me. Now he will follow me around for hours and we really enjoy ourselves. I would say however that he still takes the piss and tries it on all the time....does that make less of a bond or is he just a cheeky git!
 
I've got a good bond with my boy already, despite only owning him for 3 months. Though this is because he fell ill a week after I got him and was on box rest for 6 weeks so me going down 3 times a day to fuss him really helped us. I've only just started riding him
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To build up a bond with a horse you have to spend a lot of quality time with them, some take longer than others though.
 
With my other horses it took several months to form a bond but with my new one I felt an instant connection. I think about her constantly, dream about her and talk about her to anyone who will listen. I feel as though I have owned her for ages but it is only a just over a week. Is this odd or has anyone else felt the same?
 
I got my girl in February and we are stuck like glue. So much so that if I tie her up in the barn and then go outside she breaks free to follow me, so I have to work on that! I just spent loads of time with her and am lucky that she is so nosey and affectionate.
 
took over a year to really believe I had a bond with Polly. I think she go kinda fond of me after about 9 months but it wasn't until she was turned out this summer and is demonstrably happy to see me in the field (I couldn't catch her last year so this is a big improvement) that I actually started to believe we had bonded. She is not one for cuddles and fuss though, she likes me to provide occasional scratches and lots of food. If she's in, she'll neigh if she hears my voice now which is cute. Mares seem to take a bit longer than geldings though I think.
 
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