how do you let your horse know you really love him/her!

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mirandaharry

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I know that sounds REALLY daft, but bear with me!
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Just wanted to know how you all reward your horses. Quite often on TV you see people winning comps and really slapping their horses on the neck, does the horse actually think "Ooohh, I've done a good thing, isn't my rider happy" or are they thinking "wtf!!"
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So when riding and you want to praise your horse what do you do/what should you do?

Likewise in the stable how do you let your horse know that he is loved and appreciated, (I have been in the past tempted to wave my cheque book stub under his nose
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!!!). Obviously we all care for our nags and make sure they are happy, but how do you get across to them in horse language that you are happy with them?!

OK, so that does sound totally like I've lost me marbles
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(please, please, someone reply so I don't look TOO barking!!), but I sort of know what I mean!!!
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I TELL her - she understands EVERYTHING I say
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Riding - a rub of the wither and/or a 'good girl' - she certainly understands the phrase/tone of voice & this is backed up in the stable, lunging etc. On the ground if I say it, she looks for the treat because she assumes she deserves one!

In the stable, attention, stroking, treats etc - again backed up with the voice.

I flipping HATE it when people slap their horse as praise - it's bloody rotten!
 
They get scratched in their favourite places and I speak to them in that sloshy way. Never ever do I give them edible treats as a reward - I think that is totally silly and the horse has no concept about what it is getting the food for.

Using "horse language" toward your horse tells it quite clearly that you their friend and whatever they have done is acceptable.
 
Well when i got my pony she had no character she was quite withdrawn and very nervous of anything you done with her.
I would say she knows i lover her because my constant persistance of kissing her, grooming her, patting her, cuddleing her, treating her well has paid off. She now has bundles of character (Sometimes to much
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) she trusts me to do most things (Except her one ear that has a huge scar on... hense she has one fluffy ear and one not so fluffy!) and she genuinly perks up when she sees me. So by her reaction i know im doing the right things if that makes sense!
 
Errrmmm straight jacket anyone??? LOL i'm only joking!!

If i am riding and i want my horse to know she is good then i will tell her she is a good girl and give her a stroke or a pat. At competitions (even if she has a bad round) she is rewarded with polo's as soon as she comes out.

I think if you spend time with your horse grooming etc then you will get a bond with them that way as thats what they do to each other out in the field.

I also give my horses lots of kisses on their muzzles, my old horse used to fall asleep when i did this as he loved it so much. My new horse was weary at first at she didn't have a clue what i was doing but now she stands there a lets me put big wet sloppy ones on her LOL
 
ew on the slapping as praise my mare loves it, if she is grumpy and standing with her ears back, i pat her really hard on the neck, her ears go forward and her lip crunkles up and goes all pointy where she is in exstacy (SP) so some like, but each to there own!
 
Thanks guys!

Bit of a daft post,(can you tell it's nearly Friday!) but just started reading an old book on the natural horse and I do find it really interesting that what we do to our horses thinking it shows them we are chuffed to bits with them is actually either totally confusing them or having the opposite effect!

I remember years ago slapping the neck of the horse I was riding and my instructor giving me an absolute bollocking!!
 
Tia - it's rare that I disagree with you but I do on this occassion (sorry!).

I had great success with clicker training on the current horse - she's very food motivated & loved being 'rewarded'. She quickly picked up on the technique, touching the target object & then coming to me with ears pricked forward because she UNDERSTOOD that she was going to be rewarded with a treat.

The fact that she will TRY to please me, presuambly motivated by the desire for a treat, tells me that it does work for her. By the same token, if I say 'good girl' her ears prick up as she knows that's a reward which is sometimes backed up with a treat (not when mounted of course).

Does that make sense?

I do also agree with the grooming by the way - when I rub her she bends her neck around me & rubs my back in return but I find her too rough as she nips at me - I'm sure very gently her her mind but not good if she rips my coat! I'd love to let her do it more but always nervous she's going to hurt me (or my coat!). Maybe I need to invest in a cheap but very thick jumper...
 
I was having this very same conversation yesterday.

We discussed it in length and used a number of the horses on my yard here as examples to try to rationalise how horses think and what motivates them particularly in comparison to a higher thinking animal like a dog for example.

The conversation was soooo long and indepth that it would take about a week to write on paper LOL!! Anyway the thinking at the end was that horses do what they think is right - not to please their owner - but to get the sugar buzz from the treat!

Older horses may know more words that younger horses, so we also used a young horse in our discussion. There is a 2 year old here - appears to be a very clever horse as can do an impeccable Spanish Walk, can leg yield and is quite competent at piaffe. However once she has had a treat and she decides she wants another treat - she will do ANYTHING for one. She starts to SW, piaffe, leg yield all at the same time and become totally obsessed with the end result...the treat.

Most interesting and we decided that perhaps with an older horse it could be used to encourage them to do the things we want them to do - however it will never have the horse perform for us to please us - it doesn't really care whether it pleases us; it just doesn't want to hack us off because then other things happen and they don't taste so good, LOL!
 
When riding i scratch on the neck, always with the inside rein. If im hacking he gets a two hand pat
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And i always talk to him and tell him hes a good boy when he is and when hes bad he gets a stern NO!!

When in the stable i usually stroke on his forehead, he doesnt understand or trust kisses yet. He often puts his head to me to shove it under my arm for a cuddle, usually just before i ride - wierd!!

He gets lots of pats and spoken to soppily!!

I dont think its a mad post, i think its a nice one!!

BTW when he first arrived he was terrified of anyone putting their hand up to stroke him anywhere on his body! So rather an improvement!!

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Definitely not acceptable! At my yard no-one ever gives anyone else's horse a treat without asking the owner. I have good responsible boarders
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I would never ever feed a horse a tidbit without asking the owner first due to the fact, as it has been demonstrated heer, many people are actually against it.

But to reward the horses I use in my lessons I tell them they're being good and give them a stroke or in the case of the little one I use, she gets scratched behind the ears as I can reach them. And I always praise them after I get off as well.
 
I would never ever give someones horse a titbit, I would be pissed off if it happened to me.

I gave Jack treats after riding, hes 11 and he knows he only gets them when hes good as hes used for disabled children, and he needs to be on good behaviour.

I never carry titbits in my pocket, and if he gets carrots etc, its placed in his dinner
 
Isn't Jack a riding school horse? Therefore by giving him treats perhaps he could then expect them from every person who rides him? Best way to encourage them to be nippers.
 
He belongs to an open farm and then goes to the RDA during the winter. Ive been working with him for 2 years and hes definitely not a nipper.

The staff up there are worse, they give all the horses treats for nothing. I only give it to him after I ride him, and hes got to know that.

I know the owners and they dont mind
 
Mine get a good ol scratch either behind the ear, between their eyes, along their necks, on their withers or top of their tails depending on where I am at the time!
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Whe being ridden she gets a rub on the neck and told shes a good girl in that gooey voice. Its the same when lunging but without the rub on the neck as I cant reach
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In the stable she gets a cuddle as she loves to rest her head on you and give you a big hug! She gets lots of kisses and I talk to her loads. Everynight when she is tucked up in bed I always tell her I love her before I go home and that I will be back in the morning
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Everyone thinks Im crazy
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Mine get mini wither rubs for reassurement, big scratches / rubs for good performance.

On the ground its fairly easy with sweet itch boy, he loves being scratched... everywhere, although especially his bottom!
 
I dont feed treats, just loads of hugs and praise, however hubby cannot resist and the little madam knows and always goes straight for him!!! If I ride past our house she stops dead and waits for him to come out with digestives - don't shout at me - it's him!!!!!! And I'm not going to stop him loving her - he has his uses!
 
I had 2 weanlings stabled together on my yard and was having a BBQ at the yard and had invited everybody else who had fields at the same yard. I gave one of the weanlings a teeny peice of carrot for the first time ever and mentioned that he had just eaten his first peice of carrot to be told by one of the men who had his horses in another field that he had already fed the babies carrots, apples, barley rings and various other tibits! I was absolutely livid. He also told me that he had been in the stable with them, which was locked so that my youngest daughter didnt let them out accidentally, so he had even climbed over. Everybody else at the BBQ was very impressed with my self control. I did manage to ask him not to feed them in future as i dint want to encourage biting when actually i wanted to punch him! Thankfully that muppet is no longer at the yard!
 
hugs, pats and a good scratch I cant give him treats because he is on working livery (so is a RS horse as well) therfore I dont want him to end up nipping someone

just noticed tiaribbon said this and it is a good point
 
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