How long did it take to bond with your new horse

[welshcobabe]

Hi I have had my shire x for 7 weeks now and he comes to me in the field to be caught and seems to know i am his person. Prior to him my old lad of 22 years I knew inside and out, so things are going well but I just did wonder about other peoples time scales two other friends of mine said it took up to a year before she trusted hers others say within weeks so just intrested to know of your experiance ?

 

[poiuytrewq]

Quite a few months I’d say, easily. In fact I didn’t much like the current one at all for a while!
It takes time.

 

[AmyMay]

At least six months.

 

[dorsetladette]

I'm just starting to work out new babies quirks now he has been with us for about 3 months. I don't think its something that comes quickly as your both still getting to know each other. Like any new relationship

 

[Polos Mum]

My horse of a lifetime came from a pro rider and I couldn't get a decent tune out of him for about a year !

I think they go through a honeymoon period when they are angels (up to 6 weeks), then test the boundaries and depending on how that goes for a month or two they then start to relax and settle. So minimum three months and easily six

 

[milliepops]

i would also say at least 6 months to begin to develop a decent partnership. and possibly more if it's a tricky character. I think you can often figure out how to ride them well before then if you've had enough experience of new horses and they are fairly easy but that's different i think.
I've had my loan horse for nearly 3 months and we are starting to understand each other better but still a long way from that nice comfortable feeling you get with a horse that you know inside out.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

'Bonding' which is a term I dislike, is a gradual process. I prefer to use the term 'build a relationship', which better describes the process of coming to trust each other over time. Each relationship is different and will be helped along by various significant events along the way, as well as the day-to-day interactions that you have through all the routine tasks that you share.
I will say that it takes some horses at least a year to settle into a new home.

 

[mini-eventer]

at least 2 years but he was following on from a horse of a life time. I knew I liked him but wasn't sure I loved him.

 

[AntiPuck]

I'm only just starting to really like mine 2 months in, and I think it will take a fair few more months for us to start feeling a partnership, if ever.

 

[poiuytrewq]

When I say quite a few months I meant to decide I liked and hadn’t made a dreadful mistake with him!
I’ve a fair way to go I think getting to grips with the riding side.

 

[Peglo]

I was really lucky with Tali. She was really open to let me get to know her. I felt we started trusting each other quite quickly (she would neigh for me after a few days but once in with the other ponies she didn’t need me as much) but over a year later it feels like a much more established partnership. But it’s always been fun with her.

I still don’t know her as well as my old 2 but I’ve had them for 15 and 18 years so unfair likely to compare.

Hope you have a great summer with your new man

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hi I have had my shire x for 7 weeks now and he comes to me in the field to be caught and seems to know i am his person. Prior to him my old lad of 22 years I knew inside and out, so things are going well but I just did wonder about other peoples time scales two other friends of mine said it took up to a year before she trusted hers others say within weeks so just intrested to know of your experiance ?

My most recent one, it took about 2 years

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

at least 2 years but he was following on from a horse of a life time. I knew I liked him but wasn't sure I loved him.

snap.

It took me 2 years at least before i could actually say I loved her, like you I lost my beloved Heart horse(due to vets) and I just could not let *L* into my inner circle, I kept her at a safe distance.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Isn’t it a shame we can’t just hit fast forward (not literally as I seem to be doing recently ?) and get to the perfect place.

 

[paddy555]

every horse and every person is different. My first horse I only rode him for the 3 months before I owned him because he was ugly and I didn't think I would ever like him so I wouldn't be upset when I had to leave him to go home. He didn't remove me as he had everyone else and it took a while to realise he had bonded with me not the other way round so I ended up having to buy him.

A couple it took about 10 seconds and it was love at first sight on both sides, they were an arab and a Peruvian both breeds that can be almost dog like with their owners. I wonder if breed/horse temperament comes into it a lot. Also the owner's state of mind ie they are replacing a much loved horse or they have on paper bought the perfect horse and paid a lot of money but in reality it just doesn't seem that enamoured with them.

some have taken a couple of years and some I thought I had never really bonded with. We got on OK and mine never get sold but I always felt they could have lived with anyone.

Just so many variables.

 

[asmp]

At least a year before I stopped thinking “OMG what I have bought?” Been with me 12 years now ?

 

[Annagain]

Slightly different angle - I knew after 6 months that we hadn't "bonded "(in the saddle, things were great on the ground and I love him dearly) and things weren't right but it took me 18 to admit it and make the decision to sell him.

 

[catembi]

The latest chap was instant. I have never had that before & I've had a lot of horses.

 

[Leandy]

Its not an absolute thing!! Hate the "bond" word as if something magical happens at a specified point . Building a working partnership is a gradual process and it all depends, just like any relationship with any person or animal!

 

[scats]

Totally depends on the horse.
Within 20 minutes, I loved Diva more than the other horses I had at the time (and I’d had them for years!). We just had this instant relationship.
Millie, it was probably 2 years if I’m honest. We have a good relationship now, but she’s not Diva and she never will be. I hope that doesn’t sound awful!
Polly was weird. I had a strange feeling when I saw her that we were meant to meet. She’s not been my perfect horse due to her ongoing issues, but I took her on knowing she was a gamble. I can only say that it felt like she had to come home with me and that for some reason, we ended up in the same place at the same time and crossed paths. We have a different kind of relationship, very close but very different.

 

[webble]

It took me 12 months to stop thinking I wanted to sell him, for the first 6 months I really struggled with him not being my previous horse who was pts. Give it time, if he ticks the boxes of what you need 3do a relationship will grow

 

[planete]

Twenty months on, not yet sure I have not made a dreadful mistake. He seems to trust me more than I trust him! Very bolshy small cob with a lot of baggage.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

It took me a good year to really think I actually quite enjoy this horse sometimes ?

He had a few quirks and I did struggle a bit riding him in the beginning and I found it frustrating because my other horse is so straight forward and honest, and the mare he kind replaced was much the same so I found it hard.

I've had him nearly 7 years now and he will still test me sometimes when ridden but I've learnt to accept thats just how he is, his got a very unusual way about him and I do really love him now I don't think I have ever known a horse like him and probably never will.

His definitely a horse that you either get him or you don't he can hilarious sometimes a real character which I absolutely love about him bless him ?

 

[smolmaus]

I loved her the second I saw her come off the box to the rescue. Instant. She was a very pathetic sight tbh so a lot of that was maybe pity.

It didn't go away though, the more she came out of herself the more I liked her. There were a few weeks after she moved to our current yard where I was second guessing A LOT but we were both just very overwhelmed. Now she's settled, I'm settled and we just get on like 2 underachieving, late-starting ladies doing their best together to muddle through.

 

[Carrottom]

I've had my current horse about 4 years and we're still working on our relationship ?, it takes as long as it takes.

 

[FiandP]

It's been a year and I'm still not sure - but he was on working livery for 10 months of that and he didn't move yards when I bought him so for him, not much change for him other than a new person turning up. We have "bonded" more in the 2 months since I took him out of the riding school than in the previous 10.

I do still wonder whether I've made a mistake sometimes. He's got some baggage and issues to straighten out so it's not been an easy year but sometimes I'll see flashes of affection and personality and my heart melts. He's my first and it's comforting to hear that it just takes as long as it takes. We'll get there.

 

[Birker2020]

Hi I have had my shire x for 7 weeks now and he comes to me in the field to be caught and seems to know i am his person. Prior to him my old lad of 22 years I knew inside and out, so things are going well but I just did wonder about other peoples time scales two other friends of mine said it took up to a year before she trusted hers others say within weeks so just intrested to know of your experiance ?

After losing four in under seven years I had massive trouble bonding with my previous horse Bailey.

It took me about two years and the aid of an animal communicator telling me I'd have her until she was 21. As it was she outlived her premonition by an extra three years. Her words helped me at the time and I was able to move on and feel confident that I wouldn't lose her too.

 

[hock]

Hi I have had my shire x for 7 weeks now and he comes to me in the field to be caught and seems to know i am his person. Prior to him my old lad of 22 years I knew inside and out, so things are going well but I just did wonder about other peoples time scales two other friends of mine said it took up to a year before she trusted hers others say within weeks so just intrested to know of your experiance ?

Ohhh shire x you say? Im shire x wb addict … what x have you got?

 

[teddy_]

My new pony arrived almost two weeks ago. I feel like she means the world to me already, as she is everything I had been pining for since I lost my special chap last August.

It probably helps that she seems happiest when being pampered and in human company. I think she is picking up on my elation! I just stand there grinning like an idiot when I am brushing her ?...

 

[welshcobabe]

Ohhh shire x you say? Im shire x wb addict … what x have you got?

shire x with a cob mare