New horse- bonding /groundwork

naza

naza

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Recently got a new horse who previous owners have said he is very much a one person horse & can take a while to settle, he does always have a bit of a “what are you doing face’
What groundwork can I do with him to help us bond pleasE?
 
Go for walks round his new surroundings. Ask for halt & stand, walk on. Go and investigate stuff together. Make it interesting, hide a carrot somewhere odd & such like. Sit in the field & watch him & see how he interacts.
 
I would do want the horse was doing in its old home so if was hacking go hacking if he worked a lot in the school work in the school .
I don’t get all this bonding stuff I think it’s disrespectful to the horse if they want to have extra little thing with you that nice but I think it it’s best to concerntrate on getting the horse doing the job you bought it for .
My top tips for new horses .
Kept them on short rations while they get to know you .
Work seven days a week ( assuming you have bought a adult horse)
Establish routine
Turnout as much as poss but stable for part of each day .
If possible let them watch and learn the rules from other horses who are settled in the environment
Watch them work out what they like they will tell you a lot about themselves in the first few days .
ETA if in doubt lunge before getting on .
 
I would echo that. A lot of owners set themselves up for failure by seeking a "bond" with a horse. I have no doubt whatsoever that some horses do have a particular connection with some riders. But not all by a long chalk. Unless you bought this horse only to have a "bond" with you and for no other purpose I too would keep it as close to his previous routine as possible. Horses tend to look for good herd leaders and are reassured by humans who are consistent in their commands / expectations and calm to be around.

Aim to be a good herd leader for your horse. If more comes of that - wonderful. If not - do what you bought him for. The only possible exception to that point would be that more time together makes it easier for you to learn his signals and interpret your own behaviour through them.
 
If by "bond" you mean relationship, then the ground work exercises in some of the books by Kelly Marks can prove useful. I do dislike the word "bond" it implies a responsibility on the horse to connect with you - if you can do the exercises that reinforce your position as herd leader (quiet, consistent and setting boundaries) your horse will be more likely to look to you for direction. Then you have relationship worth having, based on trust and respect.
 
Goldenstar said:
I would do want the horse was doing in its old home so if was hacking go hacking if he worked a lot in the school work in the school .
I don’t get all this bonding stuff I think it’s disrespectful to the horse if they want to have extra little thing with you that nice but I think it it’s best to concerntrate on getting the horse doing the job you bought it for .
My top tips for new horses .
Kept them on short rations while they get to know you .
Work seven days a week ( assuming you have bought a adult horse)
Establish routine
Turnout as much as poss but stable for part of each day .
If possible let them watch and learn the rules from other horses who are settled in the environment
Watch them work out what they like they will tell you a lot about themselves in the first few days .
ETA if in doubt lunge before getting on .
Click to expand...

This, pretty much.

There's no reason you can't do groundwork if you feel manners need some work, or do some TREC/agility style obstacle training if you think it would be useful. There's no reason you can't walk out in hand if you really want to. But you can't force the horse to bond with you - get it working, doing its job, and give it routine and stability.

And definitely no fannying around with "join up" :rolleyes3:
 
JFTD said:
This, pretty much.

There's no reason you can't do groundwork if you feel manners need some work, or do some TREC/agility style obstacle training if you think it would be useful. There's no reason you can't walk out in hand if you really want to. But you can't force the horse to bond with you - get it working, doing its job, and give it routine and stability.

And definitely no fannying around with "join up" :rolleyes3:
Click to expand...

What GS says in her post and this post above too by JTFD.

I get them off the box and they start work the minute they arrive, usually a good hack out.

Building a relationship with a horse takes a while, so crack on and get the riding side of things going :)
 
TRT Method is good and there's a lot of similar ones. Basically in hand can you get them to yield their haunches and shoulders, will they back up nicely. Can you get them to move 1 foot at a time at your direction? Can you do lateral flexions in hand. You can move on the shoulders in , haunches in, in hand. Will they stand level and quiet next to a mounting block. All good things to get them listening to you and working to queues before you hop on and all useful things once you're in the saddle.
 
If you want the horse to look out for you and notice you more than other people all you need to do is be the one that brings the hard feed, forage, water and turns the horse out into the field. Do that and they'll soon be whickering when you turn up. :)
 
Faracat said:
If you want the horse to look out for you and notice you more than other people all you need to do is be the one that brings the hard feed, forage, water and turns the horse out into the field. Do that and they'll soon be whickering when you turn up. :)
Click to expand...

this. and I think in hand hacking is about the best groundwork to get to know a horse if that's your bag-they can see how you react and vice versa.
 
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