what helped strenghen your relationship with your horse?

J

JessMannion

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I adore henry but he seems to midly distain me... rather upsetting o well im sure it'll come in time. But on friday we're moving him to a new yard do you think this may strenghten or weaken are relationship? what helped strenghen your relationship with your horse?
 
Bizarrely moving yards did help me strengthen my relationship with my horse! We did get on well to start with but he got on well with everyone else too (if that makes sense!) But now he is only interested in me and not bothered by the other people, he knows I am his mummy! I feel we have got a lot closer since moving yards as it's something we went through together. I hope your boy grows to like you more too! I'm sure he will do
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Takimg my horse to college with me strenghened my relationship with my horse. It was only ever me he relied on, so now, its only me he wickers and when he sees me, me he only walks to in the field..... its lovely when you finally bond!
 
ive had my boy a couple of months now and i spend lots of time with him,weve got a great bond,im always talking to him telling him about my day and asking him what hes been doing that day lol i know im mad lol,then ive got the radio on in the tack room and i sing along he seem to like the radio !!
when i let him back out i give him big scratches and sit on the troff when he has a drink lol im is anyone else mad like me ???
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Travelling to shows on my own with her, especially long journeys. Perhaps she decided I was all that she had during such journeys and learned to rely on me, and that I was a constant feature. She is now a very happy, relaxed traveller.
 
Just time Ithink.

Bwau will only come to me and OH in the field, wil only groom us,will only be potective of us (to the point of not letting any other horse near us).

He is a very loving horse towards me, but hates strangers!
 
Spending time and doing fun stuff with him. Playing in hand, leading over poles,etc and also grooming. in the long winter months when it is too dark to ride I spend ages grooming him in his stable and massageing, or scratching him. Once he has had tea he is quite receptive.
 
My pony is very affectionate and she seemed to realise straight away that I was her new Mum. She is the first pony I've ever had who always whickers and wrinkles her little nose up every time I arrive at the yard.
 
Funnily enough, have bulit up such a bond with Alisha while she has been on box rest, didn't really feel like i knew her before but now I absolutely adore her and she seems to listen to me more now!!
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With Jig it was just riding him all the time that strengthened out relationship, I loved him and knew he was the perfect horse the moment I first sat on him!!
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Good question, with Touchy it was when I sold her and 3 days later had to pick her up. (dont know what the new people did, but 'apparently she went wild!!) She is the most laid back character, but does seem anxious if I am not around to do her!
Sovereign it was love at first sight for both of us, he is the most cuddly affectionate horse I have ever known!
Emerald is in a bit of muddle a the moment he has just come back from being on loan, to what i would say was a perfect home, but he wasnt happy, I have had an EFT practitioner look at why he is so disaffected and she believes he is very depressed and mentally lost. Today he seems a little more interested but we have a long road ahead.
 
Not a bond-strengthening route I would wish on anyone, but I'm sure those who have been through a long rehabilitation period with their horse will identify with me when I say how much it cements your relationship. The gutting thing is that it can make goodbye so much harder if there isn't a happy outcome at the end. In our case, my horse did pull through, but there was a time when she seemed just days away from being PTS, I had planned the date and the disposal. I would stand in the field for hours with her on the rope grazing in-hand. She would eat all kinds of suspect weeds, and I would say, just enjoy them, you're not going to be here long enough for them to do you any harm. I used to look at the life in her eyes and agonise at the thought it would soon be put out.

We went through a long winter walking out twice a day. She got the best grass of any of the horses on the yard as all their fields were trashed, and we went out and chose the most select verges. We would stand out there for hours in all weathers. I would take lots of photos on my mobile phone as I thought that would be what I had left to remember her by.

It was a big surprise when she turned the corner and didn't look back. She is a special horse and will always be with us now.
 
Cat disdained me too when I first got him. If I tried to stroke him, he'd turn his head away, not in a frightened manner, just in a 'I don't want anything to do with you' sort of way.

But every time he looked towards me, I'd make a fuss of him, & if he ever made any attempt at being friendly, I'd reciprocate, even if I didn't really have time. It took about 6 months, and in the end we had the closest bond that it's possible to get.

So stick at it and don't be disheartened!
 
From my point of view it was realising that even though he has a wonky leg (arthritis) I could never sell him for another horse..... when he is gone I have finished with owning horses!!

From his point of view its everytime I turn up with something nice...... he is a very cuddly boy but doesnt really trust strangers and doesnt like a busy yard with lots of bustle.... he just likes to be chillin out in the field (stable far too boring).
 
My old mare and I bonded years ago when she was ill for a few days with bad colic....I stayed with her, I slept with her in the box (I missed my final exam for a degree cos she was so ill).
I've worked with a lot of horses over the years...and have to say that they can tell if you genuinely like them or not...
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I've always had a good relationship with my pony, he's friendly to everyone but saves special cuddles for me.

I took him to our first ever local show recently, it was all new to both of us and we were getting through it together. Towards the end of the day I was sat in a deckchair watching one of the classes and holding on to him while he grazed next to me. Every few minutes he'd pop his head up and either snuffle at my face, or put his nose up to mine for a kiss, or rest his chin on my shoulder, and since then we've been even closer, so I think doing something new together really strengthened our bond.
 
As a few others have said, Benj and I had our relationship cemented when he was on box rest.
TBTH, we didn't get on at all before hand. He was bargy and bad mannered and didn't really look to me as his 'mummy'.
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But while he was poorly, this all changed.
I wouldn't recommend it as a form of bonding though!! Far too heartwrenching!

Just to add, I had had Benj for 2 years beofre he went lame, so these things do take time, esp if they have had a troubled life.

P x
 
Henry is a people orientated horse anyway, but it still took a good few months for him to recognise me as his "person". Generally playing with him in the field (i run and he runs with me!), consistently being the one who feeds him, grooms him, riding and spending time with him. It all builds up to a recognisable relationship!
 
My mare and I have always had a great bond through the work we do together but it greatly improved when I moved her off a large busy yard to my own place with my sisters horse. They are both nosier and more interested in us now so it certainly made a difference. We also strengthened our bond when she had an accident and was on box rest as I spent so much time just grooming and talking to her which helped.
 
I think the first time Star colicked was the first time I realised we'd bonded. She was VERY aloof when she came to me, switched off even, as a teenager with my first horse it used to have me in tears that she didn't want to know me.
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Now we've brought her out of herself there's plenty of character there
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I would also say, after Will died (her and Will were inseparable, and we'd all been together for 8 1/2 yrs), it deepened our bond. After so long I didn't even think it was possible for us to be closer, but we certainly are. She's a real dominant mare, and doesn't like to admit to needing people, but she does show it from time to time and means the world to me.

It was a very miserable time for me last winter with family problems and the only way I coped was riding for 2, 3, or even more hours most days - Star got very fit!! We'd go off round the fens for hours just the two of us every day. I owe her so much for that. I well up thinking about it
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She is my rock
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On the odd days I didn't ride her, and would just go and feed and hay, despite it being the middle of winter she would ignore the feed and tank up and down the fence calling to me if I went to walk away without bringing her in for a ride. You'd have to know Star in person to know how very shocking it is for her to express "love" like that.
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I am amazed at how after over ten years together we are still growing closer and closer.
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i got my boy when he was 8months old (hes now 14) straight off the NF,i sat in his stable with him for hours and let him come to me and sniff me,and just generally get used to my presence,then eventually i stroked him and scratched him.. and just spent quality time with him. I have a very strong bond with him now.
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I adore henry but he seems to midly distain me...

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LOL I know that feeling well
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. I often get the feeling I'm there purely to provide food and suffer withering looks
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. Chex is very much a horsey horse, he's not overly keen on humans. I'd like to think that one day we'll have an amazing bond, but its been 9 years so I just don't see it happening
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. Saying that, we know each other inside out, trust each other 100% and have some sort of understanding, so maybe that is a bond
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