Why you should play with your horse (and 14 games to play)
Games are a fun way to improve our horses work ethic and trainability. Here are a few reasons why and suggestions for games to play!
All work and no play makes Doris a dull girl – and it’s just as true for your horse as it is for you!
Building a little bit of play into your routine has significant benefits, including:
Improving the bond between you and your horse
Improving your horses work ethic (and your own work ethic as well)
Increasing training techniques for you and your horse
Improving the physical, mental and emotional well-being of you both
Playing with your horse doesn’t have to be complex or difficult, nor does it have to eat into your training time. But given the benefits of playtime, is it not worth 10-15 minutes?
How to play with your horse
Here are just a few suggestions of games you can play with your horse.
On the ground
Come – teach your horse to respond to the command “come” by taking a step towards you (immediately reward the effort to step towards you). You may initially need to start this on a lead rope then progress without it. Once your horse is taking a few steps voluntarily, extend the distance and eventually you can begin to cue with other signals, such as raising both arms. Remember, your horse is motivated by a release in pressure, so always reward a small give towards you. (It could also help you with the uncatchable horse, but perhaps start in a smaller enclosed area if they are).
Fetch – this is a great fun game where you drop an item and ask your horse to pick it up for you. A great game that will help avoid dismounting if you drop your crop!
Follow the leader/Tag – These games are an extension of the come command.
Hug – a hug from a loved one is an amazing feeling, so why not teach your horse to hug you! Have you horse stretch his neck around your body.
Soccer – many horses love to play with inanimate objects! You can teach your horse to play with a ball with you if they are inclined to play with objects. Start with proper horse balls – these have handles and are larger but still light so as your horse nuzzles the ball it will move. The handles also drive the inquisitive mind to grab them and also make the ball move in unpredictable directions.
In the saddle
Hack it out! Go for a trail ride, explore the paddock – whatever you do, just get out of that arena!
Ride a different discipline – if you are training dressage, why not set up a small jump course, or some barrels, and have a burl. Get some friends together and compete in your own at home pony club session! (Make it even more fun by handing out some cheeky mock awards, such as shiniest bum or widest turn).
Go to a show – just for fun – What if you just went to a show with no intentions of winning? The stimulation of the show along with the fact that you will be much more relaxed will not only be good practice for you both, but break up the monotony of work. Don’t think you are ready to show? Who cares? Be that annoyingly blissful person that is looking after your horse, gaining experience and doesn’t care about points or opinions.
Simon says – this is another great group game to play. Someone will need to play Simon but you can swap it around so everyone has a turn. Simon says do a twenty meter circle, Simon says halt, Trot on – oops Simon didn’t say that- you lose!
Maze run - using poles, cones and barrels, create a maze and obstacle course to navigate through. Just remember to ensure you understand how well your horse turns, as you don’t want to make it too difficult… it is, after all, a game!
Horseback archery - if you haven’t had a go at this yet, it is truly time to try! We run an archery session in our school’s mastery classes and everyone enjoys it. It is also great for teaching emotional agility within yourself and your horse!
Quick fun
Find that itch and scratch it – horses are herd animals so contact is something they enjoy. Even better, it’s something they need for those hard-to-reach itchy spots. Give your horse a moment of pleasure by giving one of those favourite hard-to-reach areas a good long scratch!
Carrot stretches – what horse doesn’t like carrots (and if yours doesn’t, try their other favourite treat). Encourage them to reach forward, between their front legs, and to the sides to get the carrots – preferably while staying still. It’s also great for stretching out their neck and back muscles before a riding session.
Squeaky toys – as with the soccer ball, some curious horses may enjoy the stimulation provided by flicking around and jumping on a squeaky toy. Laughter will be guaranteed as they discover the different noises they make. Just make sure the toy is much larger than a mouthful!
What games do you play with your horse? Comment below!
Sneak Peak! Behind the scenes of our Holistic Horse Handling Program!
Some photo’s from the last 6 months creating our course for you!
Welcome to a quick view from behind the scenes of the development of Equestrian Movement’s Holistic Horse Handling Program!
Many amazing horses shared their time with us during the creation of the tutorials. Raf loves his time with Katie (and her quickly growing baby bump!)
Want to know more?
Click here to view the course
Blaze, learning to open up and communicate
Using video from our workshops helps to demonstrate the application of training trainability in REAL horses with REAL riders
Learning another computer program to provide the course online was not only a game of trial and error but also eventually an obsession!
Sarah even got involved by taking Custard through the program - making sure Katie's brain-dump translated to practical understanding and exercises.
4 Reasons You Horse Evades Your Aid
What is your horse telling you when it says no?
Have you ever wondered why your horse isn’t listening to your aid?
It is a common occurrence, and actually easy to recognise. In fact, there are only 4 reasons a horse is not doing as you ask:
1. It doesn’t understand what you are asking
2. It physically can’t do what you are asking
3. It is trying to do what you are asking but not able to perform at 100%
4. It is actively challenging you
1. The horse doesn’t understand what you are asking
A horse that doesn’t understand what you want will be trying lots of different things in response to your ask. They may stumble across the correct answer occasionally, but they will keep trying different things if they didn’t pick up on that that was the correct answer - for example, if you missed your timing for the release of pressure. Even if they do figure out what the “correct answer” is they will still keep trying different things. This is because they learn differently. They learn by deciding which response they like best from you. This is also how we can accidentally teach the horse the wrong behaviour.
For example if we are trying to teach our horse to walk on from halter pressure, their initial instinct would be to lift their head. Once they realise this doesn’t result in what they want they will try other behaviours. What happens if I paw or strike out? What happens if I rear? What happens if I lower my head? What happens if I step forward? If we release the pressure (what the horse wants) for the rear we are conditioning the horse to rear when pressure is applied to the halter. If we release the pressure only for the horse stepping forward, than the horse will decide if it likes that (the release of pressure) and then it will try the other things again to see if your responses are what it likes until it decides” ok I like the response I get when I step forward”. The horse will then keep choosing to step forward to pressure because that gets it what it wants.
In a nutshell, if your horse is trying lots of different things and occasionally gets it right, it doesn’t understand what you want and you have to think outside the box of how best to communicate it.
2. The horse can’t physically do what we ask
We see this when we start asking more of our horse. It is trying but not succeeding and they often get frustrated with themselves. This could be when we ask them to walk off for the first time under saddle, when we ask them for the first time through poles or jumps and when we introduce increased expectation and exercises of them.
Here we need to reward the horse when they attempt to do as we ask, and allow time for the proper build up of condition and understanding. The rule of three (repeat the exercise 3 times then move onto something they really understand) is essential here.
Also consider if your horse has had a spell and is being brought back into work, we have to adjust our expectations, and if they have been over worked they may need a spell.
3. The horse can do what you want but not to the level of quality you want.
Your horse is trying and understanding what you are asking of it but you have repeated the exercise more than 3 times and it’s not as good as you wanted. We will go more into this in getting 100% from your horse. But if you have got it by the third ask your horse will slowly become more mentally and physically fatigued and go sour on the aid and stop trying. So lower your expectations and working on the conditioning exercises a step below what you are trying to get.
4. Your horse is actively challenging you.
As we spoke about earlier your horse will always instinctively challenge you - no matter how well trained they become and how well established your relationship is. It is in their best interest to always be checking in and assuring themselves that you are still ‘the best man for the job’ when it comes to that leadership role. In fact the more confidence you instil in your horse, the more they will challenge your leadership role because you are developing the exact skills in them that they need to be a good leader.
In a nutshell, if your horse is actively challenging you they are generally choosing to do the opposite of what you ask. You ask them to stop? They go. You ask them to go? They stop. You ask them to go right they go left. They know what you want well enough to know what they opposite is, they can do the opposite of what you are asking to be able to do what you’re asking.
A lot of trainers will say you have to push them through it and make them do it! I find that this is not the best advice because your horse generally challenges you in an exercise that you are finding hard and not doing confidently. My advice is you have to revisit discipline by doing an exercise that you are confident in and finish your training on a win where you are back in that leadership role - even if you have to get off the horse.
Oh my god did I just say you are allowed to get off the horse when it isn’t doing as it’s told?!?
Yes - as an instructor for lots of beginners and green horse and riders it is far better when you lose your horses confidence in your leadership skills to finish on a good note where you can re-establish your boundaries for their behaviour and get yourself back in that leadership role than push your horse in an exercise that you are not comfortable or confident with and have to hold on to the ratty behaviour your horse will give you when challenging you. I always prefer my horses to not even think that bucking, rearing, bolting, biting or kicking is an option than riding through it. I have been that person that has ridden through but for the safety of everyone involved and for the optimal conditioning of our horses behaviour I believe discipline and good behaviour is best established in an exercise the trainer is comfortable and confident with executing.
Are you struggling with your horse evading? Perhaps it is time to work on re-establishing your leadership.
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Change your routine but still engage your horse’s learning