A horse needs to have a trusting relationship with its owner. They need to feel safe and comfortable so they could listen to you and not be afraid or aggressive towards you.
But, how to build trust with your horse?
To build trust with your horse, you got to approach your horse the right way, spend time with your horse, talk to your horse, walk together, train your horse through relaxation techniques, don't rush training your horse, and reward successful training.
You may be approaching your horse the wrong way during training. There are some horses who are afraid of people or animals who approach them head-on.
So what's the best way to approach them? The best way to approach a horse is by approaching them from the side while avoiding direct eye contact.
As you get closer to your horse, you got to hold your hands out so your horse can sniff you. Also, you can bend at the waist while holding your hand out and avoiding direct eye contact.
When you spend a lot of time with your horse, you can learn a lot about your horse's personality as well as their behavior. This happens mainly when you spend time watching them.
You can do so by sitting while they are interacting with other horses. They will also become comfortable with you being around.
By being around them, you will also learn why your horse acts the way they do. It doesn't matter how long the time is that you spend with your horse as long as there is time to do so.
It can be 10 or 20 minutes where you can be grooming your horse or going on a ride with them.
Talking to your horse is a very important step to build trust with your horse. By talking to your horse, they will feel more comfortable and trusting towards you especially if you talk in a calm and assertive tone.
Your horse will then know that you are a reliable leader and will follow what you tell them very easily.
Another way to gain your horse's trust is through walking with them especially if you are trying to ride them but they don't feel very trusting of you.
So, you can walk them instead to get them out of the stable and give them the exercise that they need. You can take your horse out for a walk in the woods leading them by the reign.
By doing so, your horse learns to be comfortable around you as well as see you as a leader.
A huge part of building trust between you and your horse is through learning how to calm them down. Never rush this part so your horse doesn't grow further in mistrusting you and cause you injury.
To successfully make your horse relax and trust you, you got to first get them used to your touch. After letting them get used to your touch, you can use some relaxation techniques to train them if they are stubborn or fearful.
Here are some of the relaxation exercises:
Training your horse is a great way to build your horse's trust. However, it should be done gradually and with small steps. You got to start with simple training tasks and then move to more difficult ones.
First, you have to start with what your horse already knows and then add training challenges that your horse can learn to do.
If you are training your horse using obstacles, your horse, at first, may not be comfortable jumping over obstacles so you have to let them get comfortable standing near the obstacle smelling and looking at it.
Never rush your horse to jump over an obstacle, let them take their time to be comfortable. If you force them to do so, they can become distrustful towards you.
They may also injure themselves or you.
When you train your horse to do something and they do it, you got to reward them. Anytime that you do reward them, they will be more motivated to do the training and will want to do it for you.
For rewarding your horse, you can give them treats such as vegetables like apples, carrots, and celery.
Always give the treats in moderation so your horse doesn't develop the problem of nipping. As a general rule, you can give your horse one to two pieces of vegetables as a treat.
Protecting your personal space helps let the horse see you as a leader that they can trust because you can give them the feeling that you can protect them from anything that out there that is dangerous.
For example, if you are snuggling your horse and you finished doing so, never move your feet back. You got to make your horse learn that they shouldn't be in your personal space all the time and they are the ones who got to move back.
Also, don't move your feet when you are going to back your horse. Instead, reach out to them and push them but never move your feet.
You need to protect your horse from other humans, animals, and objects that can hurt them.
Also, you need to make sure that other horses don't touch your horse because it can turn into a bad situation.
Because you are the leader, your horse should see you as one. Never let your horse take control and become the leader instead of you because they can make their own decisions that may harm you.
Also, they won't listen to you at all. Of course, this doesn't mean that they can't do something from their mind, no, they can act from their own minds provided that they still do follow you when you tell them to do so.
You also need to provide a focus in your partnership. An example would be if you are grooming your horse, your focus would be to make sure your standstill.
If your horse moves around, you got to correct them back into the same spot.
So, you got to provide the focus, trust that your horse will follow what you focus on, and correct them when you need to.
Through interactive play, your horse learns to communicate, build their confidence, and get closer and trusting towards you.
Here are some ideas for interactive play:
Conclusion
To build trust with your horse, you got to follow certain steps. These steps help your horse understand you and trust you. Your horse needs your time, love, and care so you can have a very trusting relationship with them.
Share your experience. What are other steps that you have taken to build a trusting relationship with your horse?