A very talented trainer once said to me “When I go to get my horse, I want him to think ‘Alright! Here he comes again!!’ and not ‘Oh crap, it’s him again’.” I took this to heart and have spent many years pondering what makes a horse happy and how my horse might come to have the former verses the later thought in his head.

A horse isn’t a machine. Obviously we who have horses know this but at times we can forget that our horses have an intricate web of emotions and feelings and needs. By domesticating the horse we have pulled him from a large social network (his herd) where he got his emotional, physical and mental needs met and placed him in an environment where he relies on us for many of those same needs. Some of us are fortunate enough that we can put our horses in small groups where we give them some semblance of herd life, but for many this isn’t always possible.

To create the thought “Alright! Here he (she) comes again!” in our horse’s mind we need to provide a variety of experiences and a variety of ways we interact with them.  If all we ever do is get our horses out of the stall, give a cursory grooming and then work them in the arena we can ultimately sour our horses. Over time, we come to get them and they start thinking “Oh crap, it’s him (her) again.” Imagine that every time you ever see your mother, your significant other, or that important person in your life, you’re always told to do certain chores – clean your room, wash the dishes, mow the lawn. And that’s the only interaction you have with them.  After awhile you dread seeing them, even if they’re your main source of social interaction. Well so too does the horse!

Now here's some variety...check out those seals!

There are lots of ways we can provide variety for our horses and at the same time build a stronger bond of companionship between us and our horse. We can mix in some trail riding with our regular arena work. A trail ride doesn’t always have to be a long trek through the woods either, it can be something as simple as just taking a nice walk around the fields in the fresh air or a short stroll down a quiet road. Give your horse a chance to relax and take in his surroundings. If you’re fortunate enough to have a trailer, or access to one, taking your horse to new places (besides a show with more arena work) provides a ton of excitement and interest for him.

There are some things I like to do in particular to give my horse a variety of human interaction experiences. Some days I’ll just get my horse out and give him a thorough grooming – really go over him well and in detail and then put him away without any riding – kind of like having a massage (and you know how good you feel afterwards!). Once in a while I’ll mix in a nice warm bath. Other days I may just lead him out to a nice patch of grass and let him spend a little time mowing it down.  I also vary the types of things I work on with him. About a year ago I started teaching him a few tricks. These are simple and silly, but entertaining, little antics that have a nice way of engaging his mind. Often trick training is done in the stall or any spot that is a little enclosed and has a wall to work up against. A lot of the simpler tricks are done without being in the saddle or while riding your horse – just using a halter, lead rope and some carrot rewards. Horses seem to really enjoy this interaction. My horse Hershey just loves to smile at me when I ask him. I’ll also spend time leading him around the barn area and working on leading or ground manners. Setting up trail obstacles in your riding area can be enough to add interest to the usual ‘round-and-round’ the arena routine.  Poles and logs, an old mailbox on a stand, tarps on the ground, some brush, and an old big stump you can teach him to stand on…these are obstacles that keep his mind active. Sometimes I put my horse in the round pen and work on body communication and desensitizing with bags, ropes and tarps. Or I work on having him come to me on a whistle cue. On some days I just go out and pet him, scratching all those good spots, and talk to him. Of course, while doing this I still make sure to maintain my leadership role; in other words I’m careful not to let him start pushing into me or shoving me around but if I’ve initiated a closer contact I do allow closer body contact from him – which he seems to really enjoy.

There are no hard and fast rules here. Most of us who own horses probably do a variety of different things with our horses anyway. But if you ever notice when you go to get your horse from the pasture or stall and he seems disinterested in you, or unenthusiastic, or worse, really tries to get away from you (other than the occasional “Wee – let’s make this into a chase game!”) it’s probably time to add a little variety to your routine with him. All I know is that variety can help to forge a stronger bond between you and your horse. When I go out to get my horse, even when he’s in the pasture with his pals, all I have to do is whistle and he comes running. If I take out one of his buddies instead…I can almost see the disappointment on his face. And, if I’m hooking up the trailer? Man oh man does he get excited….