Forging a connection with your horse on a horse riding vacation can take time. By the end of the holiday you feel like you’ve really bonded with your horse, but how do you establish a relationship of trust earlier on in the holiday?
Midi Fairgrieve is an equine therapy facilitator based in Scotland, U.K. In this guest post, Midi shares some actionable ways to connect with your horse whilst on a horse riding holiday from the very start.
How to connect with your horse on a riding holiday
The first riding adventure holiday I went on was to Spain. We rode beautiful Andalucian horses and galloped for 7 days along wide open beaches near Cadiz on Spainโs west coast. I was part of a group of 8 other riders enjoying a shared passion for horses. Iโm not a skilled rider, a good intermediate no more. We were carefully paired to a horse that the group leader picked for us after getting to know us on the first night over dinner, and wine!
My horse was a school master, a gentleman of the equine world. Incidentally called โMr. Darcyโ. He imbued me with confidence in him right from the start and he kept me safe when I lost a stirrup at full pelt. Trust the horse, they said to us at the start of the week. These horses are experienced and know what they are doing, so let them look after you. I did. And he did. I had fallen in love with Mr. Darcy by the end of the trip.
I really appreciated the attitude of the riding holiday owners around their horses. At that point in my life I was starting to train as an equine facilitated therapist. I had studied horses and horse behaviour for hours and weeks and months to get a feel for their subtle communication and a greater understanding of their ways of being. Central to my training and my own beliefs around horses is that the horse is not a tool to be used, but a willing partner.
Itโs important to respect the horse as an individual being in its own right and when we do that, we can have the most amazing connection with our animal partner.
MIDI FAIRGRIEVE
This is what keeps us safe. The connection we create with the horse from the start. Before we even get on the horse, we need to pay attention to the relationship. By doing this we can enrich the experience tenfold both for us and the horse.
How to build trust with the horse from the start whilst on a riding vacation?
It can be hard because often a horse is presented to the rider, tacked up and ready to go. There may have been no opportunity to spend half an hour or so getting to know your horse. The rider climbs on top and thatโs it. But there are opportunities if you look for them, even with a ready saddled horse.
Their language is subtle and they will be studying you, be sure of that. The way you walk over, your emotional state, they are taking it all in. They need to for their own safety. As a prey animal, being safe is vital and so anyone who comes close is subtly assessed.
Watch your horse and their body language when you first approach them
- The relationship starts the minute they notice you and this is your first opportunity. Watch the horse as you approach, any change of body language, however tiny, is communication. Turning towards you or putting an ear on you is a good sign. Turning away or putting the ears back is not. It just means they are feeling pressure. If that happens, simply stop. Wait until they relax again and then continue to approach them. This speaks a thousand words as they now know you are listening to them. Just by stopping in your approach you are holding the space while they speak and you listen. Wait for that moment of their interest in you, itโs an invitation to come closer.
Offer your hand for the horse to sniff
- Horses sense their world through their noses much more acutely than we do and so we donโt value the sense of smell as much as them. Letting them smell you is really important so offer them your hand to sniff. They might even lick it. Itโs all part of information gathering. This is how they greet each other, by smell. Donโt rush, let them digest what they have sensed about you before you move to the next thing. See if you can notice a change in their body language after they have sniffed you. When it relaxes, or they take a deep breath, then they have digested it and are back to neutral again. They might lick and chew which would again indicate relaxation.
Wait for the horse to be ready before you mount up
- As you get on, take it slowly, watch their ears and be aware of their body language. A horse that steps away from you as you get on isnโt ready to be mounted. Wait until you get the signs like the licking and chewing, the bigger breath, the looking at you or an ear on you. Then they are receptive. It might only take a minute for them to turn from not being ready, to being ready.
It’s the small things that help to create a relationship of trust
These little things take minutes, sometimes just seconds, but will create a positive foundation for your connection. Everything about your riding experience will flow from this solid base. Itโs so well worth taking the time to do it.
Midi rode with Dundlod Safari’s on a horse riding adventure in Rajasthan on the indigenous Marwari horses of India. You can read more about Midi’s experience on her ride here.
Midi Fairgrieve is an equine therapy facilitator based in Dunbar, Scotland. You can find out more about Midi’s work at her website: www.midifairgrieve.co.uk
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