New Year resolutions for horses and ponies
A new year – a new decade. As always we have been bombarded with ideas for new resolutions. The media was busy as soon as Christmas Day was over: go on a diet, stop smoking, take more exercise, etc. etc. Guilt-ridden people will try really hard for a week maybe before all returns to normal.
Just for fun, let’s take this New Year Resolution Mania a step further. Let’s make the horses choose their resolutions for once. What would they be? After consulting a few friends, this is what we came up with:
Top Ten New Year Resolutions for Horses and Ponies in 2010:
- I will not bite my owner.
- I will not lay back my ears and snap when my rider puts on my saddle.
- I won’t run out when asked to jump a fence.
- I won’t bang on the stable door when my handler takes too long to bring my dinner.
- I will canter up immediately when my rider wants to catch me.
- I will never buck or rear.
- I will walk calmly past cars and tractors on the road when hacking out.
- I will walk straight into the horse box without making a fuss.
- I will remain relaxed when cantering with other horses and not run off with my rider.
- I will not try to grab pieces of grass from the ground and leaves from the hedge when I am being ridden.
In other words, imagine if your horse decided that he would have perfect manners in 2010! Is this really possible? Yes, I believe it is and it should last longer than a week.
The bad news, of course, is that it is up to the rider or trainer to make sure the horse or pony keeps his resolutions for 2010. Unpleasant manners such as biting, bucking, rearing and refusing to be caught or to go into the horse box can all be sorted out with correct training. The first step is make sure the horse has respect for you. Never allow a horse or pony to bite you. If he tries, react immediately by stepping towards his head, look him severely in the eye and say ‘No’ as if you really mean it. You need to sound firm. He should step back, surprised. When you go into the stable, always make him step back to allow you space. Protect your space like he does when he’s in a field with other horses.
It’s worth taking time to watch how horses and ponies behave in the field together. Do you want to be bottom of the pecking order? I don’t think so. Read about horse psychology and become Number One in your horse’s eyes. The good news is that we don’t need to use violence to achieve this.
Correct training will sort out many problems but I’m still stuck on Number 4. How do we stop our horses banging on the stable door while they’re waiting for their dinner?