7 Ways to Bond with Your Horse When You're Not Riding

We all think about the way we communicate with our horses in the ring, but oftentimes, the bonding that takes place outside of riding practice can be overlooked. Spending time with your horse doing other activities does wonders for your connection and partnership!

Here are some ideas for activities you can do with your horse to bond with your horse. These ideas are especially useful as we get into the colder months since we unfortunately know that we’re in for a few days of nasty weather.

Idea #1- Light Lunging

Working with your horse on the ground at the end of a lunge line is a great way for you two to get more in sync. Lunging a horse is a training technique where the horse is asked to move in a circle around a rider. The rider holds a lunge line attached to the horse’s bridle to keep them in place and uses a lunge whip to make a sound that directs the horse’s movement. 

The person lunging the horse use various exercises, such as transitions between gaits and work over ground poles, to challenge the horse and fine-tune their skills. Lunge training sessions are hard work for your horse’s body and brain so they’re best done in 30-45 minute sessions. Learn more about the proper lunging techniques in our previous blog.

Idea #2- Work in Hand

When you and your horse practice working in hand, you train your horse from the ground, using a head collar and lunge line or lead rope, rather than riding them from the saddle. Some exercises you can try are: backing up, raised poles, lateral work, carrot stretches, and turning on the forehand.

Idea #3- Obstacle Course

A easy brain exercise you can do with your horse is helping them navigate an obstacle course made of poles on the ground or other relatively easy navigable obstacles. One type of obstacle course you can try is Mikado, an exercise which involves placing 3-6 poles in a random arrangement and lead your horse over the obstacles at the end of a loose rope.

When we spoke with Grand Prix rider, Kelli Cruciotti-Vanderveen, she mentioned one of her favorite exercises is “the box,” a similar pole-based exercise that she and her trainer regularly use at home.

“It’s just four poles that make a box. Typically one or two strides in between, and then you start building off of that. do one stride, you do two stride, then you can do the corners left to left in one, right to right in one or two. And then if you want to feel like you’ve mastered that, then you start adding a transition in the middle. So you canter over the pole, walk, switch leads, canter over the next pole.” Both of these exercises are great for helping your horse use their brain without getting too tired.

Idea #4- Reverse Roundpen

Mix things up by trying the reverse roundpen! In this exercise, the horse walks or trots on the outside of a ring or circle and the rider stays inside.This is a great exercise for working with your horse without a lead rope or lunge line. Some potential benefits of the reverse roundpen include helping your horse improve balance, transition between gaits, keeping up speed, and impulse control.

Idea #5- Nature Walks

Dogs aren’t the only four-legged creature who like to go for a walk. Try taking your horse on a walk either at the end of a lead rope or just by the halter. Some horses enjoy going to look for sticks and leaves to snack on.

Idea #6- Tricks for Treats

As another way to keep your horse’s brain entertained is to teach them tricks. This is a great go-to for rainy-day activities. Some classic horse tricks include: touch, moving sideways, back up, following a target, leg forward or leg up, wait or stand. 

Idea #7- Free Jump

Free jumping is a great way to keep your horse fit and learn about their natural inclination when jumping. For example, if your horse leans down while jumping, free jumping can show you whether or that’s their instinct or a training problem. Free jumping is useful when training green horses, but it can also be a great way to let young horses work out their jumping kinks and build confidence in horses of any age.

What are some of your favorite ways to bond with your horse? Let us know in the comments below! If you’re looking for new cold-weather gear or rain-day apparel for you or your horse, be sure to visit our website or stores. We also have a plentiful supply of treats, grooming tools, and more to help you and your horse get through the winter happy and healthy.