BONDING WITH YOUR PONY

Text | Rhiannon Cecil

YOUR PONY IS MORE THAN JUST A PONY...

Making the time to bond with your pony outside of riding time can only change your relationship for the better. Ponies are herd animals, which means they’re happiest when you all understand each other and speak the same language. When you only interact with your pony while riding, he learns to associate you with work and nothing more. Wouldn’t you rather he sees you as someone to love and who loves him? Change the dynamic of your relationship by letting him get to know you on the ground, and you’ll find he starts to trust you more under saddle as well.

HOW DO YOU START BONDING WITH YOUR PONY?

It may seem daunting in the beginning, but bonding with your pony on the ground isn’t all that difficult. Just take a bit of time every day before or after you ride to learn about and just interact with each other. Have a look at these simple ways to strengthen the bond:

1. Don’t just show up when it’s work time

Ponies make associations in their minds all the time, and the last thing you want is for your pony to see you coming and automatically think about how hard he’s going to work. Thinking this way will quickly change the way he sees you, and might cause him to have negative associations with your presence at the yard. Instead, show up with no expectations sometimes. Come to the yard just to give him carrots and play with him. It won’t take long before he starts looking forward to seeing you. It’s exciting now because he never knows what’s going to happen when you visit. All he knows is he’s looking forward to seeing you, and he’s not bored. When you do work him, he’ll be much happier to do the job if he also associates you with fun times and carrot visits.

2. Fetch and groom your pony yourself

The more time you spend with your pony, the better. Every time someone else fetches your pony from the paddock and grooms him, he is creating a relationship with that person. Of course, we all need help with our ponies, especially when we have school, work and other commitments, but spend time grooming and playing with your pony whenever you can, so he realises you’re not just someone who comes to ride him; you’re a human being who genuinely cares about him.

Grooming is a very important part of how horses bond and communicate with each other in the wild. Have you ever seen two horses grooming each other, nibbling each other’s necks? This behaviour is called allogrooming, and human beings do it too. Allogrooming helps horses understand each other’s place in the herd and is a form of giving affection. So, if you groom your horse, you’ll become part of his mental herd in no time.

3. Take your pony for walks

Walking with your pony in hand changes the way you interact with each other. It also allows your pony to trust you more because you’re on the ground together, which means, in his mind, you’re protecting him, and you’re facing the world together. He also gains valuable insight into your body language and facial expressions that he doesn’t get to see when you’re riding him.

4. Play with your pony

Remember how sensitive ponies are to body language and feelings? When you’re at a show, and you get nervous, you can see your pony pick up on it. The same thing happens when you play. Your pony picks up on all your carefree happiness, and slowly he’ll start opening up to you. All of a sudden, you’ll have a happy, carefree pony prancing around with you.

Note: When you’re playing with your pony, start slowly, and always make sure you’re wearing a helmet and closed shoes. The best way to start playing with your pony is to go into his paddock and copy what he does. He’ll be interested in what you’re doing and come over to take a closer look. Just keep moving around his paddock and let him follow you. If you’re comfortable, and his ears aren’t back, you can start jogging. He might start copying you, and just like that you’ve got a game!

5. Just do nothing

Ponies spend a lot of their time just grazing together. If you insert yourself into this ritual, you become part of the herd. Put a halter and lead rein on your pony, take a book, find a shady spot and just sit with him while he eats. Chilling together and doing nothing is actually one of the most effective ways to bond.

Tips and tricks for bonding effectively with your pony

Bonding with our horses and ponies is exciting, and we often want to see results straight away. Unfortunately for us, this is not how a pony’s mind works. They need time to come to you on their terms, so be careful of rushing things. Now that you’ve decided to spend some time bonding with your pony on the ground, pay attention to this list of tips:

• Don’t try and bond with your pony when you’re in a bad mood or you’ve had a bad day at school. Your pony can pick up that you’re angry through your facial expressions and heart rate. He’ll be anxious, and this will affect your bonding session.

• Start and end every session - whether ridden or groundwork - with a positive interaction. Give him a scratch and a carrot at the beginning and end of your time together every time.

• Let your pony interact with you and create a bond at his pace, not yours. None of us ever know our pony’s full history, and it will take some ponies longer to open up and trust than others.

• Use your hands to interact with your pony - touch, tickle, scratch, groom and massage. This is how ponies bond with each other, and the more you can mimic that behaviour, the more comfortable your pony will be.

• Don’t lose your temper when your pony doesn’t respond the way you hoped in a bonding session. You’ll have to build his trust all over again if you do.

• Pay attention to your pony’s body language when you’re interacting with him, and you’ll get a great deal of useful information about what he likes and dislikes, which will only strengthen your relationship in the future.

• Introduce your pony to new and potentially scary things when you’re bonding on the ground. This gives you the opportunity to comfort and reassure him, which in turn means he’ll trust you more.

• Don’t get flustered and rush into sessions with your pony. Take your time to get into the right mental space, or you’ll both be anxious before you even start.

• It’s a good idea to use treats and positive reinforcements when working with your pony. Ask an instructor to show you how to do this safely if you haven’t done it before!

Now, go and get bonding

It doesn’t matter how you start; just start however you’re comfortable and take it from there. There are no rules (aside from safety) when it comes to bonding with your pony. It’s your relationship, and to get the most from it, you need to know each other inside and out. It takes time to get to this point, but it’s time well invested because, at the end of it all, your connection will be so strong you’ll be flying, both at shows and in your day-to-day lives.