Smiling On Your Horse

by Elli Pospischil

Do you remember when you used to play?

Wasn’t that a carefree time when you played with dolls, played hide & seek, played board games, played catch, played Simon Says, played charades, played musical chairs, and many other childhood games? Life was fun and free of worry. Life was all a game!

Before we know it, we turn into adults and start making simple things complicated.

Over time, our playtime gets replaced by work time. As we mature, we get a job or two and show up for work. Once we begin “adulting,” our playtime can become very limited, at least, if not gone altogether: Eat – sleep – work – repeat.

Do you remember why you got into horses in the first place? Was it because you had always dreamed of having horses, ever since you watched the “Black Stallion” way back when? Or was it because you thought it would be fun?

Yes, remember, horsing around is supposed to be fun! Moreover, your horse just wants to have fun too!

Having fun means you are enjoying yourself, and it offers you the opportunity to express yourself freely. Think back on the last time you felt that way: What were you doing? Who were you with?

The more you can make your time with your horse fun and creative for both yourself and your horse, the more your horse will offer you. Your relationship with your horse – which is what it is all about – will get better and better the more you work on yourself and play with your horse.

How do I make our time together fun & creative for my horse?
Arena “work” – as much as I love it – can get very boring very quickly, especially for horses that don’t want to move much to begin with. An enjoyable way to turn arena work into a creative play session is to incorporate obstacles, whether that is on the ground or riding. You can find ways to use poles, jumps, bridges, pedestals, teeter-totters, and gates. nAdd some toys to your equipment stash, like cones, barrels, tarps, and balls.

When you don’t have any horse toys available, another approach to providing more creative sessions with your horse includes making frequent transitions, changes of direction, and mixing up patterns, both on the ground and riding. Indeed, “consistency is a great teacher, yet variety is the spice of life.” Some horses need more consistency, while others need more variety. What does your horse need?

Read the entire article here.