Building trust with your horse is crucial, especially if you want to enhance your trail riding performance. A trusting horse is willing and responsive and can make your every ride a lot easier.
Working with a horse that trusts you can give you the confidence that it can do whatever it is that you ask of it. Whether it is crossing over water or simply strolling around the forest, you can guarantee that you will still stay safe because it trusts your judgment.
But what is the secret to gaining your horse’s undying trust? You need to make your horse feel that you’re genuinely trustworthy. It means that you need to be dependable and consistent in how you treat it. But how do you do it?
Getting your horse’s trust
Whether you’re on a trail or at home, your horse needs to feel and see that you deserve its trust. You need to make it think that you’re the same person wherever you are or whatever you’re doing. That also means that you must remain consistent even when you’re having a bad day.
It’s quite easy to maintain your calm when things are going your way. But staying consistent when your horse is having a meltdown can be challenging. So you need to muster all your patience and make the horse feel that you will always be there for it. Staying true to who you are even through bad times can yield benefits as the years past.
Building connections
Most people tend to overlook the importance of building a connection with their horse through touch. Building physical connections with your horse can effectively enhance their body awareness as well as your horse’s coordination.
Touching a horse can also help you connect with your animal in a trusting manner. It makes your animal feel how much you value it and want it in your life.
But to make it more effective, you need to get yourself aware of your body position when touching a horse. You can start by standing with your feet slightly apart while lifting your heels. Doing so will help center your weight over the balls. This stance will also let you move quickly if ever your horse decides to flick.
Give them a focus
As the leader, it is your responsibility to give your horse something to focus on during your ride. You can use a simple command or movement that will let it know what to expect.
For example, if you are about to put the headstalls, you can give it a command so that your horse will know that they need to stand still. You can also use your body to tell your horse that it needs to ride in a circular pattern, too.
Getting your horse to trust you is a challenging experience. But it can undoubtedly be rewarding once you have already built a stable relationship with your trusted animal. So do not lose hope. Be consistent with making your horse feel that you’re trustworthy. With constant effort, you’ll win its trust in no time.