The Do's and Don'ts With a New Horse
| The Do's and Don'ts With a New Horse There are many reasons why we have horses and pones in our lives. We want to compete, go hacking with friends, use them for breeding, showing, hunting etc. or purely for the love of them - yet they all have one thing in common.......they have absolutely no idea when they arrive in their new home what our intentions are. | |
We may have been planning the arrival of our new horse, pony or donkey for months, maybe years. In our minds we have pictured all the things we will do together and the places we will go, so it comes as a shock when our best laid plans go out of the window.
The calm and loving, turn out to be angry and difficult. The sporty and fast, start to nap and buck. Our new arrival loaded like a dream when we picked him up but we have not been able to get him near a trailer since. Nothing has gone to plan and we haven't got a clue what to do - then it starts....... The well meaning advice and suggestions from friends, neighbours, acquaintances and Uncle Tom Cobley. All of a sudden those who have "been there and done that" pop up all over the place and soon you are on a run a way train. Traditional methods, ‘new' methods, bribery, the "softly, softly" and the "don't let him get away with it" with everything in between.
Gadgets for this and that, buckets of behaviour changing supplements, different feed, different bedding. Then the vet, dentist, healer, physio, behaviourist, psychic, trainer and farrier. Lotions, positions and oils - ingested, inhaled or rubbed in. The shoes are put on, or taken off. New saddle, new bridle, six different bits and before long you feel you have single handedly propped up the entire equestrian economy, have aged 10 years, believe you are having a nervous breakdown, suffered from feeling embarrassed, incapable, angry and emotionally bankrupt. If you feel confused, exhausted and bewildered, so will your horse | Eventually, perhaps after days, maybe weeks or even months we pause for breath. Confused, exhausted and bewildered and at the same time - quietly standing alone out in the field or in a stable our new horse or pony is feeling exactly the same way. So what is the problem? In all the time you have been searching for the answers to the problems did you stand back and consider the situation from your horse or pony's perspective? |
One day, out of the blue you are picked up by total strangers, taken to an unknown location. You don't know anyone, you have no idea where you are. Everything is unfamiliar. The people, the place, the routine, even the rules have changed and you haven't got a clue what is going to happen next. On top of this you cannot speak. You cannot ask for help.
No one knows anything about you, what makes you happy, sad, or scared, yet you are expected without question not only to respond, comply and behave in such a way that pleases your new owners you are to do it without question or hesitation.
Even if you are the kind of person who would take this situation in their stride, is it fair to assume your new horse or pony should do the same?
So what is the solution?
One word - patience. Swop all the days, weeks and months lost by impatience and give your new horse time to settle without the pressure of living up to your expectations, ambitions or desires. How long this takes depends on the innate disposition of the individual and his or her past experiences. Ultimately it will be your ability to correctly interpret their behaviour, demeanour and confidence whilst supporting, nurturing and aiding their progress.| For a fighting chance for your relationship to start on the best possible footing give your horse at least a month to settle and give yourself at least a month to get to know him or her. The average horse owner only spends a couple of hours a day with their horse. Put in perspective, only two hours a day spread over a month is not a great deal of time. | |
 | Do's and Don'ts' Don't buy your new horse on a Thursday and aim to compete him on the Saturday. It is too much too soon and you are asking for trouble. Don't bring your new horse home in the morning and go out hacking that afternoon. Only start riding when you and your horse have confidence in each other. |
Don't waste your money trying to solve problems that can be avoided by giving yourself and your horse time to get to know and trust each other.
Don't make snap judgments or assumptions - they don't help Do always consider how your horse must be feeling Do take everything slowly so you can learn about your horse Do listen to advice but don't always take. Especially if someone knows even less about your horse than you do. Do remember to enjoy the process of getting to know your new friend. Do remember that ultimately the success of your relationship and future with your horse will be down to you. "You have to have confidence in your own ability to be able to go it alone, to go against what the rest of the culture is doing. "
|  Remember that the success of your relationship and future with your horse will be down to you. |
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Added on: 25/11/08.
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