How can I get my horse to have fun on our rides?

Question

He's a 9 yr. old TB and is just starting to come into himself and is much more mature than what he used to be. He's high energy but lately he's started getting sour about our rides. Nothing bad, like actually being disobedient, but I can just tell that he really doesn't want to work and I'd like to make it more enjoyable for him.

I recently moved him across the country and because he's so destructive I put him back into work pretty quickly to prevent him from getting bored and having too much energy. I think part of the problem is just because I've been working him a lot and he's just tired of it but if I cut back at all he starts to destroy things, I've already tried it and no luck.

So what can I do to get him to have some fun? I can be pretty structured and would love nothing better than to train and show all the time and I think that takes a toll on him since he's pretty much a free spirit. lol. We're working on trail rides but he gets very nervous so we're sticking to hand walking on the trails right now until I can find someone to ride with. I vary up our routine a lot so its not that he's bored, he's just not having fun. So does anyone have any fun exercises or games undersaddle that he might actually enjoy? Please nothing to crazy that all the little girls do on their ponies like playing soccer or stunt riding :) My guy is pretty calm but that kind of stuff just isn't fun for him. Thanks everyone.

Answer 1

well horses will get sour if they are doing the same thing over and over again! when i bring hunt horses back into work to get them fit for the season, we have to alternate routes to keep them focussed! you could try going the opposite away around on your ride, or try going on a new route. Riding with other horses.... having a nice long gallop.... jumping a few logs.... going into streams etc etc all helps to keep them focussed on the job and stop them getting sour. You could also long rein him out etc!

As for games undersaddle.... horseball...polo........! you could also do dressage 1 day nd jumping the nxt.... and just changing what you do every time you ride! do gymnastic jumping/ pole work/ dressage.... just anything to keep him thinking and not contemplating the next move

Answer 2

u should start going on new trails and ride with other horses so your horse isn't bored of the same old same old things each day. idk but mabey u should play with ur horse

Answer 3

I think the first thing you need to do is stop giving your horse human attributes.  You say the little girls and soccer isn't for him - he's a horse with the same sensitivities as other horses - what makes one horse more capable of handling certain activities vs. another is not "horsenality" as much as it is proper communication.

Horses don't really know "fun" - they know work and relaxation - all things they do are for the purpose of either establishing/maintaining status within the herd (even if it's only two) or getting away from scary things or work looking for relaxation and safety.

He's a prey animal who's first and foremost goal is remaining uneaten.

So your goal should not be for him to really have "fun" as much as it should be giving him a job to do and the proper relaxation to balance the work out.   My mare's about the spookiest thing I've ever seen.  I recently brought her home from a 30 day session with a trainer.  He's got her walking over tarps, kicking around a big soccer ball, going over plastic barrels, walking through strips of hanging tarp - all things I never thought I had the fortitude to get her through.

His being spooky on the trails will not get enough better by working in hand to make him sound, although it's a good thing to do, it also will not correct itself simply by riding with another person, although the ride person/horse combo can help (or hurt).

He CAN play those games little girls play with their horses if you train him correctly - and that is not viewed as fun for those girls' horses, it's viewed as work as well.

Your problem is just as you state - you do all the things you can think of in the arena over and over again and he's getting bored.  I once knew a gal with an awesome paint mare - she won all the shows.  One day she just started getting cranky - she was mean tempered, lacking in performance and all around a bad horse.  She was very bored with what she was doing.  Her owners took the advice of the farrier and brought her to their place where they took her into the rodeo arena and started chasing cows with her - time and training got her accustomed to the cows - she immediately changed within the first couple sessions.  She became sweet and happy again because she was doing something different - she had a different kind of job to do.

So - you need to find other things to do - get videos and books about arena exercises.  Determine what, in your experience, you both are lacking - do you have perfect flexion, collection and control at all gaits?  If not (and I doubt anyone's perfect) then find the things to do to improve something and work on that - if pretty close, then add obstacles to be worked around - who cares how typical they are of your riding style.  Put down some 2x4s on the ground and practice going over them with feet placed perfectly, get some cavaletti or have them built and put them in all different arrangements and go over them.  Get a plastic barrel - set it up and practice using it for anything - place a ball on it then ride off and come back and get the ball.  Get the horse used to things he might see on the trail - construct a wooden bridge to walk across out of a couple of 4 x 4s and some planks, practice taking a raincoat out of a mailbox, or paper out of a mail box you've put on a wood post attached to a tire on a rim within the arena.  Practice walking the horse over a tarp, practice desensitization of all sorts of things - a bicycle flag or a stick with a plastic shopping bag tied to it.

All of these things to train your horse to follow a certain progression:  familiarization to the item, slowly over multiple sessions with small goals and rewards - if you are not stopping to reward the horse enough and moving on when he succeeds, he'll wonder why the heck he keeps having to work or how the heck he's ever going to get it right if he keeps having to go through it again and again without stopping for praise or changing the routine.

To become prepared for riding outside, being with baby steps - do your work in the arena then ride outside it - find what range away from the arena is his comfort zone - after working go 10 feet outside that comfort zone, stop and relax - maybe it's to the edge of the yard - go just outside the edge of the yard after working, dismount, end the session and spend some time allowing him to relax and perhaps even graze.  The key to being safe on the trail is focus - start out with a point you're going to ride to just outside the comfort zone - go there, then turn back to the comfort zone - in the comfort zone, work a little then go back to the outside comfortably and quietly - keep his focus on you, not his surroundings - little steps and within a couple months you'll be ready to ride outside the arena on your own.

You know waht he considers work - use that to show him "here in the comfortable place is where we work:" - out there where you get uncomfortable will become the relax place - so he  

Answer 4

Sourness typically comes from doing the same thing over and over and / or in the same order. If you want to do trail riding with him, how about doing some trail competition patterns?

http://www.mirrorkbranch.com/article29.h...

http://www.completerider.com/trailhorse2...

And the best pattern resource:

http://www.showhorsepromotions.com/trail...

This can be something you can also bring your friends in on, so it can be fun for many people and many horses.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

maybe do a new jumping course

or get him some toys in the paddock, there are these new balls that tast like apple they like 2 play with

Answer 6

You should stash some mints in your poket and let him have one when he is prancy and happy. It works with my pony

Answer 7

he needs pasture and free land time to himself!

what if your mom locked you up in your room all day and took you out only for 3 hours each day to do the thing only SHE liked doing...well you'd not like your mom very much now would you?

but most mom's give you your free time, and let you do whatever, wonder around with friends, and goof off, and then when she does ask something of you, you won't mind at all doing it

your horse needs space to run, and a pasture to dream and be lazy and play in with other horses!!!

his whole mental attitude will change and you will be amazed in how willing he is

Answer 8

His problem may not be lack of fun...  sounds more like homesickness to me.

You just moved him across country.  Horses don't understand this; all they know is that their home has changed, their special buddies are gone, and their routine is different.  They miss what they had and need time to get to like what they now have.

Putting him to work and keeping him engaged is the best thing for him.

To speed his adjustment to the new place, I would try to give him more turn out time, especially if he's destructive (and therefore bored!) in the stall.  I would try really, really hard to find a special buddy for him to hang out with.  If you can get a horse at your stable in the stall next to him, and turn them out together, and get them liking each other, he'll adjust much better.  (Not necessarily your own horse, just a horse that's already there.)

Then, if you can also ride with the buddy horse or another horse, perhaps do some drill team exercises with them, it will be more interesting for him and you can work on his training while he's enjoying being worked with the buddy.  (I know you'll ride him alone often enough not to let him get herd bound.)  Drill team stuff, where the horses ride side by side, go way apart and come back together, and so on, can be fascinating to a herd animal.  Also, it's a good way to start trail riding.  

If you don't have a friend to ride with yet, I might join a lesson group just to give his herd instincts a workout.  Riding with a bunch of horses is always good training for him, and he may find it more fun than anything else we can imagine.

Good Luck!  I'm sure once he settles in - which I find takes up to a year - he'll have fun again.