| After You Bring Your New Horse Home By Carolyn Miller It’s the big moment. You’ve chosen your horse, and now it’s time to bring him home. You have dreamed and hoped for this….but after a week, you wonder what on earth you’ve done. The horse you have isn’t very much like the one you carefully chose. When you first get your horse, it is most likely that it will do things that it wouldn’t normally do. Of course, if you are a first time horse owner, then how do you know what is or isn’t normal? When I say normal, I mean a horse’s everyday behavior; what it does when it is comfortable. When I first got Buddy, I was very surprised at the problems he gave me. He was very difficult when I tried to saddle him, clean his feet, lead him, and even ride him. I had a couple occasions where he would run away with me, or decide to back up when I wanted him to go forward or vice versa. Never had I considered that these things would happen! This certainly wasn’t the way I had pictured things would go. If it hadn’t been for his old owner telling me not to worry, that he’d settle down over time, and basically assuring me he didn’t normally do that kind of thing, I would have despaired completely! So why does the horse do this? This may be overly dramatic, but to give you an idea, let’s say a strange family came along one day, out of the blue, and took you home with them, ripping you away from everything you’ve known. Your family is waving good-bye, looking sad and like they’ll miss you, but somehow will manage to move on with life after you’re gone. You ask questions and beg to know what is going on, but everyone speaks Spanish and can’t understand you. Instead, they smile and pat you sympathetically, saying something that you suppose in English would probably be consoling. You’d most likely throw a fit. Well, basically that is what the horse is doing. He can’t understand why his world has suddenly been turned upside down, and so gets a little upset. Of course, this may not apply to all horses. Some might be used to switching from place to place, or maybe for some it just doesn’t bother them. But for the most part, you can probably count on the horse being distressed at first. It takes awhile, as in anywhere from 2-6 months, for them to get use to a different home and different people, sights, sounds, smells, food, and responding to a different owner. For Buddy, I think it was about 3 months before I really felt like we were beginning to connect and he was feeling settled. Also, the horse may be difficult just to test you. Being firm and holding your ground is important, along with defining boundaries, i.e. not allowing them to move around while being saddled, or letting them know exactly what you expect of them when you go to clean their feet, etc. So just remember if things are looking frustrating or difficult, hang in there and give the horse time to adjust. Once he does, your relationship will blossom and you will experience the beauty of connecting with him! If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer what I could to the best of my knowledge! You can contact me through onthefarm@thefamilyhhomestead.com . Happy Horsemanship! Carolyn Miller |
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