As a fellow horse owner, I know the excitement a new horse brings. You dream of forging a deep bond and imagine a perfect, long life together spent doing what you both love.
While the bond we have with horses might look a bit different than it does with our dog companions, as a social species, horses can indeed develop strong bonds with people. Here are some dos and don’ts when you’re starting the bonding process with your new horse.
Manage your expectations.
Horses have evolved to live in relatively stable groupings. However, domestic life for horses frequently means they lose choice and control over where they live, and with whom. Being moved, and unsettled, can cause horses stress. In light of this, it’s to be expected that most horses will need a period of time to become comfortable with their new home, herdmates, neighbors—and you.
Allow time, establish a routine.
Depending on prior experiences, it can take some horses many months to truly settle into a new home. Establishing a calm and predictable routine early on can help this process.
Be proactive to help group dynamics.
Everything that happens “the other 23 hours of the day” impacts how your horse behaves and performs when you spend time with them. Therefore, it’s critical to ensure they can engage in a wide range of species-typical behaviors daily, to keep their life is as stress-free as possible. This includes time spent turned out with others or socially interacting over shared fencelines. Introduce your new horse to other horses gradually, in a way that encourages the building of social connections between horses. Having adequate resources like space, food, shelter, water, and salt for all horses to access without stress minimizes the likelihood horses will fight.
Get to know them!
Spend plenty of undemanding time with your horse. Learn your horse’s baseline health and behavior parameters, so you will know if they deviate from normal. Explore what types of touch and grooming they enjoy. Even time spent quietly observing from a distance can teach you valuable information about your horse.
Put deposits in the ‘trust bank account.’
We can’t make a horse trust us; we can only prove ourselves trustworthy. This is done by repeatedly showing the horse that our behavior toward them is predictable and safe. Engaging in small, positive training challenges together can enhance trust, particularly when we understand how horses learn and the techniques that are recommended to train them.
Don’t expect the ‘same’ horse too soon.
As mentioned, it can take considerable time for a horse to settle into a new environment or perform the same way for a new handler or rider. Expect that your new horse’s behavior might be a little different than it was when you saw them at their prior home. Knowing what signs of stress in horses look like can be helpful as you observe how your horse responds to this big change. Discuss any sudden or extreme behavior changes with your veterinarian right away.
Don’t have unrealistic expectations.
If your new, young horse had been riding trails close to home for a few short months or had just started training certain advanced maneuvers at their prior home, it would be unrealistic to expect them to immediately perform to that same level at their new home. This is because generalization, or the tendency of a learned behavior to occur in new contexts or situations, might not have occurred yet. Generalization is something we must actively train for when teaching horses new skills and behaviors.
Summary
Bonding with your new horse involves getting to know your new friend, creating the right environment to keep them happy, healthy, and better able to learn, and engaging in many mutually positive experiences together. Setting ourselves and our new horses up for relationship success in this way better ensures those dreams of a happy life together can indeed come true.
Related Reading: Welcome to the Barn: Getting to Know Your New Horse
Lauren Fraser, MSc, FFCP, has helped people understand horse behavior problems since 2006. With a background working as a horse trainer, an MSc in clinical animal behavior, and more than a decade working as an equine behavior consultant, Lauren’s approach gets to the heart of why horses behave the way they do and addresses issues using low-stress methods. Lauren also guest lectures at universities, presents at conferences, and creates educational programs for horse owners and equine professionals.
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