THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR HORSE (FUN & INTERESTING IDEAS)

hey everyone so today we're going to be doing some fun things that you can do with your horse when you're starting to feel a little bored or maybe your horse is starting to feel a little bored so hopefully these are things you can do that are going to make things fun and exciting and before we get started be sure to hit that subscribe button if you haven't already and our question for this week is what is your most favorite thing to do with your horse leave your answer in the comments down [Music] below so changing up your riding routine can keep your horse interested in work in what you're asking them to do so just like humans horses can get bored so if your horse is bored they may not perform as well or they may start to act out because they're getting tired of the same routine so there are a few ways to tell if your horse is bored usually a board horse may be slow to respond and they may just be lagging about dragging their feet aboard horse may also be really grumpy they don't like to do what you're asking them and they just want to change another really clear indicator that i've seen a lot is that the horse may not want to go into the arena or go where you usually work them this is a sign that the horse is getting sick of this and they're getting sick of going to the same place and doing the same thing so now that we've talked about how to tell whether or not your horse is bored i'm going to show you some fun things that i do with my horse to change up the routine so i choose these specific exercises because they engage the horse's mind in a different way than they're used to so if i can tell my horse is getting a little bored one thing that i love to do is set up an obstacle course so obstacle courses challenge your horse in a great number of ways usually because there's numerous obstacles that they have to go through and it just makes them think through each obstacle so our first obstacle is designed for horses that may not feel so comfortable in tight spaces so if you have a horse that has difficulty getting on the trailer or maybe going through a narrow gate this obstacle will be great for teaching them how to get used to those tight spaces so if you're uncomfortable doing any of these obstacles on your horse you can always start out on the ground and then you can get on your horse and do them from on your horse here we go i'm going to make sure i'm looking up good boy [Music] oh tucky's scared of this one so this is another obstacle that's great for horses that may be a little claustrophobic so we're gonna have to duck under this pole here so this is another one that may help if your horse has difficulty getting on the trailer they're probably scared of the trailer because they see that it's a short tight box they have to step into so if you can get them used to going through an obstacle like this then it'll be easier for them to accept the trailer this is also another great obstacle for if you're going to go on the trails and maybe duck under some low-hanging branches i just want to make sure my horse is going to be okay with this and they're not going to freak out so standing here looking at this it seems a lot shorter than it feels when i'm just standing on the ground so we're gonna try this and see how tucker does i better duck in advance oh good pony you've handled that so well [Music] good boy so our next obstacle is great for horses that maybe lack confidence when it comes to going over scary jumps or going over obstacles they're not familiar with so not only with this obstacle is the horse going through a narrow passage but they're also going to have to step up and over the poles what is this [Music] oh oh oh good boy that was awkward [Music] so this next obstacle is great for working on moving your horse's shoulders so i want to be able to move my horse's shoulders side to side without having them step forward so when i have a narrow pathway like this with a turn in it this is the perfect opportunity for me to work on this alright so here at this turn what i can do i can stop him if i'm a little unsure then i'm going to use this rein and this leg to get him to move his front leg so he doesn't go over the pool there you go good boy so i'm going to go my other way here and i can use my outside leg outside rain all right so i finished your obstacle course my next fun activity is pool work or grid work so pull work is when you put poles on the ground for your horse to go over and you can put them so far apart so that the horse has to get the striding to the pole so not only is it a great mental exercise but it's also a great exercise for your horse it makes them engage their muscles and build muscle tone that they need good [Music] boy [Music] so another fun activity you can do is try a new riding sport so what i'm going to try today i'm going to do some western games so i'm going to try barrel racing and maybe speed barrel i don't have barrels but i have little jump blocks that i'm going to use for my barrels so we'll see how i do and to all my western followers out there i apologize in advance in case i completely watch this [Music] not only did that look horrible but that didn't feel too good as well although that was super fun i can see how people like to do that i just couldn't get the lead changes between the barrels to get around them fast so what i'm going to do i think this is a western thing speed barrel so instead of going around the three barrels you go down go around the one and come [Music] back [Music] so i'm totally considering my next riding career move to be barrel racing so maybe i'll see some of you out there what is this so another fun thing you can do with your horse is work on desensitizing so i'm going to start by desensitizing on the ground and the reason i do this is because i don't want to get in the saddle and take my scary object and suddenly my horse is freaking out so by doing it on the ground first i give the horse an opportunity to get comfortable with the object before i get on them so i'm just going to take a moment to get tucker used to my bag here you want to see this and make sure he's comfortable with it all around him which he is all right so i think it's time to get on now and before i start moving i'm just gonna wave my bag just standing here see if there's any area that he's really uncomfortable with so if you want to train your horse to carry a flag this is a great way to start with just a bag on your crop so now i'm just getting him used to moving with the scary object going around him good boy and i can touch him good boy so doing this with a bag is good because it gets the horse used to the noise of the bag in the breeze so when you go to carry a flag it'll kind of be the same situation another thing you can do with this particular desensitization is that i can put my crap down to the ground and drag my bag and this is a great way to start teaching your horse to drag things if you're to be on them it gets them used to an object right here following them and it can also get them used to like something bumping on their side back here so i'll just have him walk and i can drag my thing beside him good boy oh you're a little scared come on good boy so if you're sick of riding in the arena or maybe you notice your horse is getting a little ring sour one great thing you can do is take your horse out on a trail ride this just allows your horse to ride in a new area and that will instantly engage them and make things [Music] interesting so if you got any new ideas from this video be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel also we have an entire video about things to do with your horse when you can't ride so we'll put the link in the description down there stay tuned for more weekly horse videos [Music] you

Channel: Equine Helper

Views: 21,756

Rating: 4.9722862 out of 5

Keywords: things to do with a horse

Id: NJhp85LzbiU

Length: 11min 9sec (669 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 26 2020