What does it take to earn your horses respect and trust?

Question

Ok its a slow night on here, lets get it rolling.

There appears to be 2 sides on here in reguards to this question.

I have always felt that respect comes from training and building a bond with your horse that way.

Then you have the other ones that believe you go out there with a bucket of treats, pet them, kiss them and build respect and trust that way.

How do you accomplish this and how many horses have you honestly owned (living breathing ones).

Answer 1

Are you trying to stir things up, young lady?
I don't do treats, I don't feed anything by hand and they have to make do with kind words and a pat. Horses are not always the smartest kids on the block but they sense and they know and they can smell BS coming a mile off.
We had a broodmare come in, 12 years old and she always wore a halter. Her owners sent a photographer over so I cleaned her up and swapped her halter for a fancy one. The owners had bred and raised her and said that her entire life, she had worn a halter and it could only be changed when she was in the chute and wanted to know how I did it (this was news to me). I just took the halter off and swapped it again while we were on the wash rack. The moral of the story is that she knew that she could lead them on a merry dance and she had been doing it all her life. I've had loads of broodmares like that which are supposed to be impossible to catch, load etc. I go about my business and treat them with respect and I get respect back from them. No secret code or horse whispering. 99% is in the way that you handle them, kind but firm and that's how I have always operated.
As far as owned, 4 ponies as a kid and 3 horses as a youth/adult. I have so many to deal with each day at work, I've never felt the need to get another but I'm actually in the process of adopting another OTTB and I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas!

Answer 2

Why can't it be a little of both? Of course the treat and kiss method doesn't do much for respect, but probably helps build the bond between horse and owner, and makes most horses happy to see you. Good training is the building block of respect and trust. I think horses do well when they know the rules.

I have owned I think 10 horses (4 currently), and was employed to train about 25 two and three year olds over the years. I went to the top level of Pony Club and have worked for a couple of world reknowned dressage or event trainers. I have never followed any one person's "system" of training but learned first hand what works and what doesn't, and that will be different for each horse.

Answer 3

Respect and trust comes from working with your horse to form a bond between the two of you...such as...petting, brushing, ground work, massages and other things. One of the biggest things to remember is to not ever hit the horse. Spoiling with treats is just a way of saying here let me spoil you regardless of how you behave. Alot of your trust and respect earning can come from learning how a horse "talks" in a herd, and how it acts. when a horse misbehaves it is pushed about 300 yards away until it asks to come back to the herd and the horse that pushed it away says o.k
This can be accomplished also by free lunging or lunging on a line but always in an enclosed pen so as to keep the horses attention. I could go into detail but it would be really long so if you want you can e-mail me. I have honeslty owned:17 horses and have 35 years of experience.

Answer 4

I have been around horses my whole life, though I did not own any until just over a year ago. I have helped train from ground up, and have taken my share of hasty dismounts. I had been following the Pat Parelli method of training mixed with some of my old ways. Several months ago, I was reading some of his material, and as I recall, he was quoting a trainer that he had great respect for. The comment was that horses have not changed in the last several thousand years, but man has changed in leaps and bounds. The horse is a herd animal, and was prey to predators. They were hunted by either large animals, or smaller animals in packs. An untrained horse sees anything on their back as a predator. It did not change my horses, but it changed me. You do need to establish relationship and work at bonding. At some point, you need to achieve the Alpha role. It might go back and forth in the beginning, but it is worth it. I have slowed down the treats, and the kissy face is saved for rewarding good behavior. When I separate one of my horses for work, I turn my hands up and let them know I am not carrying a treat. I always give them a treat after they work, even if it did not go perfectly.There are six in the little herd, and I own two of them. They are progressing faster than one that is being worked twice as much as mine. My helper is an eight year old granddaughter, and I am somewhere in my fifties. That is close enough! Whole lot of wind to say a combination of the two with the emphasis on the training. If you want to just feed them treats, get a dog. They are much cheaper.

Answer 5

Great question! When I start with a horse I always gain respect by training and bonding. I spend lots of time with my horses, moving them around and having them do what I want and respect my space. Once things are good then I might give them a treat but I only have one that likes them. I do go out to the pasture and walk around them and pet them and lean on them. I love to just be around them and it gets them where I can go out there with a halter and they don't take off! haha
My grandfather has had horses my whole life and he is who I learned everything from. The Old way, not cowboys way but the old trainer ways. He has forgotten more then I will ever know! I have had 7 horses of my own. I have 2 now, a 10-15 yr old OTTB that I barrel race on and a 2yr old cutting bred mare. my grandfather can't ride anymore so I also have his 2 that I ride. He has also told me a story of a mule that he had when he was a kid and he loved that mule! He has always told me that he wanted another one. I would love to get one for him before it is too late. Just not possible. Mabye I could get him a breyer mule! LOL he would die! haha

Answer 6

I have owned 5 horses, one being completely wild when I purchased it. Horses need a little of both training and affection. There just needs to be a good balance between the two. I believe that training teaches the repect and the affection helps the trust. With my horses I always use training as my way to gain respect and when they do good I praise and pet them which earns trust. I never give my horses treats because my affection and praise is a treat within itself.

With my wold horse, I worked with her every day to help earn her trust and respect. I worked slowly and gave lots of encoragement and praise along the way. I have owned this horse a little less than a year and she is now completely bomb proof and is scared of nothing. She is the only horse I own that I would trust with little kids. She will do everything I ask of her and never challenges my authority. I never had to use treats and she still loves me and respects me just as much or maybe even more than if I had used them.

I believe that treats only teach horses that we are moving food dispensers that only have one purpose, to feed them. Treats definitely don't teach respect. They might teach trust but not very much. It is better to just use training as a way to earn respect and trust from your horse.

Answer 7

I do a bit of both, treats a few times, training, building a bond, petting, and earning the right of trust and respect. A horse is a friend and a partner. I have four. A horse never been handled, a horse I got never had attention, a racehorse, and a horse that was beat.

Answer 8

Personally for me its a bit of both.

With my horse, he was trained already when I joined his life, but he was emotionally neglected. He got fed and ridden, but no one took the time to love on him.

He and I found a 'bond' while I spent time grooming him, spent time talking tohim, giving him treats, or just scratches. Its what he NEEDED to form a bond with a person- he needed the love.

But at the same time, had I been an abusive rider, had I not been a good kind rider, he would have lost that trust in me. When we learned new things, he always trusted me and I never broke that trust.

So I think for he and I, we became best of friends over a long period of time because we each gave each other what we needed. He was calm and patient as I learned to ride. And I was his 'friend' when no other human would be.

Some horses require 'discipline and structure' so 'training' might be the way to bond with them.

Other horses, like mine, may know all the rules but not really know how to be loved by a human, so for that horse, maybe the bond needs to be built with a few treats and scratches. :)


So in my opinion, earning respect takes the ability for you to identify what your horse needs!

Answer 9

U need to be patient love and care for it. u most also show the horse that u r the boss so the horse will respect u. do this by not being mean or cruel. also be sure to award ur horse when it is good. Also, there is a thing that they called a joint up that always seems to make people connect with the horse. If you are unsure how look it up on the internet. If u do do the joint up, do it when ur horse is ready. to answer ur last question I have not owned a horse personally but I always help with my moms horses which she has had 4 total now. Good Luck!!!!!

Answer 10

Any good horse owner would have spent allot of time studying their behaviour, not only there own horse but even going back to herds in the wild etc. Every horse has its individual personality, some horses do love a good fuss and some respect you more if you let them act and behave like a normal horse. There are so many answers to this question and horsey people are very opinionated about there views. I have owned 6 horses in my time and found every single one different but still enjoyable!