How do you behave around a horse?

Answer 1

Your horse will come up to you without you having to have a treat for it. It will not shy or start away from you or resist being tacked up, and when riding it will follow your directions without hesitation. All of these things are basic good horse manners, but when your horse is obviously comfortable and relaxed around you, as opposed to being on edge, you know that it thinks you're a pretty okay sort of a human.

Answer 2

If you are asking this, you need lessons. The issues are very time consuming and many are subtle. A quick overview is that you must remember that they are a herd animal. Herd animals have a pecking order. The respect is earned by controlling your herd.

You control the horse correctly and you will have the respect.

Answer 3

Trust and respect comes with the horse knowing you are the boss and the dominant one. Horses thrive in a social environment with a designated leader and followers; in feral horse herds, the oldest mare is always the bossy one, the leader that other mares and the stallion trusts to make decisions for them and to lead them in the right places. You need to take the place of that boss mare, to be Top Horse.

Boss mares establish dominance with other new horses by herding them around, chasing them around until they lower their head to the ground and lick their lips in submission. Once a horse is submissive, they will be more than willing to follow the boss around and trust her.

When building the trust of a horse, and have to approach it to catch it (if it is used to humans and not wild like a Mustang would be fresh off the plains), approach slowly, not quickly towards the head, but calmly and quietly towards the shoulder. Don't sneak up on it from behind, make sure it knows where you are first before you approach, or approach in a way that it sees you. Don't look it in the eye just yet as this can be a little intimidating for the horse. Then put a rope around it's neck so you can put a halter on it. Don't make any sudden movements as horses startle easily. Move beside the head of the horse, and put your hand on the bridge of the nose of the horse, and calmy find a little soft spot on the muzzle. Squeeze this area gently for a few seconds, then move your hands up to scratch its forehead and ears. Then turn and walk away. There's a very likely chance that that horse will follow you. That spot you squeezed is where some nerves are and is a place where you can psychologically establish your dominance. Pat Perrelli was seen to do this on one episode of The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan with a horse that a woman was having trouble with.

Many good horsemen, like Monty Roberts and Pat Perelli have their own techniques of training horses and having an unruly, disrespectful and untrustworthy horse to join up with them and accept them as the boss. Both of these men use a technique that makes use of a round pen and a rope or a quirt. These tools are not to whip or hurt a horse in any way, it's more of a tool of encouragement to get the horse to go in the direction (around the pen) they want him to go. Quirts are good (or even some sort of sorting stick) are good because they act as an extension of oneself and discourages a horse from going in a direction you don't want it to go. Do not use it to hit a horse!

Herd the horse around the round pen until you see either the horse lowering its head towards the ground, and/or it starts licking its lips. Herd it around a few more rounds, then calmly walk up to it and encourage it to sniff your hand and calmly move your hands on its muzzle, forehead, cheeks and neck, then stop turn your back on the horse and move towards the middle of the corral. If you've done your job, the horse will follow you. This is a sure sign that you have established trust and respect in your horse.

Other methods differ with each and individual horse person.

Answer 4

Spend time with it and be calm around it if it obeys you give it some treats

I wouldn't give it to many treats. It can give a horse colic. So, if your out for a ride give it ONE treat at the end ONLY if its been good.

Horses like to spend time with people. Make sure your not loud around your horse. You should ride him everyday when he gets used to you. And yes, giving to many treats wouldn't be good, it can make bad habits.

Answer 5

This is a slow process and will be dependent upon the personality and history of both the horse and the handler. The key is to move slowly and respect your horse's reactions - back off when the horse becomes frightened or agitated, move slowly and carefully when doing something new. Be consistent in your commands and expectations, and don't ever use a whip on the horse (use around the horse, such as to make a snapping sound, is acceptable). Don't cause pain or anxiety.

Answer 6

You may need to teach your foal to respect your space. To do this you can rub his muzzle vigorously for about 20 seconds if it gets into your space.

Answer 7

Spend lots of time with him/her brush her/him often and be very caring.