Games for Training and Bonding with Your Horse

Bronzz picks up my dressage whip

We play with our dogs, don’t we? It’s fun. It strengthens our relationships, and makes them enthusiastic about being with us. It’s also useful as training and rewards. Even service dogs, whose jobs are critical, are trained with lots of play and positive reinforcement. We could be enjoying similar benefits with our horses, but few people do. One reason is that rowdy, free-form play like we do with dogs is dangerous with horses, who might rear or kick with no malice intended because it’s what they do with pasture mates. The solution is to teach specific games and the rules that go with them so we maintain safe boundaries. Some games reinforce essential skills, like standing still on a mat or board,; others are just fun, like Brandy's spin. Since play is a positive emotion, any game your horse enjoys contributes to your bond, and makes him want to be with you. Many games start with Investigative Behavior (see articles under "Confidence Building") as horses check out equipment like the board, ball, or item to be picked up. The curiosity involved is a positive emotion, and that naturally leads horses to play with the object. Once curiosity is satisfied interest in the object wanes - unless we offer a payoff for engaging with it. The payoff can be praise, scratching, treats, or more curiosity as they watch us interact with the new "toy". These positive interactions encourage horses to focus on us and associate us with good things. Here are a few of my horses’ favorites. All can be done on lead. The only pre-requisite is safe leadline manners, especially respect for our personal space.

Stand on a board

Horse plants front feet on a board and stays till asked to move. This proved to be extremely useful when the veterinarian needed a foot to be still in a specific place for x-rays. No sedation was needed. Although Shiloh didn't quite get her right foot on the board in this photo, her posture shows she is comfortable staying there.
Teaching it: Starting with a large board, I lead horse toward it, and demonstrate by stepping on it myself. Horse is allowed to inspect and paw at the board, but not required to step on it. No pushing, pulling, coaxing, bribing, or tapping. The horse must step on it by choice; the only “enticement” is to model stepping on it myself. After they understand the game, I switch to a smaller board for precision.
Advanced version: Send horse to board from increasingly greater distances. This is how they got Clydesdales to line up for those great commercials.

Dribble a Ball

Horse pushes a ball using either nose or feet. This is great for confidence building as the horse discovers that he controls the motion of that strange object that previously seemed to roll itself around at random. Brandy has just pushed the ball, so it is my grandson's turn to push it next.
Teaching it: I push the ball ahead of me, leading the horse on a loose lead so he is not forced to get close to the ball. (If horse is uncomfortable with that, have a second person go far ahead with the ball as you lead the horse, letting him show you when he’s ready to get closer.) When he gets curious enough to nudge it with feet or nose, I reward him, then reward increasingly more enthusiastic bumps.

Bronzz often grabs a cone as we walk by

Pick things up
Bronzz started this game by lifting messy things, like the cats’ water bowl or one wheelbarrow handle. I re-directed it by encouraging him to pick up approved items like cones, his feed dish, his own leadline, or my dressage whip (as pictured above).
Teaching it: If a horse doesn’t pick things up spontaneously, this can be taught by “shaping” the behavior (rewarding successively better tries) with clicker training. Advanced version: Horse plays fetch. Sapphire used to fetch a small rubber feed tub and bring it to a waiting person, who exchanged it for a peppermint candy.

Spin
Horse turns a full circle while handler stands still.
Teaching it: I put Brandy’s (long) leadrope around her butt to encourage and guide her turn with a hint of pressure. When she had the idea, I put the rope only over her back. Before putting any pressure on the rope, I twirled my finger in the air as a cue. Next I just laid the rope on her back and twirled my finger. Finally, I phased out the rope altogether. Brandy and I demonstrate in this short video. Play Video

Copying / Synchronizing Copying is a fun game, a good way to bond, and a wonderful training aid. This article explains. Body Language: Copying / Synchronizing

Games must be fun Horses clearly have favorite games, and activities they don’t like. Bronzz does not like pushing balls. Brandy isn’t interested in picking things up. Success comes from capitalizing on something the horse already likes to do. Just because we call something a "game" does not mean the horse finds it fun. Only your horse can tell you whether he's having fun, so watch his body language and his willingness to engage. New games often generate so much enthusiasm that horses volunteer them even when we want to be doing something else. The spin is Brandy’s current favorite. I usually wait for her to get done and enjoy the praise. But if I don’t want to play at the moment, I firmly cue her for what I want instead. Domestic horses have precious little control over their own lives. Humans determine ownership, training, jobs, feeding, housing, turnout, companions, breeding, weaning, and so on. Games give them the power, in a safely structured way, to initiate activities they enjoy and are confident will get positive reactions from people.