The Bonding exercise should be the very first thing you learn to play with your horse. Why? Simple, it lays a foundation of trust and cooperation by becoming a common means of communication.
There are several reasons that you should go back to the basics and learn to use teh Bonding exercise:
•The Bonding exercise is a way to build trust. It offers your horse a soft reassuring touch from you. It relaxes and calms your horse which ‘earns’ you trust in your horse’s eyes.
•It communicates praise and recognition. When your horse does a particular task correctly, using the Bonding exercise tells him that he did a great job and that you appreciate his efforts. It provides him an opportunity to rest and mentally digest what he just did. This is a form of positive reinforcement.
•The Bonding exercise can be used as a traditional means of ‘sacking out. Since you have set up a standard of trust, cooperation and praise, This game can be used to desensitize your horse to various objects. Take your lead rope, longe whip, plastic sack, clippers, spray bottle, garden hose, etc., and rhythmically rub your horse all over its body with these objects. Should you come to a point on your horse’s body where he objects (such as the ears) retreat to a spot where rubbing with the object was tolerable and then slowly and rhythmically approach the area gaining more ground as you go. Continue this approach and retreat method until you can touch the horse’s entire body. Remember to always go back and use the Bonding exercise with your hands afterwards as a means of praise and recognition.
One thing that should be stressed here is the importance of rhythm. Offering anything to the horse with rhythm gives him confidence because he has learned to trust you and will anticipate what is coming. Every time you use the Bonding exercise with your horse, you reassure him and maintain the balance between friendship and dominance
1. Begin at the horse's head softly rubbing your horse's muzzle, chin and jowls. More experienced horses can have their forehead, eyes and ears softly rubbed as well.
2. Using rhythm, continue the rubbing down your horse's neck onto the shoulder and down the front leg.
3. Continue the rhythmic rubbing with both hands along your horse's back and sides and finally underneath her belly. You should be able to touch your horse's complete underbelly without comment.
4. flow up and down the rear leg and over the hip. Softly comb through the tail and rub the fleshy side underneath the tail.
Don't forget to work back up to the horse's head and repeat the entire procedure on your horse's other side.
With my mare, when I get to the tail I just start back on the other side in reverse order ending up at her head. By doing it this way, I am in position to lead her off, circle her, back her, whatever I like.
OTHER USES FOR THE BONDING EXERCISE
Use your imagination. The Bonding exercise can be used for just about anything. Especially when introducing your horse to anything new. Remember, its a form of praise and recognition as well as comfort for your horse.
As a comfortable method of 'sacking out' your horse to new stimuli. Notice that I am using a large plastic bag. Using rhythm and the approach and retreat method I eventually rub my mare on EVERY square inch of her body with this sack.
Here I am taking a saddle blanket and tossing it around her legs. Notice my supporting hand is on her back rubbing her for comfort. My lead is draped over my arm so should she spook, I will still have immediate control over her.
This same Bonding Exercise directly translates to every day chores like using a spray bottle to spray fly repellent on every inch of her body. Notice she is calm and the lead rope which is draped over my arm has slack in it.
The Bonding exercise also gives me an opportunity to desenstize to teh touch of a longe line on her body. This is just more of the same 'sacking out' process and is just a matter of desensitizing to another object.
An Easy BONDING Exercise