By Wrangler Jayne:
HORSES ARE PLAYFUL!
One of the most joyful - and enjoyable - things about horses is their
desire and willingness to play! They play with each other, with 'toys', with
us, with other animals!
Do you think your horse likes to play? How would you rate him or her
on the 'playful scale'? Would you give your horse a 10 for extremely playful
or a 1 for not playful at all?
Before you rate your horse, consider this: have you set things up so
your horse CAN play? Have you given your horse a playmate, space to play and
some toys? We can hardly expect our horses to play if we haven't created a
situation for them that encourages horseplay!
Let's talk about the playmate first. It is a fact: a horse is a herd
animal, and he feels safe, secure and comfortable with the company of his
kind. He is a gregarious animal, and doesn't do well emotionally or mentally
without company. Horses are very touch-orientated too, whether they're
making contact in mock fighting, or rubbing, scratching and nibbling each
other in a friendly way. You've heard me say many times a herd horse is a
happy horse, and he will be much more emotionally and mentally fit if he
does not live alone.
Secondly, let's consider his environment. If a horse lives in a small
yard, a stable or a barren paddock without anything to play with, what's he
or she to do? Many people put their horses in solitary confinement and then
wonder why their horse is 'dull'. Imagine - for a moment - that a horse is
like a young child. Put a young child in an empty room and deprive them of a
friend or a toy or anything to do, and visit only once a day to feed and
change their clothes, and they will soon develop emotional and mental
'issues'.
It's the same with your horse! Select an area for your horse to live
in that he can truly call 'home'. Or you can create an interesting
landscape, with trees and shelter, and by fencing in unusual shapes, leaving
branches, logs, rocks and sticks on the ground, providing sand pits and
scratching posts and mud rolls and even a dam or water hole - all
contributing to giving your horse something to do. (Get Jaime Jackson's
book, Paddock Paradise).
Thirdly to provide additional interest and encourage play, you could
Include lengths of poly or ag pipe, bits of rubber matting that they can
pick up and flap about, a hula hoop, even a plastic rake! I have a deflated
horse ball with a handle on it lying about as well, which the horses love to
pick up and slam against the ground. (Best to use a ball that's a bit flat
so it won't roll under or into fences and potentially create a dangerous
situation for your horse.)
You will be surprised at the things your horse will consider fun to
play with! Regularly at the ranch I have special play days where I bring out
a whole bunch of cool playtoys, such as tarps, balls, big cardboard boxes,
buckets, feed bags and plastic containers. The horses have a wonderful time
investigating these playthings, and it is such a joy to watch them! Just
ensure that you don't include anything potentially dangerous, and don't
leave them unattended with things they might eat such as plastic bags or
cardboard. Horses, like children, have a knack for getting into trouble, so
keep an eye on them during these special 'playtimes'.
The things that are important to horses are: safety, comfort and
play - in that order. The reason we call our teaching exercises with our
horse 'games' is because horses don't understand 'work' and as with young
children, to help them to learn, we need to make things fun. If you truly
want to create a stronger bond with your horse, understand his needs first,
then do things for him that will matter to him. He will be happier and
emotionally and mentally more balanced, which means a better friend for you!
This year, look at life from your horse's point of view and give a
gift that he or she will love! I'm giving my horses a truckload of sand for
their sandpit, and I'm going to enjoy it as much as they do! What horse
lover doesn't want to spend hours watching the delights of horseplay?
______________________________
Judy
http://icehorses.net
http://clickryder.com
