It may seem daunting in the beginning, but bonding with your pony on the ground isn\u2019t all that difficult. Just take a bit of time every day before or after you ride to learn about and just interact with each other. Have a look at these simple ways to strengthen the bond:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.\u00a0Don\u2019t just show up when it\u2019s work time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ponies make associations in their minds all the time, and the last thing you want is for your pony to see you coming and automatically think about how hard he\u2019s going to work. Thinking this way will quickly change the way he sees you, and he\u2019ll make a negative association. Instead, show up with no expectations sometimes. Come to the yard just to give him carrots and play with him. It won\u2019t take long before he starts looking forward to seeing you. It\u2019s exciting now because he never knows what\u2019s going to happen when you visit. All he knows is he\u2019s looking forward to seeing you, and he\u2019s not bored. When you do work him, he\u2019ll be much happier to do the job if he also associates you with fun times and carrot visits.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Fetch and groom your pony yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The more time you spend with your pony, the better. Every time someone else fetches your pony from the paddock and grooms him, he is creating a relationship with that person. Of course, we all need help with our ponies, especially when we have school, work and other commitments, but spend time grooming and playing with your pony whenever you can, so he realises you\u2019re not just someone who comes to ride him, you\u2019re a human being who genuinely cares about him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Grooming is a very important part of how horses bond and communicate with each other in the wild. Have you ever seen two horses grooming each other, nibbling each other\u2019s necks? This behaviour is called allogrooming, and human beings do it too. Allogrooming helps horses understand each other\u2019s place in the herd and is a form of giving affection. So, if you groom your horse, you\u2019ll become part of his mental herd in no time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.\u00a0Take your pony for walks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Walking with your pony in hand changes the way you interact with each other. It also allows your pony to trust you more because you\u2019re on the ground together, which means, in his mind, you\u2019re protecting him, and you\u2019re facing the world together. He also gains valuable insight into your body language and facial expressions that he doesn\u2019t get to see when you\u2019re riding him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4.\u00a0Play with your pony<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember how sensitive ponies are to body language and feelings? When you\u2019re at a show, and you get nervous, you can see your pony pick up on it. The same thing happens when you play. Your pony picks up on all your carefree happiness, and slowly he\u2019ll start opening up to you. All of a sudden, you\u2019ll have a happy, carefree pony prancing around the lunge ring with you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: When you\u2019re playing with your pony, start slowly, and always make sure you\u2019re wearing a helmet and closed shoes. The best way to start playing with your pony is to go into his paddock and copy what he does. He\u2019ll be interested in what you\u2019re doing and come over to take a closer look. Just keep moving around his paddock and let him follow you. If you\u2019re comfortable, and his ears aren\u2019t back, you can start jogging. He might start copying you, and you\u2019ve got a game!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5.\u00a0Just do nothing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ponies spend a lot of their time just grazing together. If you insert yourself into this ritual, you become part of the herd. Put a halter and lead rein on your pony, take a book, find a shady spot and just sit with him while he eats. Chilling together and doing nothing is actually one of the most effective ways to bond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tips and tricks for bonding effectively with your pony<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bonding with our horses and ponies is exciting, and we often want to see results straight away. Unfortunately for us, this is not how a pony\u2019s mind works. They need time to come to you on their terms, so be careful of rushing things. Now that you\u2019ve decided to spend some time bonding with your pony on the ground, pay attention to this list of tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Don\u2019t try and bond with your pony when you\u2019re in a bad mood or you\u2019ve had a bad day at school. Your pony can pick up that you\u2019re angry through your facial expressions and heart rate. He\u2019ll be anxious, and this will affect your bonding session. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Start and end every session – whether ridden or groundwork – with a positive interaction. Give him a scratch and a carrot at the beginning and end of your time together every time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Let your pony interact with you and create a bond at his pace, not yours. None of us ever know our pony\u2019s full history, and it will take some ponies longer to open up and trust than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Use your hands to interact with your pony – touch, tickle, scratch, groom and massage. This is how ponies bond with each other, and the more you can mimic that behaviour, the more comfortable your pony will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Don\u2019t lose your temper when your pony doesn\u2019t respond the way you hoped in a bonding session. You\u2019ll have to build his trust all over again if you do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Pay attention to your pony\u2019s body language when you\u2019re interacting with him, and you\u2019ll get a great deal of useful information about what he likes and dislikes, which will only strengthen your relationship in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Introduce your pony to new and potentially scary things when you\u2019re bonding on the ground. This gives you the opportunity to comfort and reassure him, which in turn means he\u2019ll trust you more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Don\u2019t get flustered and rush into sessions with your pony. Take your time to get into the right mental space, or you\u2019ll both be anxious before you even start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 It\u2019s a good idea to use treats and positive reinforcements when working with your pony. Ask an instructor to show you how to do this safely if you haven\u2019t done it before!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, go and get bonding<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t matter how you start; just start however you\u2019re comfortable and take it from there. There are no rules (aside from safety) when it comes to bonding with your pony. It\u2019s your relationship, and to get the most from it, you need to know each other inside and out. It takes time to get to this point, but it\u2019s time well invested because, at the end of it all, your connection will be so strong you\u2019ll be flying, both at shows and in your day-to-day lives. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Rhiannon Cecil Making the time to bond with your pony outside of riding time can only change your relationship for the better. Ponies are herd animals, which means they\u2019re happiest when you all understand each other and speak the same language. When you only interact with your pony while riding, he learns to associate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pony-channel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":930,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909\/revisions\/930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hqmagazine.co.za\/pony\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Bonding-P2-1024x1024.jpg\")
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