What Makes a Great Partnership With Your Horse?

To me every horse is an individual who deserves to be cherished, looked after and treated with kindness, empathy and patience. I often find myself thinking about our horse’s perspective. I know they can read our energy, our intentions and our moods. I’d like to think that each horse we come into contact with sees us as special. The caregiver, the provider, the protector, the rider. So what does it mean to recognise our horses as partners? We recognise our horses as individuals and equal partners.

Back to the question, what makes a great partnership? I’d say unconditional positive regard, communication, consistency. Thinking about training horses, do they know when we are pleased with them? Do we praise them for the try, the response, answering our “questions”? When we ride and we are learning new things together, is our horse a willing partner? Are they enjoying the challenge? Have we found a shared space where things are becoming intuitive and starting to flow?

How do we celebrate our horses? I have certainly given a few horse birthday parties. I’ve shared countless bags of horse treats and plenty of snacks in between the riding and the daily care routines. I like to think that I support the horses I work with and offer friendship as well as expectations in the ridden work. To celebrate our horse in a way they recognise is to notice their mood and responses, to offer patience and time to understand, and to be present in the moment with them — to share the here and now.