A sign of trust

[Katie Morag]

How do you know that your horse/pony really trust you?

Last night I went out for a hack & the road was flooded. Mo hates getting her feet wet & really hates big puddles. Now this puddle is huge, & it's about 6 feet long. Normally I would have to really really presude her to go through. But last night she only hesitate for a second, then went through. :)

I was so chuffed with her & it made me realise just how much she trusts me.

[Bay Chaos]

Thats great!

I knew Dina really trusted me when I was stood over the stable door scritching her neck and I got groomed back. Also when she feel in the trailer and was panicing and calmed right down as soon as I was in there with her.

The other two, I'm not sure really. I am the only person that can get near Champ with the clippers, which is a bit of a pain, given that I'm not the best hairdresser! Bridie.... She's so damn independant and not scared of anything I really don't know. I don't think she has trust in any one person really.

[Katie Morag]

That's amazing with Dina, as that must have been really scary for you both

[Spockky boy]

Awww thats sweet, glad to hear the bond is growing.

I think the bond between Spock and I start when we first ever jumped 3ft spread and I was told to close my eyes over it, and neither of us had ever jumped anything like that ever before. He didn't look twice, he just flew over it.

[Katie Morag]

Wow that was brave, don't think I could jump & close my eyes at the same time

[jangles]

A couple years ago, me and my mate decided to take the horses swimming in the river because it was roasting and after Boo almost managed to drown himself (long story) he still went straight back in after again without even hesitating.

He'll also go past pigs now which he is absolutely terrified of and when I first got him I couldn't even get him near, let alone past ther field.

[My Crazy Clan]

Thats great.

[Spockky boy]

He'll also go past pigs now which he is absolutely terrified of and when I first got him I couldn't even get him near, let alone past ther field.

Pigs and sheared sheep with lambs at foot... That just another story!! I wonder if I will ever get Spock to not bronc, and canter sideways past either of those animals :lol:

[Katie Morag]

Keep at it will happen

[black crow]

It varies from horse to horse, what their experiences have been like in life, reasons they would have not to trust, and how you are as an owner.

I find it a hugely rewarding experience every time a rescue pony i work with starts showing the signs that they trust me. It is the same with Spud. At first, he trusted no one to get close to him as he was very wary of being touched and around people as he had been severely abused.
It took a very long time, but his trust started growing. He still jumped and flinched, but i knew he was starting to trust me, and be accustomed to me working with him when i saw him react less to things that had previously upset him.

Now he trusts me very, very well. He has come on SO far in different ways. He is still wary of strange people, but he has really shone through.

I wont make a huge essay about all the reasons i know, but he does.


Scottie on the other hand just needed someone who understood him, and didnt blame him every 3 minutes like everyone else did. He trusts me well, but probably also due to the fact ive never given him a bad experience in the 12 years ive known him.


Rowan hasnt had a reason not to trust me, so he is pretty much fine and good to handle. I know he trusts me and Jase.

[Katie Morag]

These stories are great, keep them coming

[Spockky boy]

Spock's fine when turned out with sheep and happily grazes amoungst them, just hates walking past them when Im on board. Maybe he think they may eat me lol

I find it strange as he grew up on a working farm before he came to me and was in a field with horses/sheep/cows, and next to where he used to be stabled in Ireland apparently there were pigs/goats next door. But he has no fear of goats or cows lol

[Smoke on the Water]

I know Harvey trusts me cos when he's unsure of something he looks at me and if I say it's ok then it's ok! And he's happy. Love that feeling.

[Katie Morag]

I know Harvey trusts me cos when he's unsure of something he looks at me and if I say it's ok then it's ok! And he's happy. Love that feeling.

Ah that's sweet. I do know what you mean. It's a really nice feeling.

[loubylou]

The otherday we tried the ponies in their new half-built stables for size- Mum took Salsa in one, and i took Uva in the other. I was chatting to Uva, like I do- pretty much constantly, and the whole time Salsa was dancing like a loony with my Mum. I let Uva go and went to see to Salsa and she stood perfectly for me in the stable- almost like 'its ok mummys here now so nothing can happen!'

Lola I know trusts me as she will do anything for me, I point her at a small 'wall' for her to jump (bearing in mind she is only a baby so they are all new and scary) and she hesitated, but I just gave her the tiniest little sqeeze and she did it for me anyway- she KNEW that I wouldnt get her to do anything that put her in danger- she is going to be an amazing horse as she grows up!

Chesney was the day he let me touch him/pick his feet out/lead him, and the fact he lets me do all of this now without a seconds thought. He wouldnt let me within 10ft of him for the first 3 months of owning him!

[lil_legs]

With Poppy, it was when i moved her for the third time, she knew then i was with her still and that she could trrust me, she had been moved around so many times with so many wrong owners that she became a nervous wreck, after i had moved her a couple of times and she realised i was still there, she let me do anything and take her anywhere.

Jasper there hasn't really been anything as such he is so laid back, there isn't any issues like that, he'll stand and let me do anything to him.

With Alfie though, the best feeling i have had in the world was when he finally let me pick all of his feet out, then let me bath him, stood right next to me when i took him up to the road and see the traffic, and the icing on the cake was when he let me come over to him when he was laid down, but not only that, he let the 3 dogs come over aswell. I was sooo happy because i knew then the bond i had wanted with him was there, and i can do absolutely anything with him and although he might not be sure, he will let me do it cautiously until he knows i'm not going to hurt him. Whereas before if i did something he didn't like he wouldn't think twice about kicking hell outta me lol!!

I had a welshxarab, when we got him the owner said the best thing to do with him is send him to the glue factory. After a long time trying to suss him out and what was upsetting him, i managed to get on him and stay on him. The day i knew we had cracked him was my first group lesson on him, when he could be trusted to be with lots of horses in one place and not throw a dickie fit. Unfortunately he broke his leg, but i knew i had given him the best home he had ever had in his short little life, which was a feeling that helped after i lost him.

There have been many horses in and out of my life, and each one of them have had a moment when i know i have got what i achieved. There's just too many to list, and these are the most prominent in my mind.