Ideas for easy games to play

[cookster1975]

Can anyone give me some ideas for simple games to play with Basil? I want to build his confidence and spend plenty of time on the ground with him as well as riding, but when I do a search on the web, it just shows you videos of horses that have been doing it for ages - not beginners like him!:rolleyes:

[Coco91]

bump :D

as I would be very interested :)

[popularfurball]

Double bump

Im making a list for when we have achieved basic things (picking feet up, putting a rug on)

[I've Arrived_]

Sorry, wrong thread

[Tiy]

try looking at the "groundwork" sections here for some ideas.

http://www.artofnaturaldressage.com/forum/

Lots of ideas for things to do with your horse....mine love them, especially chase the tiger! (check it out to find out what I mean) :D

[cookster1975]

Hi - just to let you know I've had a look and the two that I'm going to have a go at are "chase the tiger" and playing ball!

Chase the tiger is basically just tying a bit of plastic or material to the end of a lunge whip or similar and getting the horse used to it before encouraging them to chase it. You basically do this by rewarding them with treats each time they do what they're meant to do. I've noticed alot of people use the clicker technique (which chunkykiwi recommended too).

The ball looks fun and I think Basil would like this. You basically get a large inflatable ball and throw it getting them to chase it round. As with chase the tiger you would need to get them used to it first!

Tonight I spent an hour in the field with Bas - cut up carrots and apples into little reward size pieces and practiced making him go back when asked, rewarding him each time. In the end he was doing it by just voice command. Then we played chase (he chased me), I made him walk when I walked, then trot when I ran. When I stopped, I turned to face him - made him give me space and back up, then rewarded him. Finally I made him stand by holding my hand up like a policeman and backed away a few paces. I tried not to let him come to me until I bent forward and called him. He did o.k. with this one but we need to practice!

It was really nice just to spend some time with him having fun and think these things might help him learn not to "crowd" me, which he does out of anxiety and hopefully develop our bond.

Sorry that was a bit long!

[cookster1975]

bump!:o