How to create Happiness for your Horse - Pony Party Time!

“It’s a horse eating monster!” our giant size chestnut Trakehner had to be thinking (or something similar) by the looks of it. He’s snorting and blowing loudly at the sight of a side-by-side topped by a very large blow-up pool. The pool was strapped on the roof and the whole menagerie was heading across his paddock, with his blue heeler friend riding shotgun. 

Meanwhile, a 13.1 hand Chincoteague pony gelding is having an entirely different reaction as he peeks out of a nearby run-in shed, ears pricked, looking very curious. (More on this story in a second.)

Happy Horses are more resilient, less likely to spook or overreact, more tolerant of human mistakes and when they do encounter trauma, tend to recover faster. How do we create horse happiness?

- Play,

- Physical comfort (including staying cool in summer heat),

 - Feelings of safety and care,

 - Friends,

 - Good nutrition,

 - Choice and autonomy when it comes to husbandry and healthcare procedures and

 - The ability to engage in activities that are natural and/or fun and interesting to them (enrichment),

and Positive Reinforcement/clicker training falls into the category, of course!

Back to the Pony - Before we could even get the pool unloaded and the water turned on, the pony was literally on top of the pool. Pawing and rubbing against the sides of it. And you can bet he jumped right in on his own while it was filling up! Clearly, this wasn’t his first time. And I thought the fun he’d had playing with the box it came in was going to be about all we really were going to get out of this gift of his. LOL. I couldn’t have been more surprised.

This little pony, named Henry Nevada, left the island of Chincoteague VA when he was only a few months old. He’s the son of a famous pony stallion named Miracle Man. There’s even a book about his dad on Amazon - check it out. True to his father’s heritage, Henry’s sharp and hasn't forgotten his past pool experiences and exposure to water. His parents, who live a couple of hours away, brought the pool down for his birthday. But it was rainy and windy that weekend, so the party was delayed until the weekend of our Compassionate Horse Click members only Spring Fling clinic.

So, as a break from the clinic and practicing Positive Reinforcement (clicker training) on a warm day in June, we hosted a bit of a birthday party for Henry and friends. It turned out to be an entertaining way to beat the heat as Henry and I got soaked from all the splashing.

🌊 This video contains excerpts of the party and is a testament to the importance of enrichment and the ability to fulfill natural behavioral tendencies, especially when it supports something that is part of a horse’s early habitat. Henry the island pony loves water! He romps through puddles and runs and bucks in the rain on a regular basis. But the pool was his happy place, and his parents knew it.

🌱 Henry is fascinated with cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes and branches of his favorite browse too. Lately, he’s learned to love running beside my bicycle, after having been positively reinforced to do this as a fun game, so he’s no longer terrified of it, but I digress.

Horses who've been conditioned with +R to be optimists, especially when it come to new objects and experience, tend to have lower stress and live happier more well-adjusted lives, which according to science improves quality of life and often life span and enrichment can be a huge part of that for our horses that we keep as pets. 

🥕 We’ve got some neat ideas for enrichment available in our Compassionate Horse Click Private Member Community, so I’m not going to try to list all the possibilities here (though some of our horses' favs include lick-its, bobbing for treats in water, frozen fruit, snuffle boards, etc.). And one-one one coaching is a great way to learn more about how turn would be fearful events into FUN and POSITIVE novel experiences for your horse that will translate into other areas of life. But there's another golden nugget here, too.

🎂 Enjoying Henry’s party, including carrot cake with horse treats on top and laughing so hard I could hardly sing the birthday song, just made me realize how easy it is to be so serious when it comes to training and caring for our horses. This is normal because training can require a lot of thought, focus and labor too. But it never hurts to leave our trainer/responsible horse owner hat aside, aka: when we are with them we don't always need to strive for some deep and soulful connection or specific goal and think that we must accomplish something every single minute that will improve our horses (supposedly) and check some psychological box in our mind (assuring us that we’re a good horse owner). 

This pony party proves it that we can have fun too! You can’t hear all the folks (uhm…adults mostly over 45, BTW) in the background, giggling, snapping pics and singing happy birthday, but I can assure you, a good time was had by all, horse and humans, even the most serious of the group.

Whether your jam is baking horse treats, creating puzzles for them, cutting branches, hiding food, introducing or navigating obstacles or some other form of enrichment, I want to encourage you to have a good time with your horse, no matter what you’re doing together. After all, that is why we have them isn’t it, purely for the JOY???

💙 Remember, positive reinforcement training can be one of the greatest sources of enrichment for horses and joy for us.

When it’s done well it can be life changing for horses and humans alike, bringing a mutual understanding and communication with horses that many people never even realize is possible, much less experience. If you’re interested in learning more about how to have the best possible relationship with your horse and having a calm and confident companion who is interested in BEING with you and DOING things with you, without it being ALL about the food, don’t hesitate to reach out.

 Whether online lessons and classes, group, private coaching or maybe a course and community setting appeal to you, I’d love to hear what you’re up to with your horse and what you dream of too.

You can reach out to me, Melissa Spell Deal, at [email protected] or find me on Facebook. I’d be happy to chat and send you some free resources too. When you do, make sure to include any enrichment activities that your horse enjoys as we’re compiling a comprehensive resource to share in our newsletter, and we’d love to have your horse’s vote!!

💙Meanwhile, may you ENJOY your HORSE!💙

Until then, friends, take very good care.

Melissa

Certified CT Coach

Founder, Compassionate Horse Click