Taking Old Horses for a Walk

Опубликовано: 13 Март 2025
на канале: Connection Training

3,636

264

These old dudes were soooo happy to go out exploring with Rachel and I. Going out for walks can be so enriching for all horses, and it’s a lovely thing to do with older ones. Toby and Roisin were sooo happy and excited to be going out. In fact, we were being towed along a lot of the way!

Some tips for walking with older horses:

Let them choose the pace. They might be fast, like Toby and Roisin, but they might prefer a slow amble with lots of breaks to stand and stare. Allow them to set the pace wherever possible.
Let them browse. Give them the chance to explore the hedges and verges, nibbling and tasting what they can find. This is a lovely way to get them out without pushing them too far physically, especially if they do struggle with movement.
Add in tricks, like smile, kiss and fetch. Old horses CAN learn new tricks, but they also love to repeat old ones, too! Toby’s favourite is ‘smile’, Roisin loves to ‘kiss’, and they’ll happily repeat these over and over again.
Let them choose the direction. Toby was very clear about where he wanted to go so he got to choose the path on the way out. Roisin started out super keen, but was very clear about when she wanted to go home, so we turned around when she asked (she’s quite arthritic, so a short walk was enough for her).

Giving your old horse the chance to choose their walk is such a great way to bring more interest, joy and agency into their life, especially when they’re doing less generally due to their age.

And, it’s so FUN! Honestly, all 4 of us loved this walk. My cheeks were hurting from smiling so much by the time we got back 😁🥰

You can see more about my journey with Toby (who changed EVERYTHING) here: • Problems to Performance - How reward-...

➤ FREE VIDEO SEMINAR:
Improve Any Behavior and Deepen Your Bond with Your Horse
Free Access: https://connectiontraining.com/ytseminar