YOUR HORSE'S CARE BONDING | TOP COMPETITORS’ SUCCESS STORIES
WOULD CHARLOTTE DUJARDIN and Valegro have broken so many records and clinched so many medals at championships if they hadn't formed an extraordinary bond? And what about a duo from a different time? Marion Mould and Stroller. The later was a 14.1hh pony who jumped fences way bigger than his diminutive self, culminating in an individualoften, but it certainly is today, and with good reason. A partnership without a bond is one with a key element missing. Forging one isn't that difficult and, according to behaviourist Justine Harrison, involves things like spending time together in the stable, ‘grooming’ him by scratching his withers, going for in-hand walks and using positive reinforcement in his training. Successful competitors and leisure riders alike use these methods for happier and more fruitful partnerships, and the former reveal what this has led to in terms of silverware.
