Curiosity is King for Equine Learning

This is some of our herd checking out our new arena build.

They've been watching it take shape from afar with all the earthwork machinery and noise for the last few months, but today they got to go in and explore it all.

We have a track in this area for our miniature herd that goes around our arena, with a round pen and newly built run-in shelter, and yards, so there is lots of area for our bigger herd to explore.

And they all went in with scepticism this morning that quickly turned into open curiosity, which I love seeing.

By encouraging them to investigate, I have found that it makes the most meaningful impact on any horse's learning.

I try to always be mindful of not trying to force learning with horses, but I also cut myself some slack as I acknowledge that I am also human, so I do have to remind myself not to be so goal-driven. But I do get it wrong sometimes due to my enthusiasm to achieve a result, which is something I have accepted I will have to continue to work on probably for the rest of my life, and thankfully the relationships I have with my horse family allow them to tell me when I'm going too fast. Which they are happy to share ❤️

So now, 2 hours later, the whole herd seems very happy to be in the area, and their curiosity has turned into relaxation as they all have a good roll in the sand.

Next time we go into this area, perhaps for a lesson, things will be easier for them, and that's the beauty of letting them investigate, which I can't emphasise enough.