How to Use Play to Motivate Your Horse

Your horse seems stuck, and just does NOT want to move... You have tried to get engagement and forward movement from your horse using various methods, but nothing seems to be working.
It’s like your horse is completely shutting you out...
This is exactly how my training sessions used to feel with Mystic!
Until I learned about the magical power of PLAY.
In this week’s episode of the Mystic Experiment, I reveal how I helped Mystic come out of her shell, move her body, and FEEL good doing it!
This discovery was a total game changer for Mystic, who now LOVES to run, play, collect, and be present in our sessions together.
In today’s episode of The Compassionate Cowgirl: The Mystic Experiment, you will learn...
- The difference between intrinsic & extrinsic motivation
- How to help your horse become intrinsically motivated to move
- Why play is KEY to your horse’s openness with you
- The importance of play in the human world
Do you want to learn from me?
I have wrapped up my entire life’s work (and heart’s offering to the world) into my signature online course & educational system: The Horse-Human Connection Academy (HCA).
We typically open enrollment to HCA twice per year. Take a look at what HCA is all about, and sign up for the early enrollment list at this link: www.mustangmaddy.com/the-hca/
When you join the early enrollment list, you will have the opportunity to enroll in HCA several days before we open up to the public, giving you the best chance at securing your spot in the academy. You will also receive valuable trainings from me, delivered right to your inbox! You are not obligated to purchase anything when you sign up for the early enrollment list.
We look forward to welcoming you into our Herd!
****************
Don’t miss all the other episodes from The Mystic Experiment!
Episode 1:
• Working with an "Untra...
Episode 2:​ • How to connect with a ... OtgaYiMn XO&index=3&t=141s
Episode 3:
• How to get unstuck wit... gaYiM nXO&index=4&t=590s
Episode 4:​ • How to Let Your Horse ... UTOtgaYi MnXO&index=5&t=35s
Episode 5:
• How to Read Your Horse... gaYiM nXO&index=6&t=1011s
Episode 6: ​ • How To Build Trust wit...
Other Resources:
Pantherflows on Instagram: ​ / pantherflows Dr.
Stewart Brown National Institute for Play: ​www.nifplay.org
Brene Brown Gifts of Imperfection:
www.amazon.com/Gifts-Imperfec... _df_159285849X/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312681615521&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw= g&hvrand=1763817023809379468&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint =&hvlocphy=9029196&hvtargid=pla-405693452805&psc=1
The Tao of Pooh:
www.amazon.com/Tao-Pooh-Benja... ag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312734685832&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1151616 692263284663&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=90291 96&hvtargid=pla-634084725117&psc=1

[@user-ju3bt9io2k]

I work so that I can play!! At the top of my list I love playing with my horses, going on trail rides and letting my imagination run free. I love going on hikes with my pups. I love making crafts! I love camping and basically anything to do with being out in nature. I could probably write a book on all the things I love to do as play. Oh yeah I almost forgot!! Your upcoming training Academy!! This comes from an ole gal that hated school that spent most of the day daydreaming about my horses and couldn’t wait to get out of school! Now I feel like a sponge and I can’t get enough!! Finally living my dream (only took me 60 years!!)

[@RoseThistleArtworks]

Making all different sorts of bubbles is a completely in the moment activity that serves no purpose, other than it is very fun. Those waffle bubble wands and the giant bubble wands are very cool.

[@gary__masters]

Today you made me realize I've stopped playing. I've thought about it and I know why it happened. Now I just have to fix it.

[@MustangMaddy]

I know the feeling! Go have fun

[@FunwithPupJane]

I teach my dogs through play. They learn so much faster, specially puppies . By the time you are done play training they know a new trick and had fun learning it.

[@MustangMaddy]

Ahh I love it!

[@roberthambly9926]

This one really got to me in a deep way, spiritually.

[@amydillonequestrian9716]

This is so interesting to think about. I don’t know that I really play very much. I’ll have to really think about this.

[@nativehorse]

Maddy, this is amazing! I love how she opens up and enjoys the play 😍

[@82Renating]

You teach so much in this video, and I love how you share the walking and making tea as well. I just ented to give you feedback om the last conversation. You read quotes, and ask us to listen and digest some big points. But you edit it down and I can not even take a breath after what you said. It is difficult to let it sit. It would be better if you said to stay with you as you had 5 quotes, and then I would like to see you sip your tea, or just breathe after reading the qoutes. I know I am "nobody" andd may seem like a critic. I just am very sensitive to the SoMe speed ehen it collides with the message. I love how Mystic had you collect your intention at the end. Even the dog rolled and responded to Mystics need to breathe at the diaphragm to get the playfulness you asked of her. I imagine being with you without camera and agenda is pure beauty and bliss. You are amazing!

[@ThePyrshepnBelgn]

I was interested in watching this video because I had a dog who was very scared and shut down. I was told to put him to sleep. Instead, I found play training. It turned him around completely and he became a standout performance dog. People didn't even believe he was the same dog. it was like pulling teeth the first week we did it, but we got there and it was an incredibly rewarding experience. I need to add more play to my life. My one relaxation thing is to go hiking with my dogs. I love looking at nature and getting to hike in the Rockies is such a blessing!

[@Markiecluff]

My favorite ways to play are to spend time gardening, throwing pottery and hand building with clay, as well as spending time with our chickens, dog, & horses.

[@truthofthematter9409]

Does anyone else wish they looked like Maddy in wranglers? She has the perfect figure!

[@danakleppinger3493]

My favorite play activities are walking my dog in the woods and sitting outside with my goats.

[@kimberlyloveless8581]

This sounds like you wrote the episode about me! I am a work in progress in this area. Great show once again.

[@MustangMaddy]

So glad this could resonate, Kimberly!!

[@edcravens5373]

It is a great moment to see you having fun with Mystic you have come so far with her .your fan Ed.

[@denisecummings6342]

I've really struggled with not taking myself too seriously and getting caught up in the demands of owning a business and raising a family. As of late I have promised myself I am going to do more things that I enjoy which some of those are: spending time and hanging out with family, walking my dog, getting back into horses, tending to my house plants & garden, yoga, meditation, reiki and reading.

[@MustangMaddy]

I can totally relate to this, Denise! You should be so proud of your promise to yourself

[@macsullivan4675]

Loss for words! Tea time is the best. Maddy, what you have learned at your young beautiful age, i WISH i had known so long ago!!! THANK YOU! I have dear friends with young kids who I have forwarded this to. Let's Play!!! Again, in deep reverence to you Miss Maddy!

[@GoldenLegionHoney]

I did this just today without realizing it. I raced my horses to the arena to get them back into the pasture and instead of out where they weren't supposed to be. Had a bucket of oats to get their attention first then raced them they seemed to like it.

[@kristeenbatten823]

This one thing made all the difference in my mentally shut down horse. I found a poa that turns out to be 11 years old. She is so shut down and scared of every single thing. One session of play she has opened up gotten a bit more curious.. i will keep doing this. She has having fun for the first time since i got her in January. Thank you for this Video!!!!!!!

[@roopal74]

Thank you for another amazing episode. For reminding us to keep smelling the flowers along the path of our journey. I love hanging out with my family (includes the two and four-legged varieties), cook, garden...especially love road trips with my partner....walking in the forests rejuvenates my soul...music...reading...or doing absolutely nothing :)

[@MustangMaddy]

Yes yes! Love this, Roopal!

[@SchneckT]

OMG, so obsessed with Project Proprius! I'm hoping to get into the next course! I'm so in awe of how you are helping this mare out of her shell and into being present with you and herself. I love everything about it. And what a great reminder to include play into my own life to make it more joyful. I absolutely loved the excerpt from Tao of Pooh. I actually play a lot. I love to go for hikes (and you have absolutely amazing hikes around you!!! Hope to return to do some of them someday - I have a map and am pouring over it often just for the fun of it!), spend time in or near water (lake, hot springs, the river), trail rides and horse camping, writing and playing music, journaling, roleplaying games, reading, blasting music and dancing or singing at the top of my lungs (sometimes while driving aimlessly at night!), snuggling my kitties, sitting with my horse in her pasture and having her sniff me (she loves that!), watching the stars while lying on a blanket, trading back rubs, drawing, trips to the ocean to put my feet in the water, immersing myself in art... Aaah, just writing this makes me feel good.

[@MustangMaddy]

Yes!! Love this so much, Verena!

[@hestarranch1048]

She loves to play! I have a mare too that did not like to do too much, but loooooves to play... witch works great to make a better connection! Then I have a boy, gelding that is not doing so good with riding because he is a shy and scarred one, but! He loves to run with me, no halter nothing, he circles around me and we run together until he sees my hand in the goody pocket, then comes close and uhhh his eyes say everything, please, thank you and love you! so sweet!

[@kathydaigle6130]

I love this!! Playing and having fun is so important for humans and horses. We as humans can be so focused on our agenda and accomplishments that we forget to have fun. I just signed up for your course!! I'm so hopeful!!

[@angellalee5501]

I really enjoyed this episode! Beautiful to see Mystic with that fun energy. I wonder if she would enjoy chasing cows or pushing a ball eventually. I feel the most playful/excited when I plan or attend horse related events. Goal setting or reviewing is another thing that I find tends to get my good energy flowing. Something small I find a lot of joy in is playing with satisfying kids toys with or without the kiddos lol (kinetic sand, slow rise squishes, play dough, fidget spinners) Writing in my journal with a great pen is another thing I love!

[@MustangMaddy]

Yeesss love your thoughts, Angella! And such fun ways to play :)

[@20brulee]

this was wonderful! it answers part of were my journey has been taking me! I would run around all day and rush to get everything done, then I thought one day why is it that when I am more relaxed I seem to get more done then when I try so hard! I then thought of the bible verses; Be still and now that I am God! and do not worry etc. thank you for putting the icing on the cake for me with this video! It put the perfect words to my thoughts and realizations! I love to wrestle with my 9-year-old daughter Landii and draw and be with my horses and animals!

[@mirandajohnson9559]

It was so fun to watch you play with Mystic because it literally looked like an overlay of when I'm working with my wild burro Wyatt. Play is an integral part of our work together. I also stumbled upon it in kind of a "F it" moment when we were both hitting a wall and neither of us were having fun anymore. He's so playful and definitely responds more to training when we also play together and run around. He's pretty respectful of the treats for the most part, but could definitely use a tune up haha Playing with him is definitely just as beneficial to me as it is to him ❤️ It helps keep me in the right headspace. Bounding with the burro is definitely something I do for myself as well as snuggling with any of my furbabies, painting (when I allow myself the time), and digging in the dirt in the garden. Animals and nature are my saving grace 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 Thank you for all that you do. Your videos continue to validate my work with Wyatt and support my ever complicated relationship with my instincts 🤦🙌

[@MustangMaddy]

I love this Miranda, thank you so much for sharing! What you said totally resonates with me :) So glad these videos have been helpful to you!

[@thehorsebackheroine5950]

I love that!....'Bounding with the burro'!!

[@thehorsebackheroine5950]

Soooo Maddy. The world is a small place. I am in the UK and my horse loving niece lives in New Zealand and you are in the US! I have come to find you through my niece's recommendation:-) it's so interesting you talking about play as this year I have been recovering from a horrible riding accident back in May in which I sustained a broken femur:-( Part of my recovery has been to use the pool and especially with friends, there's been a few times that I've had pangs of guilt for enjoying myself so much!! I've realized how insane that is and have spent this recovery time connecting with and learning from other like minded horse lovers💕 Once I can walk unaided (let alone run) I shall be experimenting with your ideas of intrinsic play and I had been searching for a clearer explanation of positive reinforcement and I think I've found it through yr video! I knew I was still using negative reinforcement most of the time but even that is a MASSIVE change from how I used to be! So from one horse lover to another, keep doing what you are doing. I gave a TedTalk last year and even in the short time since then I know my understandings and practices have moved on as we progress through our journey. I'm taking the liberty of sending you the link in case you missed it:-) I've subscribed to yr channel and will be back!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/q36cf3SgiKpomNE

[@kerryobrien6299]

Using play to recover healthy movement is at the heart of the the Intrinzen work which comes out of functional movement science. Project Proprius was a game changer for my sluggo mare. Movement science has established that the body can learn new, healthier movement something like 20 times faster using play rather than mechanical training. I used this with my human movement clientele all the time to improve balance and proprioception. Plus it's FUN! Catch! Nice to see Mystic finding her badass.

[@MustangMaddy]

Totally, Kerri!

[@Madisyn_Mustang_Makeover]

This will be good because I am getting a mustang this year

[@AirwrekaDoesntRead]

Totally off topic, but my friend is the one who took the video of playing with the zebra through the fence! She and Maddie are really good friends and it's funny seeing that in the video!

[@MustangMaddy]

Haha love it! Yes that was Baylee's video!

[@AirwrekaDoesntRead]

You and her are goals when it comes to positivity, training horses, and just being adorable.

[@Kit32991]

I love to just sit down and watch stuff, a series, movie or even youtube (I think I do that a bit to much tho lol) and playing the guitar, I do like drawing too

[@laurierussell4067]

I am so Happy to see This!! I just started my mustang mare under saddle....OMG! walk 2 steps stop, walk to steps stop....Now I have something I can use to maybe get her more interested than just walking 2 steps and stopping! Thank you! Now...what do I do for play? I go camping. I especially LOVE to camp with my horses. I go to my camp in Northern NH where there is no telephone, no electricity just nature, and Hike, kayak, sit on the porch and listen to the birds or snowmobile in the winter. And read, I can read at camp because I don't have anything to do that involves chores except cooking and or doing the dishes. In the summer I ride my motorcycle. I play with my dogs...and sometimes I just sit in the pasture with my horses and basically just watch them for the heck of it.

[@MustangMaddy]

Aaah I love you ways of playing, Laurie! And huge congrats on starting your mare under saddle! That is super exciting. Grateful this video resonated and was helpful for you

[@christinejones4761]

Great session! For fun, I love joking around with my family, going camping and trail riding. I also like drinking a few beers over a bonfire and hearing stories. I also love serving others and it makes me feel good but I have to watch the amount of time devoted to that.

[@MustangMaddy]

Love those ways to play, Christine! Sounds so fun :)

[@johnlaccohee-joslin4477]

Playing is one of the things that i think helps a horse to aquire self asurance amoung other horses, this does not mean dominence, it is a way of passing things on that the horse thinks are good fun. When living in the U.K. we has two horses one a threequarter thourabred the other was was an animal that was born andvleft to die, because the owners of the mare was so overvworked even when carrying it had not time for the little one.. The people that found it were not horse type people and although they tried hard the knowledge was not coming ascquickly as needed so somebody put them on to me and the asked if i would take it on and keep it. This i did and spent a lot of time getting it back to a reasonable condition I built an extention to the stables. Our bigger horse was very mindful of the size difference but non the less found ways to play that both could enjoy, one ofbthe favourites being chasing each other round the padock, round the back of the stable kicking it as they came round, never doing any damage they just loved the sound it made. When it was time for the night they would both lay down nose to nose and sleep, that was unlsss i was there then there was a lot of pushing and shoving, the bigger one liked going to sleep with his chin in my shoulder And hiss neck laying across my chest , this little onevwould like me to sit on the floor somhe could lay across my legs, or lay on the floor but wide awake trying like crazy tryingbtomgetvhis nose in my pockes to make sure there were no more pony nuts left in my pockets, or trying to get the dogs attention. Studying these animals taught me a lot, and none of it has been wasted. Anyone who thinks that they are not that smart i reckon needs to spend more time with them, their eyes and ears will give away a lot of their behavour patterns that take part a lifetime to build a relations with them, all very worth while.

[@paulaschmidt8346]

Hey I really love what you are doing! Do you have any tips on how to keep your horse on a safe distance when playing? My horse is not as distant as yours and tends to come closer but I want things to stay safe even when bucking is involved (:

[@DragonflyFarm]

thank you Maddy! great lesson for my horse and for life. I notice you did not get upset, or worried when Mystic stops with her rear to you. I have heard that when horses do that they are trying to show they are in charge, or dominant, but she just was playing and having fun with you and her body, right?

[@lisamhj2010]

i love TO PLAY with my OTTTB "Siberian Tango" she plays with me like Mystic plays with you!

[@The_mare_stare]

I am not able to sign up for the website videos as there’s a waitlist, is there any other videos on the protective contact? My mare is extremely pushy on the ground when treats are involved

[@roberthambly9926]

I like the pooh book where did you get it?

[@teresabanuelos3956]

My favorite thing to do is go walking with my dog. I love to go to the Mall "just to walk" then finish it with a salad from my favorite place. Another is to sew. I looooove to sew, for me it's "sew" relaxing.

[@vanaruone6767]

I do this with my 6 year old but we’ve been doing arena liberty for a year so it doesn’t feel unsafe. Shes not wild, she’s completely broke but I think the play is good for our relationship.

[@MustangMaddy]

Yes! Love that, Vanaru!

[@nccowgirl919]

Where does one get a target like yours? I have seen other trainers with them.

[@cinnamongeppelt2362]

Mandy, I am watching this series from the beginning bc Mystic is a twin to a horse I have who after 7 years is still so skittish and bolts, and hides behind a larger horse and shuts down. I’m on the waiting list for the academy. But how do I learn how to start with treats and training manners. I want to get started but I don’t want to wait possibly a whole year to start some of this.

[@20brulee]

what would you do if you could not get a horse to offer any play?

[@gunnhildmoan1230]

Anyone who mix the reinforcements? Or know if you can. There is so much to lurn and I am allready lurning about negative reinforcement from my horse and parelli natrual horsemanship.😍

[@destinationaddictionsamsar7894]

Warwickshiller had done a whole series on shut down horses and from what he found was these shut down horses were in their heads a lot and that was because people ignored their pleads and fears. So what he had done is become hyper aware of all their little stress signs and when they did one while he's working with them he'd instantly stop and show them that he realized/saw that they were worried. By doing this he really brings the horse back to life as they realize they're being heard and they can say no. Most interestingly a mustang he's working with after starting to bring her back into the mentally aware state she's become more spooky. His channel is really interesting to watch. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZ-sZYGbr5mGnrc

[@terryst9835]

Maddy talks about that as well in this older video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoSpl6OjnJaciJI

[@piperwebb7389]

My mustang won't eat treats from my hand, I put them in his feeder and assume that he eats them< he will eat hay from me! How do I get him to eat treats from my hand?

[@passionatehorsemanship3334]

I love to draw and play frisbi with my boyfriend and trail ride and just good off and be happy and silly for no reason.😛

[@lucasa1849]

Notice how she gets a bit tense and leanes back a little everytime she faces you/ you walk up to her.

[@CInzerillo]

Another wonderful video. Play? Gosh. As a mom of 4 kids, 3 cats, two dogs, an extremely challenging horse, a mini, homeschooling, being a part time trimmer, and a riding instructor, there is no room for play in my life. No days off. No rest. I work my tail off so I can pay for my horse, because my spouse is only supportive if there is no financial obligation on his part.

[@petsforsale]

I am so sad for you. Time to make time for you. x