People seem to have different ideas of what makes an experienced horse person. I am often told by new students about their level of experience and it always seems to be assessed by the number of years they have been riding.
When the subject of horse behaviour comes up one of the first things that come to a lot of minds is the notion that the relationship between humans and horses is dominated by the relationship between a prey animal (horse) and a predator (human).
Horse people have only one job. And horses have only one job. It’s the most important job and it's the job that supersedes all other jobs. Nothing is more important when it comes to training.
This is a short article I wrote a few years ago regarding things to consider when buying a horse trailer (or float as we call them in Australia). After recent discussions with different people I thought it would be a good idea to raise article from the dead once more.
We all struggle to help horses change their ideas. However, changing a horse’s idea is the only thing that separates good horsemanship from training a slave.
The goal should be to teach a horse to be equally responsive and soft on both reins. But when there is more resistance on one rein than the other, even contact is not going to work.
