Trust is one of the features of any good relationship and a lack of trust is a hallmark of a soured relationship. We trust people we like and get along well with, but don’t trust people we don’t like or who have proved untrustworthy. The caveat to this is that trust (like most other behavioural determinants) is on a sliding scale and never absolute. There are always limits to trust - but that’s a different topic.
According to the most authoritative source I could find, ‘The Ross Jacobs Definitive Dictionary of Horsemanship Terms’,
Trust is when a horse does something because it believes it is a good idea.
But
Obedience is when a horse does something because it believes not doing it is a bad idea. That’s a big difference between trust and obedience.
We all like to believe that our horse(s) trusts us. As proof, we can point to the fact that it loads into a trailer without fuss or is steady on a trail ride or comes up to us in the paddock, and a million other behaviours that confirm in our mind that our horse trusts us.
Some people believe liberty work is proof of a horse’s trust. The premise is that a horse could run away if it didn’t like the work. But that’s a big assumption because some liberty training can make a horse feel just as trapped as if it was in a prison.
So how can we know if what we believe is our horse’s trust is not just obedience in disguise? How can we know if it is doing things for us because it believes it is a good idea or because it believes not doing it is going to result in trouble?
When a horse stands quietly for a needle injection, how can we know it is from trust or obedience? When a horse is taken away from his paddock friends without complaint, how can we know it is because he thinks it is a good idea or that making a fuss is a bad idea? When a horse does not buck on its first ride, how can we know it is because it feels okay about it or because it has had submission drilled into it?
If our horse’s actions themselves can’t be the judge of whether it is acting from obedience or trust, how can we know? What can we use to judge it?
It is an important concept to keep at the forefront of our minds whenever we are interacting with our horses. Keeping in mind that trust and obedience are on a sliding scale, we all want to establish a trusting relationship with our horse. But to do that we must have a clear measure that distinguishes trust and willingness from obedience and submission.
Do you believe your horse trusts you? What considerations do you use to be sure of that?
Are police horses in a riot situation trusting of their rider or simply obedient to their rider? How can you tell?