With horses, the source of their worry and anxiety is a lack of clarity. I’m trying hard to think of an exception to this premise, but nothing comes to mind.
How many ways can you use feel/pressure to get your horse to think about backing up? Does each method stimulate your horse to back up with the same quality?
I am a huge fan of teaching a horse to follow the feel of the inside rein and offer a lateral bend through its whole body. One of my most regular Ross-isms at clinics is “The bend is your friend.”
I have often said, “Training is something you do with a horse, not to a horse.” If I want my horse to be my employee then doing stuff to a horse to instil obedience is fine.
