I was flicking through my copy of the “Ross Jacobs Definitive Dictionary of Horsemanship Terms” and came across some interesting definitions about a horse’s trust versus obedience.

According to this definitive and fabulous dictionary…

Trust: is when a horse chooses to do something because it believes doing it is a good idea.

Obedience: is when a horse chooses to do something because it believes NOT doing it is a bad idea.

Mmmm. That takes a bit of digesting and then leads to the obvious question we should all ask of ourselves all the time.

I notice that after a heavy rainfall my horses choose to sidestep around any puddles in the paddock. But when I ride them, they walk straight through any puddle that is in their path. 

Do they sidestep around the puddles in the paddock because they do not trust that the puddles are safe to walk through?

When I ride them through a puddle do they do it because they fear that NOT doing it will lead to trouble OR do they trust my judgement that walking through the puddle is safe?

How can I know if walking through a puddle when I ride them is motivated by obedience or trust?