How many of us horse people come across a stingy, know-it-all, horse prodigy? How many of those people actually understand the horse?
People need to first off understand that when you love something, you don't have to prove it. It's not angry. It's not a competition. So why do horse people feel the need to compete their knowledge and skills as if every single one of them is a professional horse trainer? Lets analyze this. How much knowledge do these people actually have of the horse itself? We know horses react on your emotions and also off of pressure. But here's something that I wanted to share that goes deeper than the first steps of training your horse based off those 2 basic understandings.
Horses are EXACTLY like children! They love to play, learn, and socialize as well as challenge you and see if you caught that little 'test' (i.e. picking at the grass when they are on a trail or simply throwing a head when putting on a halter... you know those pesky little moments) But my point is, they are simply kids. They need a leader, not a demanding, screaming, know it all BOSS, who's intention is to BREAK the horse instead of teach the horse. Breaking a horse and teaching a horse are 2 different concepts. Breaking a horse literally gets the horse to thoroughly submit its soul to humans. Teaching a horse creates trust and builds a relationship equivalent to that of a mother and baby. A mother to it's child is a teacher, disciplinary figure, comforter, and friend. That's the relationship that a horse needs. Along the way you end up seeing that the horse will reflect you. If you don't trust the horse will react calmly to a situation, then the horse won't trust you for not trusting it and will inevitably act on that. OK- so we now know how a horse thinks. But how can we train a horse based off this??

So, with this in mind- why do those professional dressage horse owners, show owners, even barrel racers, act so snobby about their horses? Money and owning something with a greater power. The people who act out of anger rather than spreading the joy and love this animal brings, are the people who don't know what patience, kindness, tenderness, or a real understanding looks like and are more likely to treat their horse the same way they treat others. Demanding, pushy, forceful. I believe it is EVERY horse owner's responsibility to do research on 1) horses and their way of life in a herd and 2) on their own horses personality in order to treat it the way it needs.
Because even twins are different and have different needs emotionally, so do horses.
Spread the joy and love your horse brings into this world while building the knowledge everyday.
THE WAY YOU TREAT YOUR HORSE IS HOW YOU TREAT OTHERS & THE WAY YOU TREAT OTHERS IS THE TYPE OF HORSE YOU WILL ACCOMMODATE. Meet the author