| Horse owners have things happen to them they'd | | | | You may be wondering how to do that. You achieve |
| never suspect would. There's a reason for that. It is | | | | this through respect and being the leader with your |
| unpredictability of the horse. Horses can be so | | | | horse. What does being the leader mean? It means |
| unpredictable, that I know a lion trainer that would | | | | you can't be a dictator. It also means you can't be a |
| rather train lions that horses. Why? Because you | | | | softie. The leader is in between these two extremes. |
| NEVER let your guard down with a lion. | | | | Plus, you must have feel. Feel is timing. Feel is balance. |
| With a horse, it's easy to let our guard down. After | | | | And feel is patience. |
| all, they seem docile one moment and out of | | | | Timing is teaching or correcting something when it |
| nowhere they can explode out of control from fright. | | | | matters. For instance, correct something when it |
| This exploding out of control happens because the | | | | happens, not 30 minutes later. |
| horse is simply trying to survive. The trick is getting | | | | Balance is the amount of correction. For example, |
| him to remember you're on his back before he goes | | | | does the punishment fit the crime. If your horse bit |
| ballistic. | | | | you, he should be punished more than if he came in |
| In other words, you want him to think of you | | | | your space. |
| instead of himself. A spooked horse can react so | | | | Patience speaks for itself. You can't rush your horse's |
| fast you could wind up on the ground before you | | | | learning. Plus, he may need re-corrected on a |
| know what happened. This explains why it's | | | | behavior. Have patience. |
| paramount your horse thinks of you before himself | | | | Follow this model and your horse will be more apt to |
| when spooked. | | | | take care of you when he spooks than not. |