Miniature Horsemanship - Kendra Gale

02/15/2025

Some horses, even with kind and gentle handling and appropriate care their whole lives, can be reactive and fearful. Others live through horrible neglect or abuse, and end up resilient and eager to form connections with humans. Our human brains love to try and solve puzzles, but attempting to deduce their history based on their behaviour probably isn’t going to be effective, or helpful.

Fear

If a horse is afraid, we need to help them understand that humans and the things we ask of them aren’t scary – it’s that simple.

And if a horse is aggressive, that also means they’re afraid. All aggression towards humans is based in fear – they might not still be afraid, but they learned to be aggressive because they were once, so punishment isn’t a good choice. If a horse is afraid, attempts to defend themselves through showing aggressive behaviour, and then is punished using painful or frightening means, they’re just going to think they were right to be scared, and defend themselves even more aggressively next time, or maybe just start with the aggression even before they have a chance to be scared.

Human fear also has to be considered. So often the way we choose to work with a horse, especially an unpredictable or fearful horse, is rooted in our own fear. Horses are big, and even a Miniature Horse can hurt us enough to make us cautious. One of the best things we can do to mitigate both horse and human fear is to keep a barrier between us. Called “protective contact”, simply keeping a fence between you and your fearful horse during early training sessions will give your horse confidence to engage with you as they feel safe behind the fence, and ensure that your training choices aren’t driven by fear for your physical safety as you can simply step out of reach if necessary.

Routine

Horses love consistency in their lives. Sometimes, if you get a new horse, a big part of the reason they’re fearful and reactive is simply that they’re so upset by the dramatic change to their lives and routines. Especially if your horse came from an auction, but even just a move from a stable herd and home they’re familiar with is enough to cause them to be much more fearful.

Giving them time to adjust to their new home and routine is going to go far to set them up for success. No matter what the situation or your new horse’s temperament, give them some time to settle in before asking much of them. Especially if they’re fearful, knowing that feeding time is consistent, that their herd is consistent, that they are turned in and out, that the tractor goes by, whatever the daily routine is at your farm, let them adjust before you make any determinations of their temperament.

If your horse is reactive and worried, especially following any sort of a change in their living arrangements, setting up a very consistent routine and giving them time to adjust to it can make a huge difference in their confidence.

Connection

If a horse has an aversion to humans, either because they’ve had bad experiences with them, or no experience with them, the first thing to do is try to form a connection.

If the horse is really worried about the presence of humans, it’s going to be up to you to start as slowly as they need you to. Often people choose to take these very fearful “untouchable” types and put them in a stall or other isolated enclosure, and go in there with them, or even corner them and force them to accept touching and handling. But that sort of approach is just going to confirm that they were right to worry – it might “work” eventually, as the horse learns they have no choice but to put up with the human in their space, but it’s not going to build a strong connection and trusting relationship.

Instead, I suggest having a horse either in with a quiet companion, or across the fence from other horses at least, so they don’t feel isolated. Horses are hardwired to think that being on their own is dangerous, so if you’re trying to help a fearful horse, keeping them in a stall without access to other horses is already going to undermine your efforts.

To start building a connection, you’ll have to listen to what the horse tells you. It might mean that all they’re comfortable with at first is you sitting quietly on the ground outside the fence, or that they watch you groom or work quietly with another horse nearby.

One of the best ways to build connection with a horse is to make sure they know that you’ll listen to them. That means that you notice the small signs that they’re uncomfortable and back off. It means that you let them walk away if they need to. A great way to make sure they know they have a voice and a choice and control of their own feet is to start by interacting with them from the other side of a fence.

Communication

Having a clear and consistent form of communication is a great way to help build confidence in a fearful horse. One of the easiest way to set up a line of communication is through positive reinforcement, and teaching the horse that their behaviour results in a food reward. You can start this even with a horse who isn’t comfortable being handled, or even having you in their space. For example, from outside the fence, you could wait until the horse looks at you, then say GOOD and toss a treat into the pen and back off so they can take it. They’ll not only begin to understand that their behaviour resulted in the food reward, but they’ll also start to associate good things with you, and gradually become more and more likely to engage.

Regardless of the form of communication you choose to use, it needs to be kind, consistent, and work both ways – you can’t be the only one in the relationship who has a voice.

Go Slow, You’ll Get There Faster

It can be far too easy to get into a rush, thinking that you’re not making enough progress, or that nothing is ever going to change. But by going at whatever pace the horse dictates, you’ll be making an investment in your future relationship.

I also suggest that you keep track of your journey, so you have a way to look back and see where you started. It’s easy to get discouraged and think that you haven’t made any progress, and if you look back in your journal or other record you’ll find that you’ve already come much further than you think!

If you’re in the midst of a journey with a fearful, challenging horse, your horse is lucky to have you in their corner. Stick with it, you ARE making a difference!

Learn more at miniaturehorsmeanship.com

02/14/2025

02/13/2025

I took a tumble this morning, one of those falls where you kinda wish you had it on video because it was probably pretty spectacular.

I'm fine, no worries, a little sore and cranky but uninjured. Sharing for humour and commiseration with others doing horse chores in the winter, not sympathy! 😂

I'm pretty sure what happened was that I stepped on some very frozen tiny balls of horse manure, and my feet went right out from under me and I found myself flat on my back surrounded by the senior feed that I'd been carrying in a pail.

And then, right after I hit the ground, I realized that I must've tried to catch myself on the hay feeder (the one in the photo) because it was falling towards me.

I had time to think "it's not that heavy, I should be able to get out from under it" before I kicked it at the last minute and it teetered back up onto it's feet.

And then I scrambled up before I was at the center of a riot as my "lesser old" herd dove for the spilled senior feed.

Anyway, consider this your warning - when it's cold enough those tiny poops turn into ball bearings. Be careful out there friends! 😆😜

02/12/2025

It’s easy to dismiss trick training as silly fun (which it definitely is!), or a waste of time (which it definitely isn’t!), but trick training can both be an unbeatable “team building” exercise and a valuable tool towards other skills.

We had a foal born we named Hawk. He was definitely different – not curious about human contact at all, which meant everything was more difficult with him. Despite infinitely more time spent with him, by the time he was two years old he was far behind his brothers, nearly impossible to lead, brush or handle his feet.

With a lot of time and perseverance (and no small amount of blood, sweat and tears), Hawk gradually became accustomed to handling and learned to become a competent driving horse.

I still never had the feeling, however, that he enjoyed anything we did together. He wasn’t unwilling, but he was definitely not engaged, and since my previous driving horse LOVED to drive, I really wanted that partnership again.

I taught Hawk his first trick, rearing, sort of on a whim. He was a natural athlete, and would stand on his hind legs and bang the gate with his front feet to tell us it was time to put him outside (it was always time, in Hawk’s opinion), so he already had the musculature to perform the trick, and it was quite easy to implement a cue and reward to reinforce the behaviour when asked for (and not when it wasn’t.) 😉

Right away I noticed he was more engaged, and taught him to shake his head and nod on command, which he learned in about 5 minutes. I really enjoyed asking him, “Are you cute?” and having him shake his head no, only to nod yes to the next question, “Are you handsome?” He got so cued to the word “cute” that he would shake his head when people walked up to him and said, “Oh, aren’t you cute!”, which more than once resulted in a retort of, “Yes you are!” from the well meaning stranger.

After that it was bowing, Spanish walk, waving and painting, but while we had lots of fun, the tricks themselves aren’t the important part of the story.

For the first time in his life, Hawk began to demonstrate a personality. Horsinality?

He was engaged in what we were doing, and not just in the tricks, but in everything we did.

He had more confidence. Rather than simply doing what I asked, he was comfortable enough to put his own spin on things, to lean towards a cones course, to be bouncing around at the start of the marathon, to take matters into his own hands and decide to jump a cone when we had a difference of opinion on which direction to drive around it.

Those may sound naughty, but they’re not. I don’t want an automaton, I want a partner; one with a sparkle in his eye, who is as invested in what we’re doing as I am, and who isn’t afraid to tell me what he thinks. The old Hawk wouldn’t have noticed the cones course. He wouldn’t care where we were driving, and probably would run right over the cone.

Trick training showed Hawk how to have fun, and it turned us into a team, working together at everything we did.

One of the reasons that trick training can make such a difference in the engagement and partnership, is that tricks are usually taught using positive reinforcement. In learning theory, positive reinforcement is the adding of a reward to reinforce the desired behaviour. Most horse training is traditionally negative reinforcement – that is, something is removed to reinforce the behaviour instead of added. This is the classic pressure and release method of training; a stimulus is applied and the correct response is marked by the release of the pressure.

Science shows that a skill learned through positive reinforcement is not only more firmly remembered, but the positive emotions associated with the reward as forever associated with the skill learned, so that it the behaviour itself becomes reinforcing. Through teaching tricks, we can make use of the science behind positive reinforcement – even if we don’t know anything about it, like I didn’t when I taught Hawk the tricks that would change our relationship.

Winter is a great time to teach tricks, as you don’t need good footing or warm weather or an indoor space. I taught Frankie to nicker while I fed him his breakfast each day, adding only 30 seconds of time – and WAY more enjoyment – to my morning chores.

My challenge to you is to teach your horse a trick! And if you'd like some help and inspiration, my Getting Started Trick Training includes tutorials for 10 different tricks, many of which are the building blocks for even MORE tricks!

02/11/2025

The following is an excerpt from Understanding Your Miniature Horse, available in ebook through my website or paperback on Amazon.

Horses communicate a lot with their breath. Holding their breath tells the rest of the herd they’re concerned, or listening, aware of a potential threat. A loud snort says “get ready to run”, and a deep slow breath means “all is well”.

Horses don’t know that we don’t routinely use our breath to communicate, and we often don’t even think about it. Holding our breath is something we also do when we’re nervous, but we are much more likely to be nervous about what the judge is going to think, than we are that something’s going to eat us. Our horse doesn’t know the difference though, to them, nervous is always “something might eat us” so we need to become more aware of our own breathing, so we aren’t inadvertently giving our horse bad information about our current situation.

One of the most valuable tools we can use to reassure our horse when we see signs that they are approaching threshold is to take a deep slow deliberate breath to show that we’re not worried, and they don’t need to be either.

Because horses are so aware of breath, we are able to use it to further refine our
communication with them. A breath prior to a cue or command helps let them know something is coming – a breath half-halt, so to speak. A deep slow breath can help them focus. They are so in tune to it, that I find I can get a downward transition in nearly any driving horse – even those who haven’t learned the cue yet – simply with a deep relaxing breath. And the cue of breath-“annnnd whoa” is one I believe every driving horse needs to understand very well, with the breath and the “and” allowing them to rebalance and prepare for the halt.

Using your breath to communicate with your horse can seem almost magical, as they are so in tune. I highly recommend experimenting with your horses. Go out and try holding your breath while standing near your horse and see their reaction. Next, try a big deep sigh and see how they respond to that. I think you’ll be surprised how much your horse notices!

REMEMBER: If you are not aware of your breathing, your horse definitely is. Using our breath to intentionally communicate with our horse is a hugely valuable tool, and being careful to not inadvertently communicate something bad is important too!

02/10/2025

It's been really cold here lately.

Not that it's a surprise, it's February, and it's Alberta - of COURSE it's cold! 😉

But, it does make horse care more challenging. While the horses are pretty well suited to the cold, my frozen waterers, frosted over glasses, and numb fingers all conspire to make horse chores far less fun than usual.

You know what still makes me smile? When I'm out there, in the dark, lugging around far more hay than usual to keep everyone eating and cozy, and my horses walk into the light of my headlamp and offer their favourite trick.

Big cheesy grins, spontaneous sidepassing, impressive rears - my horses have been keeping my spirits up.

It's not the main reason you might teach your horse to do tricks, but it sure is an unexpected benefit that I've found!

You can get my Getting Started Trick Training course at the link below - trick training is a great winter time activity for you and your horse, but maybe wait til it's a tiny bit warmer to get started. 😜🥶

https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/get-started-trick-training/

02/09/2025

3 Common Mistakes People Make Training Their Miniature Horses
(And I Know Because I’ve Made Them All)

#1 – Asking For Too Much Too Soon

We know what our ultimate goal is. We understand clearly where we’re going. But our horse doesn’t. When we skip steps, our horse is going to be confused or frightened or frustrated. Whether we’re teaching them a simple skill like backing up on a halter, or a complicated one like driving, we can make it so much easier (and safer) for both horse and human if we make sure to teach it in as small a steps as possible, and be very clear with our horse when we get the response we’re looking for.

As an example, often what happens when we ask our horse to back is we apply pressure to the halter, the horse takes a step back, we think, “Yay, it’s working” and keep applying pressure, but now the horse thinks “I backed up, but she kept pushing on me so I guess that was wrong” and then they go sideways, or quit, or push back, or rear, or crash into you. And then someone says they’re the problem because they don’t have enough “respect” when really they’re just hella confused. And then imagine that compounded many times over when they are introduced to harness, blinders, bit, overcheck, cart and driver all in one go – what a poor choice for the horse, and yet one we see repeated over and over again.

#2 – Using Too Much Pressure

Horses are super sensitive to the world around them. They evolved as a prey animal, they had to be hyper aware to survive. They communicate with each other through tiny changes in body position and breath.

We don’t need to use pressure as our default training approach, and we especially don’t need to use devices or escalating pressure. Anything designed to cause the horse discomfort (rope halters, whips and sticks, chains etc) is unnecessary. And if you apply pressure and don’t get the response you were looking for, that means they didn’t understand, and adding more pressure might get a reaction, but not understanding.

Training that is heavily pressure based will either be unsuccessful or will end up with a horse who does the skill, but like a robot, with no enjoyment or engagement.

Adding more pressure is just more likely to get the horse to brace against it. Work smarter, not harder.

#3 – Getting Frustrated

I have to be on my guard all the time for this, and I’m not always successful in heading it off, but I do my best.

If it’s not going well, stop! I find it helps if I say, out loud, “Well that didn’t work did it, let’s try something else!” or simply “how interesting!” and then let the horse chill out or snack while I think about a new approach. Because doing the same thing over again isn’t going to work.

“Never let the horse win” is an outdated concept that implies we are in conflict with our horse, when we are supposed to be on the same team. If we get into a fight with them, no one wins.

Try something else, go back to an earlier lesson, end on a good note, or simply walk away, but avoid frustration (both human and horse!) and conflict at all costs.

Learning about horses is a lifelong pursuit, but no matter what methods or skills you’re working on, if you’re breaking things down into baby steps, minimizing your use of pressure, and avoiding frustration, then you’re on the right track.

Want more tips to improve your communication with your Miniature Horse? classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/ebook

02/05/2025

We are in the midst (hopefully nearing the end!) of our first proper cold snap of the winter here, temperatures between -25 and -31 celsius, and windchills nearly -40
Here’s what I’m doing to keep the horses happy and healthy in this weather.

1. I’m making sure they have LOTS of hay to eat. I’m feeding about 3 times as much as usual, with the goal that they never run out in these temperatures. Digesting hay is how they stay warm, and their caloric needs skyrocket in these temperatures.

2. They all have shelter, and I try to feed them in more sheltered areas as well, so they can avoid that windchill as much as possible.

3. Just before the temperatures dropped I cleaned all the waterers to make sure they’d have fresh clean water available. After the temperatures dropped I lost two of my heated automatic waterers, so I’ve had to rearrange some gates and haul some water to make sure everyone continues to have access to warm water to drink whenever they need it.

4. I’m monitoring everyone carefully, and blanketing those that need it. The vast majority don’t even seem to notice that it’s cold out, so long as they have plenty of hay to eat, but I have blanketed 5 horses so far, three who are older and were shivering, and two who have arthritic joints (a shoulder and a hip) who are more comfortable if they are kept warm. Only one has been a struggle to keep warm, 29 year old Aztra has three blankets on, and I’ve finally got her cozy now. But 33 year old Knight Rider is naked and happy and tells me it’s not cold out at all, proving that every horse is an individual and needs personalized care during cold weather.

5. I watch for the balls of ice in their feet, especially on those with pre-existing soundness issues, and try to get them out for them, as I worry about them slipping and getting hurt.

I think Aztra is the only horse who is as bothered by the cold as I am 😉because most of them don’t even seem to notice it’s cold - the other night when I was hauling water to one of my empty waterers (the heater part is still working so I just fill it up) Bentley was following me around offering tricks, because why wouldn’t I want to play in the dark and 30 below? 😆

Stay warm friends, and remember that our horses really are better suited to this weather than we are! A shelter from the wind, warm water, plenty of hay, and keeping a close eye on them, and they’ll be just fine!

02/03/2025

Would you like to spend the next eight weeks taking your horse from wherever they are now - even if that's barely halter broke! - to confidently completing obstacle classes, showmanship patterns and agility courses?

Be sure to check out the Groundwork Masterclass!

This course is one of the most comprehensive I offer, laid out in eight modules with progressive goals, each made up of multiple exercises to help you tailor your training to your individual horse - no cookie cutter, one size fits approaches here!

In addition to the teaching content, the Groundwork Masterclass contains hours of training videos, of me actually working with horses (and a mule!) and going through the exercises in the course. So many hours, in fact, that the first video is to help you decide which horse is most like your own, so you can follow their videos primarily and not get overwhelmed.

🐴 SONIC is nervous and reactive. He has a big reaction to small stimuli and the world is a scary place for him. He has separation anxiety and is quite claustrophobic. But he's smart, and very athletic and quick.

🐴 TEMPEST has a very strong opposition reflex and he's a tank who uses his bulk to get his way. He is the sort of horse that would be labelled "stubborn" (by those who like to label horses - I've been trying to retrain myself not to!) He balks at new things, and if pushed he fights back - dangerously.

🐴 UP is a typical cookie monster mouthy youngster. He has trouble focusing, and you'll see us learning to balance food rewards with focus on the skill we're learning. He is smart when you can get him focused and enjoys the new skills, but would rather eat treats and get hugs given the option.

🐴 BENTLEY is a mule who does not respond well to pressure of any kind - you pull on him, he pulls on you twice as hard, you push he pushes back. So Bentley went through the entire course at liberty, which was a very fun challenge for me to stop relying on a lead rope to guide him through the exercises. Making it always his choice to participate made him an engaged learner.

Which of these horses sounds most like yours?

Click the link to check out the Groundwork Masterclass! https://classroom.miniaturehorsemanship.com/register/groundwork-masterclass/

02/01/2025

“My new Miniature Horse turns and kicks when I go into her pen.”

“Our new weanling was sweet at first, now when my daughter tries to brush her she pins her ears and bites."

“My c**t climbs on me when I try to lead him, and reaches over and bites my knee.”

It’s not uncommon to see these questions and scenarios asked in advice groups on Facebook. Different forms of what is regularly termed “aggression” pop up, and people go looking for solutions. Unfortunately, online advice is usually heavily weighted towards punishment, but punishment is not necessary and can be very detrimental to your Miniature Horse and the relationship you want to build with them.

First, Is It Aggression?

Often, play behaviour is classified as aggression by humans, as it feels aggressive to us! Horses, especially young male horses, play rough, and the c**t who rears up on you or reaches over and bites you leg likely intends nothing more than “play with me!” Of course, that doesn’t mean we want to encourage that behaviour to continue, but knowing that it’s not intended as harmful can help us figure out a response.

And that response shouldn’t be punishment. In fact, in these situations, what we think of as punishment – shouting, shoving, or hitting – could easily be interpreted by the horse as you joining in the rough and tumble game he’s tried to initiate.
Instead, find a way to redirect that playful energy.

✅ Initiate a game that you both will enjoy – I’ve found teaching them to touch a target a very effective way to reengage them in an activity you’ll both enjoy.

✅ Make sure they have play time with an equine friend prior to playtime with you, so they have an outlet for their rough and tumble inclinations.

✅Or play with them through a fence, in protective contact, so they can be as rambunctious as they want without any risk to you, their much more fragile companion. 😉

And remember that the more skills they learn, the more behaviours you teach them that ARE acceptable around humans, the less likely they are to offer “horse play” around you.

Another common behaviour that is misinterpreted as aggression, particularly in babies and very young horses, is mutual grooming. When we scratch a foal – which is, incidentally, a great way to make friends with them! – their instinct tells them to scratch us back, and when horses scratch each other they SCRATCH. I mean, they use teeth, but horse skin is covered in hair and much sturdier than human skin, so we don’t want to just “let” our baby use their teeth either. But they aren’t being aggressive by chewing on you, they’re actually trying to be polite good horse citizens, and if we smack them for it they’re going to be very confused and fearful of us as a result.

Instead, simply stop scratching for a moment when they start scratching you back, until they remove their nose, and then go back to scratching. They figure out very quickly that nose not on you means lots more of the scratching that they’re so enjoying. Nose on you = no more scratching. If you’re consistent they will catch on very fast and, if they slip up and start using teeth again, it’s easy to remind them.

Actual Aggression

There are, of course, situations where Miniature Horses ARE being aggressive to their owners. Horses who kick at you, or pin their ears and bite. But regardless of the form of aggression there are a few things to remember.

There are only two reasons that a horse is ever aggressive to a human.

1️⃣ They’re in pain and aren’t able to communicate that in any other way.

2️⃣ They are afraid, or were afraid once and learned that aggression made the scary human go away.

That’s it.

And neither of those reasons are going to be solved by answering their aggression with more aggression.

If they’re reacting aggressively out of pain and are punished, then they’re going to be fearful and be even more aggressive.

If they’re reacting aggressively out of fear and are punished, then they’re going to be even MORE fearful and potentially MORE aggressive.

There is always another way, we just have to keep ourselves safe, don’t allow our own fear response to control how we react, and think the situation through with logic instead of emotion.

Either way, when aggression happens, the first thing to do is remove ourselves and keep ourselves safe. Miniature Horses are still horses, and we CAN get hurt. Our safety has to be the first priority. And don’t worry about “letting them win” – either they’ve already learned that aggression makes the human go away, or you’re just telling them, “I hear you and I’m giving you space.” Regardless, “winning” is not important. Your safety is.

Then you need to deconstruct what happened. What were you doing when the horse reacted badly towards you? Were there any signs leading up to the incident that you missed at the time, but looking back might’ve been warning signs?

If the aggression only happens when you touch a certain spot, or ask the horse for a certain movement, then you need to think about pain. Talk you your vet, schedule a physical or lameness exam, but even if the vet doesn’t find something obvious, don’t dismiss a pain response. If they tell you it hurts, believe them, and make allowances.
Maybe use a softer brush on that area, or make a wider turn that direction, or ask the horse to back up only one step at a time. Whatever changes you can make so they don’t feel they need to defend themselves will not only build a much stronger relationship, with a horse who knows that you listen to their concerns and take them seriously, but might even help them heal from whatever is causing them discomfort too.

It’s a similar approach to straight up aggressive behaviour. First, remember it’s based in fear. Think about what could be scaring them. Often, I see someone say, “Our new yearling was so sweet with our small child, but now they pin their ears and kick at her!” Probably the small child – through no fault of their own, just being a small child – did something that scared the yearling. It could be as simple a sudden movement that startled them, but something has convinced the horse that the kid is scary and they need to make them stay away.

Another common issue is a horse that wheels and kicks at the human trying to bring feed into their pen. This one is often in horses who have at some point felt like they weren’t going to get enough food, whether they came from a situation of neglect, or lived in a herd where they were sometimes pushed off the feed, and now they think they need to fight for the food they need.

Regardless, while we may never know exactly why our horse is being aggressive, our goal needs to be to give the horse the confidence that they no longer need to defend themselves, and teach them an alternative behaviour we’d prefer that they find more reinforcing.

That might mean changing our management system – we could feed the horse in a slow feed net so feeding is less of a high intensity time and maybe they won’t be so anxious.

That might mean teaching a non-compatible behaviour – if they earn a treat for touching a target, they’re going to choose to touch the target and earn a treat rather than kick.

That might mean doing a better job of catching the tiny signs that they’re uncomfortable and giving them space, and supervising children around them until the children also recognize the signs their horse is uncomfortable and give them space.

That might mean working with them in protective contact (through a fence) for a while, to keep you safe and give them confidence.

What You Resist, Persists

We tend to focus on the things we don’t like about our horse’s behaviour and focus on it exclusively. But the thing is, if we’re focused on it, and expecting it to happen, that’s probably what will happen. And the more we wait for a behaviour to happen and then react to it, the more of a routine or habit it becomes.

Instead, focus on the behaviour you’d like to see, and figure out how to create that result, through changing their environment, adapting your interaction with them, and making the new behaviour more reinforcing than the old one.

Think Outside the Box

Every horse is an individual and every situation is different, so there is no “one size fits all” solution, but if we listen to our horse, help them gain confidence and teach them more productive behaviours, we can build a positive relationship.

This can be a difficult shift to make, especially for those of us who’ve been involved with horses for any amount of time. The “show him who’s boss” “teach him respect” “don’t let him get away with that” school of thought is endemic, and if you’ve been involved with horses for any amount of time, I can bet that you’ve used punishment on a fearful horse before. I know I have. And that makes it harder to change, to make the decision that what you did before wasn’t the best choice. It’s uncomfortable, and our brain will try to make it comfortable for us by disregarding new information that contradicts the choices we made in the past. It’s called “cognitive dissonance” and can keep us stuck in old ways of doing things if we aren’t aware of it.

But all we can ever do is the best we can with what we know at the time. When we know better, can do better.

Be creative, listen to your horse, and think outside the punishment box. You’ll build a much stronger, more rewarding relationship with your horse!