Understanding the Confused Horse

the aggressive behaviour was acceptable. When we resume the training on another occasion the horse will continue to be aggressive and the behaviour will be more difficult to deal with each time it does not have a satisfactory ending. Although this is a rare reaction it is something to be aware of as aggressive tendencies require different solutions.
Horses have the ability to think and make simple informed decisions. Horses need to be encouraged to think because they rely mainly on their instincts to get through life. When they are thinking they need to be positively reinforced or they will stop thinking and continue to rely on instinct. This is another reason why a horse needs a strong herd leader_ The leader is the one that thinks and the rest just rely on her ability to do so. If we allow our horses to feel confused and encourage them to think their way through confusion we will develop a horse that feels good about trying to do what we want.
Encouraging a horse to work through confusion is not difficult. There are a few things that we need to be prepared to do in order to help our horse. We need to be aware of his emotional state and I like to do this by watching and acknowledging his expressions including the look in his eye and his posture. Does he look confused or angry or scared? If we trust our own instinct about how the horse feels we can adjust the way we are asking so that we help the horse to be right. The confused horse will be indecisive about what to do the mad horse will intentionally resist the scared horse will instinctively react in a way that will ensure his escape. A horse will not stay confused for long before he turns his brain off and quits trying to be correct. If you see indecisive behaviour that is when you need to change the question you are asking and lower your expectations with regard to what you are asking for. Back off and give your horse some time to stop and think. He will either be correct incorrect or he will do nothing it could be that in doing nothing he is processing the cue you gave him. Allow him to make the commitment to be right or wrong. The more indecisive he is the more you may
need to change what you are doing. If you do not change you will not get a better answer from him. If confusion is not noticed and allowed to work itself out we will create increased resistance in the horse. If we have increased resistance it will be only a matter of time until we have complete refusal. If you are in doubt dont get stronger wait longer.