Disciplining Your Horse, Part 2
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offense when you get after him for misbehaving the earlier you address it the easier it will be to change. This does not mean it will be easy the more established the behaviour the more confident the horse the harder it can get. This means he may change his behaviour for the worse before anything is resolved. If you are not prepared to see this through to a satisfactory conclusion then do not start. Things are likely to get very intense so are you prepared to go where he might take you?
It is very important that you are able to remove emotion from any request or correction you may use to get your horse to perform. Emotion causes unclear thinking. Fear anger and frustration are all debilitating when trying to teach or learn. If you cannot remove the emotion from the equation it will be difficult to clarify things to your horse because your horse will feel the same fear confusion and anger as his rider
You must always be looking at the things your horse tries to do for you rather than dwelling on the things that you think your horse is going to do to you. I know a rider who has seen her horse rear up and was not able to get the vision of her rearing horse out of her mind. When she expects the horse to rear again she has already set the horse up to fail. Use the power of intention and positive thought to help rather than hinder the process.
Never look to punish your horse for any action however extreme you may think it is. Correct him absolutely but NEVER punish. Perhaps it is just a difference in definition but correction is methodical and deliberate punishment is emotional and reactive. Do not be afraid
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