Respect, Part 1

Respect. The all important item that every horse lover wants and strives for in their equine companions. But all to often, once we achieve this position, we let it go. Little by little, the horse gets the upper hand(or is it hoof?). Why is it that we work so hard to form a bond and gain respect, but as soon as we figure we've done it, we relax, I mean, what's it matter if he walked away from me that time? Oh, he stepped on my toes because he got too close, no biggie. But is it really? I think so. I'm offended when my horses do something like this to me. Why? Because that would be like a mother teaching their children not to smoke a cigarette. So the child (for the sake of the article, his name will be Augustus)agrees. Augustus waits until mom goes to the store, grabs out the pack of smokes and takes a wiff off of one. Augustus' mom comes back, only to find him wreaking of smoke. Shouldn't this offended her? It would me. 
So don't let your horse be Augustus. Demand that he throw away the bad attitude and show him you deserve respect. 

When I was a fresh horsewoman, I would read tons of articles saying that the two most important things in a horse/owner relationship is sturdy respect and a good bond. But half of the articles never really got around to telling me how it was that I did this.
I eventually figured things out and tried lungeing for respect, join-up and LOTS of groundwork before even putting my foot in the stirrup. And still, I love my groundwork.

Join-up is beneficial when you first get your horse. It shows him that you are a confident, steady, sturdy herd leader. Take for instance if you were in the middle of nowhere. Would you want to follow JimmyBobbie over there that doesn't know where in the world he's going and isn't strong enough to lead you all there? No. You'd want to follow the strongest, no-nonsense man with good direction and strong focus.
Horses are the same way. They want somebody who will make them feel secure in what they are doing. They will test you to see if you are really cut out for the job. 


Horses are professional people trainers. They love to test us and feel around for us. They want a leader with a flashlight when their in the dark. A confident one when their upset, and a sympathetic one when their scared.


So in conclusion, be the confident leader that they want. Don't stand for nonsense and don't let them get away with bad behavior.  Look for Respect-Part 2 coming soon!