When it comes time to ask more of your horse, whether it be stretching to reach audacious goals or you need to administer medical treatment… you need to consider WHY they should…

🦄 Why should they do it?

Just providing the basic care requirements to is not going to motivate them to expend mass amounts of effort for work or stand still for uncomfortable treatment.

🦄 Why should they do it?

Just going round an arena with no apparent purpose or destination doesn't inspire motivation

🦄 Why should they do it?

Just because they can be ridden and horses have been ridden by people for generations.

🦄 Why should they let you on their back?

When we are taught that the best motivation for a horse is to inflict pain (ie bits, whips, spurs) and force submission.

🦄 Why would they look after you?

When you are ignorant to your horse telling you they have pain, are uncomfortable, don't know the answer, don't feel safe or don't have trust and confidence in our leadership

🦄 How can we expect willingness?

Connection and relationship are integral to having a safe horse that enjoys learning and asks to be ridden.

A submissive horse does as its told until it can't anymore (for fear, feeling threatened or pain more often than not) and this is best case scenario. How many submissive horses have had to retire young due to riding related injuries?

🦄 Until we can learn to hear our horse without taking offense to what they are saying, while we continue to "just push them through it" we will continue to have "naughty" horses because they feel unheard at best and in pain at worst.

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