Make or break it: psychological safety
Everything you do with your horse will either offer psychological safety and build faith, trust and confidence or break it.
There is one time in particular that I broke the trust I had been building with Fitty.
When I first got him I wanted to ride him up the road to another property that had an arena. I didn't think anything of it but thankfully decided to do it in hand just in case. The further down the road I got the more he was starting to panic at the cars and trucks that were coming past until he couldn't control himself anymore. He started rearing to pull away from me and run home. He is a big strong horse but letting him go would have been an absolute disaster for himself and for the cars on the road. We were already past half way at this point so I thought safer to push on and get to our destination.
So everytime there was a break in the traffic I would run him to the next driveway and we would go in a bit to get away from the noise of the traffic where he would be less stressed until we safely got to the property we were trying to get to. This friends, is what we affectionately call at the barn the "S4!t show".
And it inevitably happens at one point or another. People who have had horses for a long time know about the S4!t show and try to protect new riders or new horse owners from it. But that can mean they feel held back and don't understand why they are being told they can't do something. The s4!t show is a right of passage to becoming a true equestrian. Not naive to how sideways things can go anymore we make better choices on the situations we put ourselves and our horses in to.
So when I see students not have the nous about them to be able to pull the horse off grass, ride with balance and be able to lead so that the horse follows, I will not let them leave the safe controlled environment.
This is an aspect of first do no harm that I have been trying to find the words to explain. Taking it slow, being cautious and not being naive to the situations you put yourselves in to is best for the horse and other people that may end up unintentionally involved.