Let Your Horse Make The Mistake!
Before you poo-poo the idea, hear me out!
One way to really affect your relationship with your horse in a negative way is to micromanage their behaviour.
As the perfectionists we are, it is super hard to let our horse make a mistake when we feel it is about to happen. In response, we create pressure when our horse is still doing the right thing.
If the pressure is there for the right AND the wrong behavior, there is no incentive for our horse to seek the answer.
So to help them continue to seek the right answer - let them make the mistake!
Once they've made the mistake, correct them. Let them keep making the mistake over and over until they figure out what the correct answer is and choose to do it. This creates willingness.
Create a work ethic in your horse where they are looking for the correct answer to the ask. Create a curious horse that engages in your training and enjoys learning.
Don’t create a horse that stops asking questions, stops looking for answers and sometimes starts arguing with you.
Support your horse’s training by understanding the full concepts of Trainability - the program that teaches you how to create a confident, willing and curious companion - view more details on the program here.