Whenever you are with your horse you are teaching him/her
something. Every minute. You are asking your horse to do something even if it
is just to stand there while you talk to the other rider who stopped to say
‘hi’. Oh, and did you turn your back? You are still teaching your horse.
I see riders who saddle up, mount up, and then text on their
phones while they ride. What are they teaching the horse? If a rider is
preoccupied with anything (texting, talking, etc) he/she might not see the tossing
of the head, or the cutting away from the rail while they ride around in the
arena. The horse might be getting lazy, but if the rider doesn’t correct the
horse it will be like the rider is telling the horse they are doing the right
thing. Next time the rider just gets on to ride and the horse strays from the
railing, the rider will correct the horse. The rider might even get a little
frustrated because the horse keeps cutting away from the railing. Can you
imagine what the horse is thinking? ‘I’ve done it this way lots of times. Why
is this time any different?’
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