UNDERSTANDING

The Secret of Understanding is Knowledge

Understand what a horse is, a horse is a prey animal (bottom of the food chain), it's natural reaction is fear and flight. It has an inbuilt sense of survival that keeps it from being eaten. In order to evade a potential threat it will try to get away from it. The level of fear it is experiencing controls the speed at which it tries to escape, trot, cantor, gallop or bolt. If the horse cannot escape it will try to defend itself by rearing and striking out with its front feet or turning and kicking out with its back feet. If the horse is unlucky enough that the predator has jumped on its back, it will rear, buck, twist and dive in order to dislodge it.

Unfortunately because the horses' sense of survival is so acute, most things present a threat until they become acustomed to them and no longer deem them to be a threat.

Understand what a human is. A human is a predator (meat eater, top of the food chain). If we try to work with a horse in a predatorial way, results are virtually impossible because your horses sense of survival is high. We have to learn to be passive, patient and persistant. This is the natural way to create communication.