In order to build an extra-ordinary relationship, the principles of Trust, Love and Respect have to be firmly in place.

The main problems horses experience with man is fear and our inconsistent nature... Most horses have an instinctive "predator-prey fear" and it’s this natural instinctive behaviour that has enabled them to inhabit this earth for an incredibly long period of time.

Abused or unhandled horses will obviously and naturally be nervous and fearful of man.

The principles of trust, love and respect are the building blocks to something special. The order in which they should be taught will depend upon the unique nature of the horse. All three principles are closely interlinked. Without trust there can be no love and respect, without love, trust and respect suffer. What we seek is a harmonious relationship between the three.

THE PRINCIPLE OF RESPECT
Do you respect your horse on a mental, emotional, physical and spiritual level including their time, space and energy? Does your horse respect you on a mental, emotional and physical level? Disrespect means that you are being walked all over or that you are walking all over your horse.

THE PRINCIPLE OF LOVE
Animals are the best teachers of unconditional love. Love is an incredibly powerful universal healing tool. In many cases it has been sheer love that has encouraged or sparked the life back into an unhealthy animal or even another human being for that matter. Far more is accomplished from a place of genuine caring. A lack of love for your horse will only erode the principle of respect and broaden the gap between horse and human...

Remember you still love your horse no matter what they do, (of course we do) especially if they give you a hard time. It is just their excitable nature or dangerous responses that you do not particularly welcome or enjoy. If it's a horses actions that you donít like then exercise (Lunge) those actions (fear) out of them. When this occurs most owners/riders feel that by asserting themselves they are being horrible. All you are doing is safely addressing the problem from the ground instead of from their back. You choose where you would rather be. I would rather get the horse to think about the issue mentally, emotionally and physically than giving it a hiding. At least that way its intelligent leadership application of training the brain and encouraging the body to follow.

Please remember, horses are the MASTERS of body language. Believe you me, horses can tug on the emotions in incredibly manipulative ways. Why do you think they get away with what they get away with, by mostly people not being confident or consistant in their approach? If this is the case, do your best to be confident and consistant in your approach as you do not want to spoil a horse by over spoiling them when they are small, and then end up with a disrespectful monster when they are bigger.