Horse Goals vs Creating a Quality Equine Partnership

Horse Goals vs Creating Quality Equine Partnerships

It is very easy to fall into a pattern of setting goals and getting fixated on them while losing sight of assessing if there's quality during the interaction with the horse.

I will hear people excitedly telling me about how much they have accomplished with the horse.

 
Then as I watch their equine's behavior and see things like chomping on the bit, pinned ears, tails swishing, fidgeting or excessive movement, "grumpy" faces, physical tension, rigid nostrils, wide eyes, inability to stand still (mentally and physically), avoidance at being caught/ led/ tacked up/ trailer loading or mounted, or if every time the halter is removed the horse goes running off, that tells me a lot more about how and what the horse has been experiencing during the accomplishing of the rider's goals.

I'm all for setting goals to work towards, but I'm even more for first building a quality foundation in which the two-way communication is clear, specific, supportive, and addresses any of the horse's potential fear or defensiveness, so that the experience builds his confidence and increases his willingness, rather than diminishes his trust towards the human.