The Human's Intention and Equine Interactions

For years I mindlessly caught, led, and tacked up the horse. 

No one ever taught me to put any value or connection between recognising how the horse's mental and emotional state influenced his physical behaviors for the upcoming ride. 

As I started to practice observing, being mentally present, and becoming available to acknowledge the horse's communication (without filtering the translation of it with human emotions or critique,) my perspectives evolved as did the value I assigned to hearing his feedback. I started realising how early every single moment of the interaction influenced the next. 

Even if the intention was to ride, the Quality of the Conversation during the catching and often "mundane" aspects of interaction, such as the leading influenced how the saddling, mounting, and the ride went. 

So many horses that arrive here at the farm for re-education and rehabilitation for mental, emotional, and physical trauma, have massive "holes" in what should have been part of their basic educational foundation. 

The number one problem I encounter that horses have with the human experience? They are defensive towards pressure. 

It could be physical or spatial pressure, but far too many horses that I meet (even if still seemingly obediently complying,) are defensive and pull, push against, run through, over, avoid, or flee from pressure. 

Humans communicate with horses through pressure, whether it be spatially, physically, or vocally. 

Yet it is the least considered and rarely addressed starting point- How does pressure one is using affect the individual horse?

If during every interaction the human is communicating with the horse in a manner that triggers defensiveness in the equine, how available is the horse to think, search, try, learn, or retain? Will the sessions build his trust, increase his willingness to try, and lead to reasonable behaviors? Or will they be "teaching" him fear, avoidance, and distrust?

Will repetition "fix" unwanted equine responses if the manner in which communication is offered to the horse causes increasing fear? No. 

Will adding more pressure "teach" an already defensive horse? Yes, but not the understanding the human wants. Instead, it will teach him to anticipate earlier in each session, cause him to mentally be stuck and fixate, reinforce his mental resistance, and maintain constant physical tension. This leads to greater physical resistance,  avoidance, and often "dangerous" behaviors.