Foot placement is another issue. Let’s say you want you horse to make a tight left hand turn but his weight is on his left front foot instead of his right front. He is going to have to shift his weight in order to make the tight turn you are asking for. You are frustrated with him because you feel his response is too slow and uncoordinated. Instead, YOU are the one not preparing him for the left hand turn. Your poor horse is attempting to do his best in a difficult situation and still trying to wear a “happy face” for you.

If they could, this is what I think horses would say: “most of the time I get NO RESPECT (no admiration or consideration). Many times I have experienced the thoughtless bridling techniques riders use. I have had my teeth clunked by the bit so often that I have raised my head to avoid being bridled. I have had my ears twisted, bent, and stuffed in some very unnatural positions in order to get them into the head stall. When I have tried to get away from this pain by tossing my head around, my rider has assumed that I am being disobedient. I think most riders believe I’m a robot who doesn’t feel anything. Then there are the chain chin straps that are carelessly put on the bit so they are twisted instead of laying flat against my jaw. Talk about a bite, OUCH! Also some riders are oblivious that the hooks holding the chain chin strap on the bit are poking into the sides of my jaw. I wonder, do they want to see how much pain I can tolerate or are they truly that unaware? Saddles are another sore point with me. I have tried to perform for my rider, whose ill-fitting saddle was causing pressure points on my back. The only relief I got was when the saddle was finally taken off. Have you ever wondered why we horses like to roll in the dirt after being ridden? It’s to realign our aching backs and stimulate circulation. Another thing I really don’t like is the way many riders have learned to mount. They put a hand on the horn and the cantle and literally pull themselves up on top of me while they are twisting the hell out of my back and sides. Then they expect me to just stand and take this abuse time and time again. They get exceedingly upset when I move away because I don’t want them to get on or I pin my ears and look back at them with a grumpy face. Lastly, I don’t enjoy trail riders who pay no attention to the terrain and will almost always mount from the downhill side of any trail. Doing this makes a 15hh horse grow into a 15.3hh+ horse. Are these riders trying to prove to themselves that they are still young and limber? because they are obviously not thinking about how this is affecting me! PLEASE, from now on, be considerate of your horse and mount on the uphill side!”

Yup, riders, we can be very unconscious of our horses and unintentionally abuse them. And when our horses have tried to express themselves, often they have gotten into a lot of trouble and been accused of being a bad horse. What is the solution? If it were possible I would like to see every rider walk in their horse’s shoes for a day but since that is impossible, then I wish every rider would become better observers, learn more about their horse’s body language and what their horse might be thinking. Horses are continuously trying to communicate via their body language in order to tell us what’s going on inside of them but so often we misinterpret and assume our horses are being disobedient.

Riders, let’s wake up! Become conscious so you don’t abuse your horse because you are half asleep!/td>