Another thing I like to do is assess my horse's disposition before I start working with him. I like to know what my student is like before I start his education.

For instance, is he a nervous horse? If so, I'll be very quick to reward him and carefully use aids. I'll keep his confidence high by caressing him often.

Or, is he a willful horse? If so, I'll have to be more persistent and patient to get him doing something I ask.

It's important to know what a horse is like before training like a teacher should know her students before teaching.

If you were a teacher and school principal accurately described what each kid was like then you could be a more effective teacher.

For instance, what if you had a kid that was deaf in one ear and a little hard of hearing in other but was a fast learner? As a teacher, if you didn't know this you may be inclined to think this child is lazy or perhaps dumb. And if child sat in back of room whole time this problem would only get worse - and you wouldn't know he is a fast learner.

But if you knew he was deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in other then you'd want to put him in front row and talk louder. Perhaps you may suggest his parents get him a hearing aid. You'll do all you can to help your student learn.

This is much like a horse. The teacher must do all he can to help his horse learn. The teacher must understand his horse first to see how he can best help his student learn.

Slow movements tend to draw one horse to another. Horses express calmness with relaxed, slow steps. This is how they welcome other horses in their space.

If a horse is trying to show you he’s General you may see a clamped-down tail with pinned ears. To get him to accept you as General you will move him out of his space. You do this by matching any quick moves he makes with your own quick moves. The trick is to make first strike before he does.

One way to do this is with a quick arm movement towards him – almost like you’re violently shooing away some pesky flies. Also, you can use an aggressive tone of voice towards a horse if he’s being aggressive.

How can you tell if he’s conceding to you? If he turns his head or drops it, relaxes his tail, begins chewing, or takes a deep breath, then that’s how you know. If any of these happen he’s saying, “Okay, I’ll do what you say because I want to listen to you.” Pay attention to these clues that tell you your horse is in Private mode (the follower) instead of General mode.

When you go into round pen to work with your horse first check to see how he responds to you. If he rubs his head on you or swings his rear end toward you then he’s challenging your position in pecking order. If you’re with a horse that’s not dominant you want to make sure he has confidence. Thus, be very careful not to be threatening.