First, be kind.
Kindness isn’t always the first instinct for those of us who’ve grown up with horses. Traditional horsemanship “wisdom” tells us that we can’t let the horse win, we have to be the alpha, they aren’t allowed to say no. But luckily, we know that’s not the best way anymore.
Instead, we can just be kind. If our horse doesn’t respond in the way we’d like them to, then we need to find another way to explain it to them. If they say no, we need to ask why. And if we work with our horse, instead of against them, then we can accomplish our goals and win together, as a team.
Remember to be kind to yourself too. It’s so easy to get discouraged when we feel like we’ve gotten something wrong, or haven’t done enough, or just aren’t making the progress we think we should. But we’re all doing the best we can, and as we keep learning, we’ll keep improving.
Be kind to your horse. Be kind to yourself.