what a horse remembers

Hillbilly wrote:Sheep riding is called mutton bustin on the rodeo circuit lol.

uno wrote:I think riding a sheep looks more comfortable, they are usually quite padded. And warm. And don't have big teeth.

coopslave wrote:Horses are herd animals and there is a hierarchy in the herd. Do you want to be at the bottom or the top. Any group of horses are a herd and you are part of their herd if you interact with them regularly. The boss of the herd doesn't take sh*t from anyone, that is me! It takes a major presence to do that with a group of horses and I rarely have to resort to anything more than my presence, but sometimes I do and I am willing to if need be. Horses use their teeth and feet to work their way up, I make sure my group never comes to that with me. If I need to deal with something it is done quickly, firmly with as much force as I need and then it is over just a quickly. They must feel very threatened for a short period of time for it to work effectively.
Feeding time is when it shows the most the boss eats first until they allow the others in. This is a good place to establish your place, but if you have grown horses that don't respect you, be very careful if you decide to start here.
My horses and I spend lots of quality time together, but it is with my boundries. My gelding loves my hair, ALOT, and he is allowed to play with it when I allow him and if he is careful. It is a nice thing to share with him, but he never over steps the line without concequences (he rarely does overstep, that is why he is allowed to play with it sometimes).
Uno, sounds like teen is doing a good job. Just encourage her not to hold a grudge, horses don't understand that, they really live in the now.