Horses Never Lie: The Heart of Passive Leadership

by Mark Rashid

We need to slow down and back up just a little, because I am certainly not advocating that we let our horses have the run of the place. Not at all. All I’m saying is that there are times when it’s to our advantage (and our horse’s advantage) to let him have his say, if for no other reason than to let him get it out of his system. You see, sometimes we get so hung up on trying to accomplish a certain task with our horse that the horse himself gets lost in the shuffle. Because the horse has a little trouble understanding what is happening or what is being asked of him, he becomes frustrated. Once frustrated, the horse may become fearful or defensive, which we may misunderstand as a lack of try. That may cause a number of reactions on our part. The most common is a sort of no-nonsense, “I say, you do . . . and I mean NOW” mentality that sometimes escalates into a situation that no one really cares to be in. Because this type of confrontation often causes the rider to get physical with the horse in one way or another, the horse’s trust in the rider’s judgment takes a turn downward, and their relationship often becomes damaged.