When I talk about this idea of letting the horse have a little say during training, I generally get the same kind of response from people. It starts with a sort of glazing over of the eyes, then a collective gasp, which culminates in a loud chorus of, “You can’t do that!” These folks are concerned about the old idea that if you give your horse an inch, the horse will take a mile. They’ll say that letting a horse have its way is the quickest way for it to become spoiled and disrespectful, and once that happens, you’ll have a whole new set of problems on your hands.
