08/22/2026
This is well written and what we do here at CP Horsemanship
We expect a lot of emotional maturity from an animal that thinks a Walmart bag might be a mountain lion.
But here’s the funnier part…
We expect horses to regulate their emotions while half the humans riding them can’t regulate theirs.
Horse gets nervous → rider gets nervous because the horse is nervous → horse gets more nervous because the rider is nervous → rider says “WHY WON’T YOU JUST RELAX?!”
Ma’am. Neither of you are relaxed.
Calm horses start by being understood first.
Not excused.
Not babied.
Not protected from every uncomfortable situation for the rest of their lives.
Understood.
Before I ask a horse to calm down, I want to know why they aren’t calm.
Are they afraid? Confused? Overstimulated? Uncomfortable? Or have they simply never been taught what to do with that pressure?
Understanding the reason doesn’t mean excusing the behavior. It tells you how to train through it.
Sometimes the biggest thing we can teach a horse is:
“I hear you. I’m still going to ask this of you, but I’ll help you figure out how to handle it.”
That’s training.
Good training isn’t removing every hard thing. It’s teaching a horse what to do when things get hard.
Pressure comes on.
They search for an answer.
They find it.
Pressure goes away.
Confidence grows.
Eventually, instead of immediately reacting, they learn how to regulate.
But here’s where we humans have to hold up our end of the deal too.
You cannot white knuckle the reins, clamp your legs on, stop breathing, mentally write your own obituary and then wonder why Trigger has also concluded that everyone is about to die.
Your horse is reading you too.
Calm isn’t something you install by demanding “RELAX!”
Understand them first.
Then teach them how to handle the world.
