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To be an equestrian you must be a trusted leader. If you are not an effective leader, or try to be on equal terms, or worse yet, have the horse be the leader, not only will you both become frustrated, your safety will be compromised. Understanding your role as an effective leader is key to a mutually beneficial relationship between you and your horse.

Although some theories may contradict this statement, those theories ignore a few key facts between the horse and human relationship. First, we as humans are given a true "power" over our equine friends. We have the ability to choose their living conditions, their feed choices, their friends, their exercise program, and their general direction in life. With that power comes a great responsibility to lead our equine friends in a positive direction. Secondly, horses are instinctively driven to follow a leader, an instinct that has been the key to the survival of their species. They willingly follow the leader that is able to meet their basic needs of safety and food.

Perhaps many theories shy away from discussing humans as leaders because as a species we have seen great misuse of leadership by those who have great power. And so theories that describe working on "equal" terms make us feel more comfortable that we won't abuse the actual power we have over the horses. There are two problems with this approach. First, it ignores the fact that we are not on equal terms with the horse, the horse does not have the ability to decide to leave the relationship and go somewhere else, only we can make that decision. So a true "equal" relationship can never exist. Second, the horse does not understand "equal" relationships. Remember that horse instinct is a social structure based on survival. Their "pecking order" establishes a leader. So if your equine friend doesn't see you as the leader, guess what, you’re the follower.

Having a legitimate power and being a leader is not a negative concept if you come at it from a positive approach. According to Stephen Covey, a top leadership theorist, leaders lead in three basic ways: fear, reward, and trust. Although all are effective in their own ways, the one with the best results and least amount of negative consequences is to lead by trust. Since this is easier said than done, fear and rewards are usually the easier choices.

With horse training we all have examples of horse/human relationships where the human uses the fear approach. Because of the great power over the equine, we can apply all sorts of methods of punishment that teaches the horse to conform its behavior to live in our world. Although the behavior changes, the horse will constantly resist at any chance it gets and continued reminders will need to be "administered." The horse only behaves accordingly, out of fear of the consequences that occur from misbehavior.

Although the reward method is more humane, it can be a deceptive method. A common approach is to "click and treat." The method follows the approach that when the horse hears a click, then performs appropriately, a treat will follow. Unlike the fear approach where the horse's survival instinct is leveraged, this approach uses the horse's food drive. The negative consequences to a reward system is when the food is finally taken away. The horse continues to conform behavior based on its conditioning to being fed, but quickly learns that although you are saying there is food, you are not leading it to greener pastures. Remember the species did not survive by being "conned" into following those who couldn't find food. Although this method at first will create a more compliant horse than the fear approach, resistance usually follows.

All horses are different, just like all humans. So under either of the above approaches you may get a horse that will comply for some time and maybe if you are really lucky for the whole time you are together. And those trainers who demonstrate methods based on these approaches know what types of horses to choose to demonstrate the best results. But even with the best results, neither method will get a full commitment out of the horse.

The only way a leader can get full commitment from those he/she leads, is by trust. This holds true for horse to horse, human to human, and human to horse relationships. So you have to ask yourself, do you want a relationship where your horse complies with what you ask or one where the horse is truly committed to do whatever you ask?

Building trust is not easy and can quickly vanish. The fortunate thing working with horses as opposed to humans, is that horses are a lot more forgiving. That is why we see so many examples of horses accepting mistreatment from their humans and not retaliating like a 1,500lb beast could. The key to trust is trustworthiness. This means that you must display behaviors that show your equine friend that you can be trusted. This should not be construed that you can not discipline or reward your horse in achieving trust. The key is that you are consistent, using it in a way to influence behavior without punishing or deceiving.

This isn’t to say one method is better than another. Given the differences in horses, it will take different approaches to gain different horses’ trust. The point is to use a method that develops the horse’s trust, instead of one that creates fear or deceives. What works for one horse, may not work for another. The challenge is in having enough methods to choose from and knowing when and how to apply the right one.

Trustworthiness has to work both ways. Meaning you have to trust your horse if you are to build a future relationship. So unless you and your horse are just getting to know each other, or you are working a young horse, if you do not feel you can trust your horse, you can be sure your horse will not trust you. This is when it is usually best for both to find a new partner, or find assistance in developing a trusting relationship.

As a trusted leader, we must remember that we are given a great responsibility, one the horse wants us to have, but one that we must not misuse. In our efforts to achieve our own goals we must be sure the horse does not pay an unnecessary price. Once you have a horse's commitment, you will find that they are a species willing to do anything for their trusted leader.