One that probably bothers me the most is how I've heard several people say, "This horse is amazing. He really has a personality." While I understand what it is they're trying to say, I feel it's important to get something straight in everybody's minds.
ALL horses, all animals for that matter, have personalities! And while I understand that when most people make this statement, they mean it more like, "This horse has a really outgoing personality," again, I just feel it's important to stress the true meaning of the words.
Getting to know your horse's own personality is of the utmost importance if you want him to reach the best of his capabilities, and if you want to train him to reach those. Once you realize what kind of personality your horse has, it makes it much simpler and clearer how he'll approach different things. You'll be able to understand what sort of attitude he'll take in different situations, and you can work to prevent problems or take the approach that you feel he'll work best with first.
Take, for example, my gelding. He's the most mischevious, sly, happy-go-lucky horse I've ever known. In knowing this, I'm able to anticipate what things he'll try to avoid, or when he'll most likely cause trouble, etc., for a reaction, and we can work around these problems before they occur.
I'm not saying you'll always be able to tell when you'll have a problem before it happens. It's just that knowing your horse better will provide a much better base and will prevent a lot of things from happening before they do.
As I've stressed before in my articles, get to know your horses! Not only will it help the training flow much smoother, it will help your own personal relationship with your horses and increase the fun at the same time.
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