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Dog Training - When To Give Your Dog The Freedom Off The Leash
Many dog owners are anxious to give their four legged companions the freedom of going off leash, but it is important not to rush that important step. Dogs should only be allowed off their leash after they have become masters of all the basic...

Foxtail Grass Dangerous to Dogs
REQUIREMENTS FOR REPRINT: You have permission to publish this article free of charge in your e-zine, newsletter, ebook, print publication or on your website ONLY if it remains unchanged and you include the copyright and author information (Resource...

How To Stop Your Cat Scratching - Get Rid Of Those Fleas
You know how annoying it can be when you have an itch, but you can't reach it to give it a scratch? Well, when your cat has fleas it's like your problem, just multiplied a hundred times. If your cat has fleas or ticks, you need to take...

Is Your Pet Part of the Family? If so Consider Pet Insurance
Many individuals worldwide have pets and most of the time these pets become mini members of the family accepting and giving love like everyone else. However, the difference between the human members of the family and the animal members is...

The Artful Dog Shopper
I am a dog lover by nature. I have just always loved the little four legged fur balls. Another thing I have always loved is animal art. It could be photographs, paintings, statues or even dog cartoons. I don't really know why I like them, but I...

 
You Can't Fool A Horse

In the dating world many men and women put their potential partners to a "dog test," whereby they introduce their date to their dog and see how the dog reacts to the stranger. If the dog reacts badly towards their date then a red flag is waved, whereas if the dog accepts the stranger instantly the opposite holds true. While many people look upon this test in a tongue-in-cheek manner, many dog owners actually do take it seriously. As they probably should!

Many animals, including horses, possess an uncanny ability to detect emotion as well as the inner nature of an individual. Whereas you may be able to slap a forced smile on your face and hide powerful negative emotions such as stress or anger from fellow humans, you won't find it as easy to fool a horse! In fact I consider horses to be natural truth detectors due to their ability to read a person's emotional state as well as their sincerity when it comes to a love for equines.

If one of my naturally friendly horses takes an instant dislike to someone out of the blue, 9 times out of 10 I'm going to respect my equine partner's instincts. Horses generally do not possess vendettas or have reason to target anyone for no real reason – they tend to call them as they see them. If a horse usually takes a liking to visitors but holds a sudden aversion to one in particular, clearly the horse sees or detects something that I may not have initially caught.

When a horse enjoys your company, you'll know it. When a horse trusts you, you'll know it. And when a horse actually dislikes you, he will make sure you know it. I often state that the world would be a much better place if people were as brutally honest as


horses. But I digress…

A proficient horseman at work should be cool, calm and collected, three essential qualities to maximize the productivity of a training session as well as create an all-around positive aura over human-horse interactions. Keep in mind that you are the horse's leader, and as such the horse will take his cues from you. If you are agitated the horse will recognize something is wrong and either feel you are angry with him or you are annoyed with something else he cannot detect but probably should be also be concerned about. The horse will not be able to focus on the lesson or your requests well at all, nor will he be able to draw strength from you when he becomes concerned about a foreign object or behavioral request.

It is essential that you try not to visit or work with your horse when you are in a negative frame of mind since these undesirable emotions will disturb your equine partner. Try to take a few minutes, or even hours if necessary, to collect your emotions and clear your mind of life's daily irritants.

When we see a loved one is feeling down, it often puts a damper on our day too since negativity tends to breed negativity. The same will happen with your horse, so do not underestimate your horse's ability to detect your feelings.

About the Author
Jeffrey Rolo, owner of AlphaHorse and an experienced horse trainer and breeder, is the author of the above article. You will find many other informational articles dealing with horse training and care as well as games and other horse fun on his website: http://www.alphahorse.com.

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