Building a horse’s superpower

Stress is not always our enemy.
Relaxation is not always our friend.
Context matters.
The difference between Challenge and Threat is EVERYTHING.
Which means autonomy is a requirement.
If my horse is in a context where he is NOT allowed to "refuse" a request, then my goal is the lowest possible stress.
But in movement training, my horses are ALWAYS in an autonomy context. They always have the right to say "no" to any exercise, without any consequences.
My rules are simple.
We must say YES to these three questions, before adding stress as a challenge:
Is the horse allowed to say NO without ANY negative consequences?
Is the horse free from food anxiety?
Is the horse 100% certain of his autonomy?
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If any of those answers are "no", then we’re not ready to add challenge.
In most ways, my entire goal is to get to this point as quickly as possible, which means Step One is always helping the horse recognize he has an autonomy context.
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