My Opinion on Punishment

Everything that a horse does is either what they think they are supposed to do, or what they feel that they need to do (instinct). If a horse does something "bad", in my experiences, it is almost always because they were scared. They felt threatened, or they were worried that they'll get hurt. So, instead of punishment or pain, the horse that I am working with and I work together to find what the problem was, and fix it. I never ever hit horses, yell at them, or do anything to cause them pain. 

Lilo lives in a pasture with 8 other geldings, and he is very scared of a few of them! When we are walking back to the pasture, many times he'll stop and he won't move, because he is afraid of the horses hurting him. So, I show him that he is safe with me, and that the horses won't hurt him. I calm him down and nicely ask him to follow me (NEVER demand!!), or we take a different route. Because he puts so much trust in me, he knows that I will lead him to a safe place.

Punishing a horse for being scared creates the opposite of trust. It usually also causes resentment! Trust is the base of any relationship, so to do something to take that away can often break the relationship. And in all of my time with Lilo, it has been the most effective problem fixer!

             

                         Lilo leaving his herd to come and play!

For more information, here is a website: http://theperfecthorse.blogspot.com/2010/02/punishment-why-not-to-use-it.html