>>1962568you gotta understand, that in the moment the horse freaks out, nothing will stop it. he can pull the reins out of your hand, he can buck you off,, and he will run to the last known safe place.
the trick is to get the horse to trust you, if you are afraid you won't be able to control him.
horse can pretty much feel your confidence and state of your mind. if he freaks out, and you freak out along, you tense up your muscles and he can feel it very well. he's gonna instinctively feel that he's all by himself now, because the little thing on his back is freaked out as well, so getting him in line won't be easy. as I said, it might result in skin burns, or minor fractures.
but when you are relaxed and chill, you will make your horse feel relaxed too. if you have his trust, he will follow you. hence, when he freaks out, he's just gonna jump a feet or two away, but that's about it. unless he feels that you are as freaked as him, he's just gonna take you to the sunset and no reins will help you either.
horses eyes can cover a very large field of view. I've seen many times horse having his head as high as it's possible, 90 degrees to the side, and still striding straight a body line, because as long as he can see a way his hoofs are gonna take, he's going that way.
basically, yeah, you need experience and trust. building a relationship with a horse is not an easy feat. with those horses at the riding schools, which are getting 3-4-5-10 riders a day, I'd say it's an impossible task. those horses are so used to inexperienced riders that the trust is a lost thought to them.
stay relaxed and flexible, hold the reins firmly and hands softly. stay calm. and enjoy :)
