Discipline & the Trail Horse

touch of preventative discipline. It works wonders. For example when I see a bad place to navigate coming up ahead and do not want the horse crowding my space and stepping on my feet I dismount ahead of the bad area. I walk out in front of the horse then turn and give his nose a tap with the end of the lead rope and say back. Now there is no question about what I expect.
Do not create problems that you or someone else will have to fix with discipline in the future. I believe that young horses are best raised in the herd where they learn the mechanics of dominance submissiveness and herd discipline. If you raise a foal in isolation or with constant human affection be sure that he also has clear lines of acceptable behaviour. Give him all the love you want but be sure he is not pushing into your space to receive it. Stop nuisance behaviour like nipping and kicking before they become problems. If you are going to touch and rub the friendly young horse be sure he accepts the touch in all areas including legs feet groin and ears.
Finally when it comes to discipline as with all training know when to release pressure when to back off and when to show the horse that it is now behaving properly or has made a step in the right direction. If you continue with aggressive discipline after the horse has begun to respond the horse will certainly become more confused and not understand and the problem may become worse and even dangerous.