Points on Praise for Horses

to detect a fly some horses may actually find petting irritating. Sometimes I find it hard to distinguish between some peoples patting for praise lighten up! and others slapping for discipline! Your horse might too. Animal behaviourists have noted that scratching in front of the withers is likely the most pleasurable to the horse as it is the area targeted for mutual grooming. They suggest staying away from the highly sensitive muzzle area.
4 Watch your words. This is always good advice and particularly when training horses! Horses recognize the tone and volume of words but not their meaning. So keep your voice cues simple and dont let your whoa slow and go get mixed up. Unlike the boy who cried wolf consider your words carefully and use them sparingly to avoid being tuned out.