Yet it is an emotion that everyone knows. Unfortunately, it’s an emotion that everyone is afraid of. Yes, we are afraid of being afraid. That does not help does it? Why?
Imagine the thing you are afraid of. You already know that you are afraid of it, but the fact of being afraid tells us, in our society, that you are weak, not brave, … This makes us even more afraid of the thing in question. Consequence: we try at best to avoid fear (the thing that scares us)!
The moment you land into a situation where you are forced to confront your fear, and not just confront it but overcome it, you’ll never have the tools to do it without having a “panic attack “. In addition, you feel pressure from others who “encourage you” but in a way that shows you that you have no choice (depending on your point of view at this time).
Two systems can be put in place in your body. The first one, you get angry a lot because you cannot overcome your fear (and it frustrates you so much that you become aggressive), or you completely shut down physically, like frozen. Escaping would also have been an option, but it will be an option of weakness and our brain (and especially our ego), will never accept such a defeat.
Now IMAGINE YOUR HORSE who is afraid of something and watch what his reactions are towards the thing he’s afraid of. Is this so different from what is said above?
Fear is an emotion that can cause aggression in the horse, flight, or freeze him. It is very important to understand the reactions that a horse can have. Especially when you FORCE him to go through a place that scares him. Moreover, when you FORCE a horse, the reactions written above can become more and more violent and dangerous! This can lead to serious accidents. Accidents in which the horse is blamed when it is not him we should blame. It is the owner who should have better listend to the horse! And try to guide him, reassure him … and if that does not work, leave him and go back another time because the horse is NOT YET READY MENTALLY. You will only gain RESPECT AND CONFIDENCE from your horse!!!! Try in each situation to see through your horses’ eyes and emotions (and not yours, because what you will see and experience is very different from what the horse is seeing and experiencing).
REMEMBER: A HORSE IS NOT DANGEROUS OF NATURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!