I see that we need to consider the horse's current body state. But if the horse is not responding as we would hope that he would, or as he usually responds, I think that our physiological knowledge of the horse and our creativity would be necessary in order to put in him the proper state. We need the creative capability to try to figure out another way to tell the horse what to do. Regardless, I see the importance of being in tune with your horse. It is too easy to assume that every mistake is disobedience.
Horses communicate silently.
You need to be listening to every aspect of your horse to hear what he is trying to tell you. Dear Donnalyn, One of the things that I love about riding and horses is how it challenges and satisfies me, at all levels. It challenges me at an intellectual, physical and artistic level. We definitely need to be able to communicate effectively with the horse. It is amazing how many people expect the horse to understand what they want.