This is Corey on his first trail ride, relaxed and enjoying himself Horse herds have specific social orders, otherwise there would be chaos in the natural equine environment. Horses are generally comfortable being around superior beings as it is less work to be a follower than it is a leader. However in the absence of recognizable leadership, the horse's instincts will drive him to take control. The trainer, who may be different than the owner or adopter or handler, must establish himself as a higher ranking individual in the herd order than the horse which he is training. In order to get the horse to respond , the handler has to first earn the horse's respect.
Most horses instinctively test the social order on a regular basis to see where they stand.
Much of the time these tests will be subtle. If the owner or trainer develops good, steady leadership skills, these tests will never amount to much. Horses can carry on multiple relationships at the same time. With their herd leaders on their backs, they can still share a moment of reciprocal grooming As the horse views the various humans in his world, he may score some of them highly on the leadership scale, but not appreciate them so much as a reciprocal buddy, or with the scorecards reversed, the horse could view the human as a walking carrot dispenser who brings pleasure but deserves no respect. Obviously the human who scores low on both counts is in for a hard time and the human who can top the charts as both a leader and buddy should find the going remarkably easy.