change the perspective

As I went into the barn today to ride my horse. I noticed she had just been fed and had a pile of hay in front of her. She greeted me with a nudge and do you have a carrot for me? I decided to get a stool to sit on and just be with her as she ate. I sat and pondered how our relationship has changed over the years. She was comfortable with me in her space which brought up thoughts about the horse and owner I had worked with yesterday. This horse would lunge at her owner and sometimes bite her. What causes a horse to learn that behavior? Although from a horses perspective it's self protective , but from an humans perspective it's quite painful, not only physically but emotionally. This owner wondered why her horse would treat her so. She was not mean to her horse , she loved her horse.

I think the relationships become unbalanced when we overpower the horse with our prospectives and agenda's. What can my horse do for me ,rather than what can I do for my horse? How many of us come out from work stressed and just pull our horses away from their dinner without even asking them if that's all right? It is very important to spend down time
with your horse , just relaxing, or playing and feeling what they need in the moment. The
association has to be good for both parties. I find my horse is much more understanding when I do need to pull her in from pasture or work her around feeding time because I try to honor the balance between work and play.
Nancy