he application of an aid must be a means of aiding the horse in understanding what the rider wants to do. The better the rider has been trained to give these aids in a way that horses can understand, the less chance of conflict arising between horse and rider. Aids can only make sense to the horse when the rider understands that each aid does not merely stand by itself, but influences the horse's entire being. Nor do they limit themselves to a single body part. When they are properly coordinated, it is possible to achieve complete control over the horse with light aids.

Aids can be separated into two different categories, direct and indirect. The seat, rein and leg aids are physical or direct aids because they involve a direct contact between the horse and rider. The mechanical aids that do not involve this direct contact are what we call indirect aids (i.e. spurs and whip). The more that a rider has to rely on these aids, the less real progress she will make. This is because only a meaningful coordination of the direct aids used at exactly the right time can properly evoke the desired response from the horse.

Although individual horses vary in their degree of innate sensitivity to physical stimuli, it is possible to train a less sensitive horse to be extremely responsive to the effect of the aids. Begin every training session with soft aids and gradually increase the pressure of the aids as needed throughout the session. As the horse warms up and submission is attained, then return to increasingly soft aids, ending every horse's session with only light aids.

Irrespective of where we place the horse on the intelligence scale, one thing is certain: Horses do not have the ability to think logically. They think by means of association. They are herd animals and need to feel present in their lives a very definite order of rank. Certain animals are in charge and certain animals are subordinate. This is a normal situation to a horse. It gives him the security of knowing where he belongs. When people are working with horses, there should never be any doubt in the horse's mind that the human being is the one which is in charge. When he has this in his mind, he is in his optimal working climate.

It is important to bear in mind that for it to be fully and properly attained, submission can never be achieved with the use of power. With this in mind, the rider must understand and utilize psychological aids to the greatest degree possible to influence the horse. In the daily work with horses, there are innumerable moments when the psychological signals from a human being can determine whether a training session ends up being a positive one or a negative one.

The opposite of the psychological balance achieved as the result of the horse's trust in the rider's authority is a state of nervous excitement. Sometimes nervous excitement can merely mean overstimulation. It can be caused by the rider simply asking too much of the horse, frightening the horse with excessive punishment, or from unfamiliar or frightening environmental circumstances such as horse shows. When any of these is the case, it is crucial that the rider take the pressure off of the horse until the horse can settle down mentally. Here it is very important that the rider stay in the leading role and exude a quiet calmness that the horse can lean on.

A certain amount of nervous excitement can, in the hands of the experienced rider or trainer, be a positive tool that may stimulate the horse to higher levels of achievement. However, this all depends on the rider's ability to sense exactly how much excitement she can bring into play without losing the horse's psychological balance and thus keep it a positive experience.