Communication is essential in the training of horses. A trainer must be very clear, concise, and quick to reward or punish for actions rightfully or wrongfully done. However there are many people who work with horses that only negatively communicate with horses and thus develop a completely dominant position towards their horse. While the horse may do what the person wants, the horse may not be acting to its full potential.

Two major mistakes owners and trainers make with horses are "telling" their horse to do something or "asking" the horse the wrong way. When you "tell" a horse to perform an action, "There is no room for opinion, judgment, intuition, expression, or instinct…" (Pony Boy 28). This tends to break the horse's spirit and make him go through the motions expected of him without having his heart in it. Another common mistake is "asking" a horse to perform an action either the wrong way or for the wrong reasons (Pony Boy 30). This only serves to confuse the horse. Make sure you are communicating clearly at all times with your horse.

Owners and trainers do not have to fall into the traps mentioned above. If they practice "Natural Horse-Man-Ship," the horse wants to do the tasks he is asked to do and therefore actually performs them better. In short, "Natural Horse-Man-Ship is an attitude for people who are positive and progressive, and who believe in the natural point of view of the horse" (Parelli 9).The people that practice this are able to look through the eyes of the horse and see what the horse is seeing, to understand how horses communicate. Thus by understanding how horses think and their individual personalities, better communication techniques can be evaluated and as a result, the horse will perform better.

The key to effective communication with a horse is body language. This may sound like a simple task, and it is, but only after you really focus on every move both you and your horse makes and what they mean. An explanation of why body language is important is as follows: "Horses often pay more attention to body language than to other aids because it is more like they way they communicate with other horses" (Harris 294). If we can imitate signals horses use with one another the horse you are working with is more likely to understand what you are asking him to do. It is even better if the horse believes that it is his idea when to ask him to perform an action. This way, "…when you ask your horse to do something, he wants to do it, he likes to do it, he understands how to do it, and he does it" (Hunt 1).

An important point to remember is that it is more effective "to concentrate on the relationship between human and animal than it is to concentrate on the results we hope to achieve" (Pony Boy 13). Many riders make the mistake of looking for immediate results and get frustrated when the results are not instantly achieved. These riders should take a step back and find a new more effective way to communicate their requests to the horse. "…remember, the horse is never wrong, but the rider often is" (Hunt 1).

Verbal communication can also be used with horses. When expressing a command, your tone of voice is very important. "Give commands in a confident, cheerful tone as if you expect him to obey you, not as if asking a question" (Harris 288). This way the horse will accept you as a leader. If you give a command in a questioning voice, the horse may become confused as to whether or not it was a command. Thus we must consciously try to be firm and confident when using verbal communication.

Once successful in communicating with your horse, training will become more efficient. The horse will enjoy learning and will do so at a quicker rate. The horse will become more confident in you as a leader and in his own abilities (Tellington-Jones 5). He will soon learn "…to pay attention to your every move, to every tone of your voice, …and to connect with these an action he is capable of performing" (Tellington-Jones 5).