AN OVERVIEW - Attiude (from Natural Horsemanship by Pat Parelli)

There tend to be two distinct ends to the spectrum when it come's to attitudes in getting a horse to do something.

There's the stick attitude, a person who bashes a horse with a stick to get the outcome, unresourcefully using intimidation and force to produce performance.

Then there is the carrot attitude, sweet talking ineffectively by begging the horse instead of asking for and getting respect from the horse.

In between the two extremes is the person who is assertive. Such a person is neither aggressive or wimpy, but balanced somewhere in between the two. With horses, the natural attitude is to be as gentle as you can, but as firm as necessary. When you're gentle, be gentle without being a sissy. When you're firm, be firm without getting mean or mad.

The natural attitude is to do things for the horse and with the horse rather than to the horse.