I don't think horses get angry. They get defensive (if they think you are going to hurt them) or aggressive (if they think you are the lower individual and in need of correction). I don't think anger is an emotion they can experience, as anger involves comparing an ideal situation to an actual situation - the combination of disappointment and aggression.

If the horse experiences fear and has freedom to move, it will move away. If the horse has freedom to move and sneers a warning at you when you approach, you are the lower individual. At liberty, in an arena-sized enclosure, there is usually little doubt about how the horse feels about you, and then you either pull "move his feet" or "approach and retreat" from your toolbox.

 

I don't know that using fear to correct a horses behavior would work in the long run.... Duke was a scared horse. He was beaten by his previous owners when he could no longer work, was not properly cared for, was malnourished, and was scared of humans and other horses. Never once did I use a whip or try to somehow intimidate him into trusting me. I spent a great amount of time just standing in his pasture, sitting on a rock in the pasture, mucking his stalls, trying to get him to take treats. It took a lot of time of me just standing around for him to show any interest in me. Now that horse will follow me everywhere without a lead.

 

There are too many variables to say ANY one method works best. So much depends on the horse's personality and previous training and experiences. What works with one horse could put you in the hospital if used with another horse.

There are horses who need to know a human can be far more formidable than our small size indicates. And I'm convinced there are horses and situations where punishment is absolutely needed.

As for horses and anger...if horses are incapable of feeling anger, they sure can do a fine job of imitating an angry horse. The handful of horses I've been around all seem to have strong ideas about what is fair or not fair, and react with anger if they think they are being treated unfairly. At least, they ACT like they are angry.

 

There is a very big difference between an aggressive horse (is this what you mean by angry?), and a frightened one, though sometimes, they may exhibit similar behaviors. While it is important to have boundaries (ie, a horse should never barge into you), in my (very limited) experience, working with difficult horses is best done at liberty if it is safe to do so. A horse that does not feel trapped is far less likely to feel threatened enough to spook or show aggression.

Of course, there are exceptions to this. Some horses are truly aggressive and require an expert hand. Just waving a whip at such a horse will not solve the problem or teach them that you are the leader. It may even cause the situation to escalate. And a fearful horse will not react well to threats, even if you do not actually hit the horse. Just because it worked for one horse, does not mean it will work on all horses. My mare was terrified of the whip, so I had to gradually work up to using it for ground work. Each horse is an individual, and you must take the time to get to know them well. Raising a whip in the air in front of my mare would quickly send her spooking.

It's great that you have made progress with your horse, but it's probably not a good idea to put out advice on the Internet when you are not a professional horse trainer. Remember that young people and inexperienced horse people may read it and think they can do it too. It is irresponsible, quite frankly.

 

Horses, being individuals, react differently. No one method works with every horse.
The trick is for the human to give the horse a bit of time, and to figure out what will or will not work.
Patience, knowledge, and the willingness to change one's tactics if necessary, or seek help to solve a problem or achieve a certain goal.
You learn something from every horse...I certainly have.

 

THIS.......sums it up so well, wish I could like it more than once.

 

THIS^^^^^^^ Every horse is an individual and to say that with experience from one horse you can solve the issues of every horse you need much, much, much more experience to become what you have set for your goal. You have so much to learn.

 

OP, how many horses have you owned and worked extensively with? What works on one horse may not work on another, or may make the issues worse. Learning to read horses is important, as sometimes dominance and fear show as very similar, but how you deal with them is completely different. Sometimes a calm, quiet horse is actually a shut down horse that will simply deal and deal until he can't, then explode 'out of nowhere.' Well, it wasn't out of the blue, it was coming and the owner didn't notice it or assumed it was a calm horse, not one shutting down. Each horse in each situation needs to be handled as an individual. Your methods may have worked on your horse, but could prove extremely dangerous on a different one.