I received a telephone call last week from a lady who needed help with a horse. She had bought a 6 year old quarter horse mare that was threatening to bite her by laying back her ears and showing her teeth. The lady was afraid she would get hurt.

I took my flag stick and went into the corral with the mare and looked her in the eye and asker her to go away from me. As I went to the center of the corral I kept my eyes looking right at her eye and brought my flag stick into the line of vision. I positioned myself in a place that was behind the balance point of the mare so she would continue to move forward. I kept her moving forward until she dropped her head down below her knees to show me she would let me be the leader. The instant she dropped her head I backed up and let her turn to me, then I looked in the other eye and asked her to go the opposite direction. When she dropped her head this time I backed up again and let her stand facing me.

Now I approached her in a way that would help her stand still and began the “Touch of Love”. Beginning at the whorl and rubbing in the direction that the hair lays, I gave a gentle but firm rub all over her body right down to the hoof on each leg. Then I picked up each foot and put it right back down. I then walked away and ask the mare to follow me and she obediently followed me wherever I went.

I then brought the lady into the corral and taught her to do what I had just done and the mare never even thought about biting or doing anything wrong. We then saddled the mare and rode her with out any problems.

Similar situations have happened hundreds of time throughout the past twenty years all across the USA and several places in Europe. It is very important to the horse to know who is going to lead and who is going to follow.