08/19/2026
Dominance Theory Part 5
If I am going to work with a trainer who is exhibiting yellow flag language, they also need to show a lot of green flags that their methods are moving away from dominance theory. I don’t really have quotes for this, more concepts and ideas to look for.
The first thing I look for is how stressed their horses are throughout the training process. If a horse is struggling, do they take the time to stop and find a better way to explain it to them?
How capable are they of breaking things down until it feels easy for the horse?
I personally avoid trainers who have a lot of horses that buck, rear, or bolt. All trainers will have some horses that do these things, because almost all trainers work with horses that other people have handled.
Some of those horses do have pain that causes these behaviors, but it should always be a minority. It is also important to me that the trainers' horses are curious, engaged, and enjoy being around people.
In my opinion, while handling very explosive horses is a skill, I choose to work with people who take the time to help horses not be explosive. These are usually the trainers who everyone goes to and says things like, “You're so lucky, that horse is so safe.” I promise you they are not lucky.
That says so much about their training, especially when it is most of the horses they work with.
I also look for people who place a lot of responsibility on the rider/handler to learn skills to support their horses' learning.
This often means that while they may add pressure to make things clearer to the horse, they are more likely to change something about the handler to make the horse's job easier to do.
Another green flag for me is people who say “it depends” a lot. Behavior is complex, and it all happens for a reason. Oftentimes our response to a behavior is going to depend on the context in which it is happening, since that gives us clues as to why it may be presenting and how we need to handle it. Talking about and recognizing this is a huge green flag for me.
Lastly, and probably most obviously, I look for trainers who have a reverence for horses. A lot of dominance theory biased trainers talk like horses are something they need to conquer. They feel a sense of pride over how well they are able to put horses in their place and control them. The trainers that I feel create the best horses take pride in their ability to get along well with horses and explain their ideas without starting a fight.
There are other things that I specifically look for when I am choosing who I want to work with, but these are the things that pertain to dominance theory and how I try to avoid its detrimental influence in my life with horses.
I hope that you all found this helpful. My sincerest hope is that this can help even one person have a better relationship with their horse. As always, please reach out with questions and comments, and let me know if there is another topic you would like me to talk about.
