Is the horse's personality changed through training? Part 2

“Hi Lena, humans are also influenced by their surroundings. ---Is it then a bad thing that I change? I rather think it should be called development, I develop self esteem/confidence. That is a good thing, yes?”

“What I take with me from reading your blog is the overall question of whether or not to even keep horses as domesticated animals at all. Do we offer them an acceptable environment with traditional management? Are we capable of treating horses as horses and not compare them to humans with our needs and behaviour?”

“Sometimes I too get these thoughts, 'what am I doing to my horse', but I believe it is good to think about these questions. Horses are big animals that more or less do everything we ask of them. Our horses are amazing!”

These are some of the comments about my blog two weeks ago, “Is the horse's personality changed through schooling?” 

Whether or not I make the choice to keep my horse traditionally (in a stall overnight and out in the pasture during the day), in an Active Stable, shod or barefoot etc, I still have to think about what I ask my horse to do and how I ask it of him when I train, groom, ride etc.

Yes, I completely agree that change can be positive, for instance the development of self esteem and confidence to handle day-to-day life, but does this apply to both humans and horses? I have a choice, I have chosen to work with horses, but have the horses chosen to interact with humans? I have also chosen to work with horses in such a way that I do change, maybe not their personality, but definitely their self image. After all, my goal is not only to teach the horse how to be calm and at peace in his everyday life, but also to create communication between me and my horse, and in doing so I teach my horse the new skill of interacting with humans. 

There is an old saying that a horse without a rider is still a horse, but a rider without a horse is just a man, but maybe a horse with a rider can be more than just a horse?

Thanks to Mark Stanton of Horsemanship Magazine for checking my spelling and grammar! All other errors are my own.