DISCIPLINE: We’re trying to help the horse find a better way on his own, not to force anything on him or punish him for being the way he is. Some people think a horse needs discipline. Well, if that means whipping him, then they don’t understand that he’s just confused about what’s expected of him. That whip has no place in horsemanship, not the way the horse needs you to understand it anyway. A horse will start to catch on to what’s expected of him when feel is presented to him in a way that has meaning for him, and that’s up to the person.
If a person really wants to know about working with a horse in a way that teaches the horse to understand what’s expected of him, discipline wouldn’t be fitting. Most people want to start way up the line, but without the foundation of feel built in there for him, the horse doesn’t have any idea what he’s supposed to do. The best thing to do is take enough time on the basics so there wouldn’t be a place to use this word “discipline,” or a whip.