What Horses Really Want

Horses want security and social bonds. They want leaders they trust to protect them—not only from danger, but from stress. When we provide this security, they accept our rules. This not only puts us in charge, it makes our leadership more effective because we do not force it on them; they seek it. The result is less anxiety, fewer behavior problems, more efficient learning, and better reliability. Acton refers to this relationship as Protector Leadership because being the “protector” is the foundation. Building methodology based on time-tested training theories that we are often exposed to in bits and pieces, Acton shows why Protector Leadership works and how to make it work for us, fitting the separate pieces together, and illustrating the connections with practical examples of real horses in everyday life.

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In praise of What Horses Really Want ⇓ ⇓

"Whether we are accomplished horse people or newcomers, we all want to do the best for our horses. But what do our horses want? In her excellent book What Horses Really Want, with explanations backed up by science and case studies, Lynn Acton demonstrates how if we listen, the horse will tell us—even often initiating the conversation! Easy to read and understand, with lots of helpful hints on how to put the ideas Acton presents into practice, this book is a go-to resource for people who want to build confident, positive relationships with their horses based on trust and mutual respect.” —Vanessa Bee, Founder of the International Horse Agility Club and author of 3-Minute Horsemanship, The Horse Agility Handbook, and Over, Under, Through: Obstacle Training for Horses

"Lynn Acton has combined her personal experiences, work with various clinicians, reading of equine literature, and most importantly, referenced research in the areas of horse behavior, management, and welfare in her book What Horses Really Want, and it is her inclusion of current research that makes this book truly stand out. Over the past three decades equine/human interaction and training has been oversimplified into a predator/prey model, which has been challenged in the academic world and debunked in many ways. Here, Acton provides a more compassionate alternative for the average horse owner based on respect for another living being, cooperation, understanding, positive reinforcement, and recognition that a sense of safety is key to the horse's overall well-being. Acton helps bring science to the stable by integrating the latest academic findings into daily interactions that are humane and nonaggressive. At the heart of her leadership model is the ability for each of us to remain in command of our own emotions and provide the horse with a sense of security. Only then will he trust us so that we can, with time and patience, help horses love to learn.” —Wendy Murdoch, Founder of The Murdoch Method and Sure Foot Equine Stability Program, and author of 50 5-Minute Fixes to Improve Your Riding

“Lynn Acton’s book What Horses Really Want shares a refreshing perspective—she considers what the horse needs and values.

“My own training has evolved greatly as I, too, recognized that the key to a good partnership with a horse was a relationship that is good for both, human and horse, and that good training should be synonymous with this process of building that relationship.

“When we only look for obedience and ‘proper’ behavior from our horses, we lose the potential to meet who our horse really is. When we allow more freedom, when we stop and wait instead of pushing through, and when we consider that what we have been taught about needing to ‘show the horse who’s boss,’ and to ‘not let him get away with anything’ may not be very accurate, we can discover an entirely new relationship waiting for us.

“Our horses are profoundly forgiving, they are ready to change when we are, and the connection that is possible when change comes is a gift for both horse and human.” —Callie King, Science-Based Trainer and Instructor