jumpit89 wrote:
Ok ill check those out! I agree with everyone about her not truly listening. I'm just surprised that the 6 years I have had her she hasn't done anything to show it before. (or I have been blind to little hints)
Jump, I think we ALL become used to our horses.  Maybe it's that we know that that head nudge won't get any worse, or that step into our space will be ok.  And maybe it's just that familiarity means we don't look at things with as much clarity.

One of the trainers I worked with really drove it home for me when I was working on Holly's attitude with other horses.  He'd brought his horse in close and she pinned her ears HARD.  I corrected her and then, a few minutes later, she only "sort of" pinned her ears.  It was an improvement...so I praised her by saying "good girl."  He looked at me and said "But she really wasn't, was she?  She still pinned her ears."  I think I probably just looked at him for a couple of seconds with this dumbfounded look on my face.  It'd be like praising your child for hitting because they didn't hit as hard.    Since then, I've really tried to be more "black and white" with acceptable behaviors and I think it's helped.