Molly: LEFT-BRAIN INTROVERT

This is my Molly. I guess she has a little bit of every personality, but in contrast to Gus easy to handle. I think she just never made any bad experiences in life. She truly loves and respects me, although she does not leave out any opportunity to try and get that treat out of me. Her good expression does sometimes lack, when I ask her to do something :-). But she will always do it.

As anyone who has a Left-Brain Introvert knows, the Circling Game and going forward are the two most challenging things to achieve with any degree of refinement, consistency or good expression; it’s not that the Left-Brain Introvert doesn’t want to go forward. He just doesn’t want to do it when you ask him to! If your Left-Brain Introvert was wearing a t-shirt, on the front it would say “Born to argue” and on the back it would say “You’re not the boss of me.”
Here is what makes the Left-Brain Introvert less responsive and more cranky:

• Asking for more energy (using spank or spur)
• Getting more animated (you using more energy than the horse!)
• Boredom, lack of purpose
• Lack of reward

You need to do the opposite of all of the above! Ask for less energy, use less energy, have a purpose and reward your horse. And reverse psychology? It’s easy… rather than trying to make your horse go faster, ask him to go slower and slower and slower. You’ll be amazed at how that will get his interest up. And once he offers his energy, don’t ask for a lot. Reward him sooner rather than later by slowing down, resting a moment, and giving him some scratches or a cookie. When he sees what’s in it for him, he’ll have more incentive to respond.