DO NOT TOUCH

I used to be a riding instructor. Well, I used to make a career of it. Now I only teach neighbors and friends.
I began teaching "do not touch" out of frustration in trying to teach people how to ride. I was making NO progress with "It is up to you to 'stay on top'" and "No pulling!" I realized we have an incredibly WRONG concept about ......... riding. We steer them like a car or a bicycle. We use our heels and whips like a gas pedal and a bit in the mouth like a brake. We make request like "I need a bomb proof horse" "Teach him to put his head down" "The horse threw me"
Over time, I watched  the horses  respond accordingly. They became very adept at "catching our balance" by counterbalancing us. They became "bomb proof" with apathy. And, if you were already into anthropomorphic perception - it was easy to see that the horse deliberately threw you.
Finally, I observed the same behavior in children. Our horses had become like our children. We have imprinted them. As our parents and society have imprinted us.
Our boundaries have no integrity. They are broken.
One perspective of this is - we are wounded because "bad stuff" came in and violated us! I see it a different way. Our boundaries are broken and we have "spilled" all over the place. We take in stuff that is not ours and we release stuff we need to own. We are careless and sloppy.
When I say "Don't touch" - I am asking you to 'take care of your own'. When you 'take care of your own' then you KNOW your own. So simple! You only need endurance - to go the distance - the consistency that builds TRUST!
The good news is (the really GOOD news) the horses will "recognize" this as INTEGRITY and will  give you RESPECT! Respect and authority that comes from ......... KNOWING! For some horses this recognition is very very fast! [as seen in some of KFH videos]

Now for the not so good news. Most of the horse population out there has been imprinted as deeply as we have and this "recognition" is hard to get to. When both the horse and the human have sloppy boundaries it takes a little more time to clean up the mess. At this time - don't let them touch you either. Do not CORRECT them touching you - just stay out of reach. If you are aware of your energy field and know you can control it - watch how your energy field will inadvertently "ask" them to touch you. :)