Have you ever dealt with a disrespectful horse? They can make normally safe situations dangerous. I have had to train a few who started out respectful of humans, but ended up mean and aggressive. In one case, a lady had bought a yearling to raise. She did not have much horse experience and did not know how to properly handle a young horse. Instead of putting a halter on him and teaching him to lead, she played a game of chase with him because it was cute. She allowed him to push her around and she would push back playfully. She never established her dominance over him or gained his respect. When the horse got bigger the lady had no control over him on the ground or in the saddle. He did what he wanted when he wanted, like rushing backwards if she pointed him in a direction he did not want to go. Instead of having someone to teach him the correct way to behave, she actually started hitting him. She would head him in a direction she knew he would refuse, and then whip him if he did not comply. This made the horse scared to do anything. He started running from her when she tried to catch him. He would kick and bite at her when she went in his pen to feed him. I took the horse and started very slowly working with him. It is much harder to earn a horse’s respect after it has been shaken. I started out by spending time with the horse in his pen. I spent many hours grooming him quietly while talking to him. Eventually he would come to me before I opened the gate. This horse never once tried to kick or bite me. But I never raised my hand to him or threatened him in any way. I respected him and eventually, he returned that respect. Horses are bigger than us. We need to show them that they can not push us around, but not by hitting or whipping them.