Very often I blamed my horse: he is not listening, he is stubborn, he is doing it on purpose (this is a good one! :) ) When in fact, he was just reacting to my influence: my balance, my weight, my aids; or, to something around us. Learning the principles and laws of how rider influences a horse helped me realize how ignorant I was (click here for more information). Riding involves so much thinking and creativity there is no place for anger or too many emotions. Anger shuts down your thinking ability. And emotions such as resentment, being upset will stop you from seeing correct solutions for your problems. Horses react to what we do to them. We see that reaction and decide to praise it and become very quiet ad gentle with the horse or, correct it/ask again until we get the good one. The way we ask, the balance our horse was in before we asked, the state of his mind, the previous exercise, his training level all have an influence on how he reacts. The rider's job to take all that into account, sort it very quickly and decide what to do next. Do not get upset, blame your horse and punish him because he reacted incorrectly. Focus on praising him when he did reacted in the right way. He will become less nervous and upset, more attentive and quick. And you will notice that you are having more fun, your rides will leave a feeling of accomplishment instead of war inside of you. Progress in riding doesn't happen on day-to-day basis. It is a long and subtle process. And one day you will notice all of a sudden that your horse is much better today then he was a year ago, even though you didn't think something was changing.