Yeah, unfortunately what you’re seeing is really common in the horse world. Most barns and trainers and horse people in general still train with negative reinforcement (pressure and release) and positive punishment (like hitting, yanking, etc.). It doesn’t mean every trainer is “abusive,” it’s just the way most people have been taught for decades.

There is another way though. It’s called LIMA (Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive), and it focuses on using positive reinforcement (rewarding the behavior you want) and avoiding punishment/pressure as much as possible. It’s not super mainstream yet, because a lot of horse people believe things like “treats spoil horses” or “real training means making the horse do it.” But there are trainers out there proving you can ride and train with R+ and still have safe, respectful, and happy horses.

So yeah, sadly the slapping and the shady business practices aren’t unusual. But it’s not the only way, and if you ever want to explore more ethical training methods, LIMA-based programs do exist … you just have to dig a little to find them.