I am not one to back down when a horse needs to be disciplined. I am all about making sure a horse only tries stupid shit once. I have only lost my temper with horses three times in my life and I had good reason to (once when my horse took off while I was trying to mount, once when one about took my finger off, and once when a yearling decided he did not FEEL like listening so he WASN'T GOING TO!).
However, in my mind, discipline is only necessary 1 time out of ten. Living in central Kentucky this last year around racehorses, I've seen more overdisciplining than i've seen in my entire life before living here. A broodmare fidgets while being groomed and she gets whipped in the neck repeatedly with a rope (before having a chance to be simply corrected) for being "rude." A baby takes a step forward when they're not asked to and gets the shit scared out of them when they are backed up all over the barn violently instead of just trying to get them to take a step back and repeating "whoa."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is overkill. I have found that 9 times out of ten, simple but consistent correction will not only teach a horse correct behavior, but also build his trust in you. In my mind, the only instances where you discipline is either when the behavior is dangerous, or correction just isn't getting the point across.
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