that i'm here - and it would be a waste of my time to ask him to do anything. but if i took a stick and started poking him, then all of a sudden it becomes a whole lot more important to the horse that "i'm here." when you ask a horse to do something, a lot of other things are going to draw his attention and it's important that you become more important, no matter what it takes. as the trainer, the horse has to fully recognize that you're there. that's important, otherwise, you can't get to the next step: you can't get him to respond in a certain 