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At any given moment, 100% of the time, regardless of the situation, a horse will always be doing one of four things. It would serve the human well to become very aware and recognize which activity the horse is engaging in and realize that he can only be engaging in one of these at a time. He cannot do two of them at once.

1. He's doing something we want him to be doing. If this is the case, then get out of his way and allow him to continue. I didn't say throw him away. I said get out of his way. 

2. He's getting ready to do something we want him to do. This is even better than #1 because now we can get out of his way sooner so he can go ahead and do this desirable thing. 

3. He's getting ready to do something we would like for him not to do. Now is the time to direct, not REDIRECT. It is our responsibility to direct and help the horse work at finding the better choice for both of us. This is a 50/50 deal between the horse and the rider. 

4. He's doing something we don't want. When this happens I must put my ego aside, stop the situation (POSSIBLY by redirecting), apologize to the horse because I failed him at #3, smile, and now try again.