Short mottoes are effective because they are memorable while our minds are busy playing sports, giving presentations, learning something new, or parenting under pressure. In horse training and riding instruction, I create them often. One of my favorites is “never punish fear.”

Fear is something horse people deal with frequently. The equine prey brain is driven primarily by fear. It has evolved to keep horses alive by noticing anything potentially dangerous… which to a horse could be, well, anything. A few blades of grass wiggle, a twig snaps, a bicycle approaches, and our horses are off to the races. So horse trainers spend a lot of time retraining equine fear, and riders or carriage drivers must learn how to manage it.

We humans experience plenty of fear, too. Most newcomers are afraid of horses—and for good reason. The average horse weighs about 1200 pounds (544 kilograms) and stands 64 inches (1.6 meters) high at the top of the shoulder. His neck and head rise upward from there. This huge animal is also........

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