No is a Perfectly Acceptable Answer.

Over my years (OK, decades) of riding and teaching dressage, I have often seen riders and trainers demanding absolute obedience from their horses. If the horse does not give an immediate response to an aid, they are instantly reprimanded, particularly if they performed the exercise before with no problems. There is an idea in dressage that the rider is always right, and the horse must do exactly as the rider demands the instant it is requested.

Counter to many views, I believe that the horse always gives us the right answer, and if the answer is no we have asked the wrong question. This gives me an insight into how the horse is feeling, and why they may have refused the aid.

Did the horse understand the aid?
Was the aid exactly the same as the previous one?
Was the horse in the best position to respond?
Did the rider block the horse?
Had the preparatory work been done correctly?
Was the horse expecting the aid or was he surprised by it?
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Each aid and movement in training is a small part that builds on the previous work and is a stepping stone to the next level. If a horse refuses an aid, we must look at the reason behind it and not assume that we are right and they are wrong.
 

Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell