Why, why is sort of, kind of, close enough, oh well, whenever, whatever, hmmmm, maybe tomorrow, good enough???

I've really buckled myself down for some exceptional results lately. Close is not EVEN close enough and the results and fun have grown exponentially. Of course, we, me & horse, have had some time where we disagreed on the outcome of a request. Of course, horse expects to get his  way and I expect to get mine. Of course, one of the two will come out with the better outcome. Will it be you?

Has horse been winning these bracing battles for the last dozen years?

If so, you can't expect to win everything back in just an hour or two, but if you never jump into the skirmish, there isn't one because horse has already won. Once you start becoming aware of how mental bracing causes physical bracing and how this applies to darn near every single task or request you have of your horse, you'll probably be amazed at the points, skirmishes, battles and eventually the war that your horse has been winning and you thought you were just going for a ride.

People frequently tell me that horse was great when they first got him. But, a year or two later, they're pondering getting rid of horse or don't want to ride because they're afraid of what may happen due to misbehaviors of horse now.

Yes, over time, horse is very good at assessing your skills, or lack of them, and taking, for him, appropriate action.