Can novices read horses' emotions better?

What is Bronzz feeling?

In my observation novices often interpret horses' emotions more accurately than experienced horse people. When I ask students what a horse is feeling, novices typically have a perceptive answer. Experienced riders often answer instead in terms of how obedient the horse is being. Conventional horsemanship, especially dominance-based, focuses on behavior and obedience. People are often taught to misinterpret horses’ feelings (“He’s not scared; he’s just stubborn.”), or told horses don’t have feelings, or overtly belittled for showing empathy. Clearly this is a welfare issue. How do we care adequately for a horse if we don’t notice what he’s feeling? Why would a horse trust someone who doesn’t seem to care? It is also a safety issue because emotions are predicators of behavior. Tuning emotions out can lead to unpleasant surprises. I have seen highly regarded clinicians shocked by behavior that a horse warned of well in advance. Too much focus on obedience often leads to pressure that overwhelms horses and provokes unwanted behavior while the humans fail to see the fear behind it. Tuning in helps us notice little problems, and identify underlying causes, so we can address them constructively before they become big problems. Instead of grudging obedience, we earn trust and cooperation. These are the most reliable horses when the chips are really down because they trust us as their Protectors, and that motivates them to protect us in return.

References:
The Empathetic Horse Owner
by Christa Lesté-Lasserre, MA
https://thehorse.com/181679/the-empathetic-horse-owner/

Panksepp’s Emotional Systems in Horses: Conclusion
by Rachel Bedingfield
https://connectiontraining.com/2016/09/panksepps-emotional-systems-horses-conclusion/