What is Warwick Schiller's view on the present moment in horse training?

Warwick Schiller's emphasis on the present moment in horse training reflects his integration of mindfulness and presence practices into his horsemanship framework — the conviction that the quality of the trainer's attention, their ability to be genuinely present with the horse at each moment rather than thinking about the past or future, is as important as any specific technique in determining the quality of the training interaction. Schiller draws on both the equine behavioral science understanding that horses live in the immediate present rather than being concerned with past experiences or future anticipation — except where those past experiences have shaped the nervous system in ways that influence present-moment responses — and on mindfulness traditions that teach the human practice of present-moment awareness as a path to more genuine, less reactive engagement with the world. In practical terms, Schiller's emphasis on the present moment means that the trainer's task at each moment is to respond to what the horse is actually doing and showing right now rather than being guided by plans, programs, or preconceptions about what should be happening. This present-moment orientation distinguishes his approach from both the systematic, exercise-based programs of earlier natural horsemanship traditions and from the feel-based but still training-goal-oriented approach of the Dorrance-Hunt tradition — Schiller's work with some horses involves extended periods of no training agenda at all, simply being present with the horse and allowing the interaction to be shaped by what the horse needs in that moment rather than what the trainer planned to accomplish. The practical impact of this orientation on horses that have been trained with heavy agendas and heavy pressure is often profound — the horse's nervous system, accustomed to constant demand, begins to regulate in the absence of demand in ways that open new possibilities for connection and eventually for training.