How do I train a horse to respond consistently to cues from inexperienced or unconventional riders?

The therapeutic riding horse works with riders whose aids are often inconsistent, unclear, or physically unconventional. A horse trained to respond only to precise, conventionally applied aids will be confused and inconsistent in its responses to the unusual communication styles of therapeutic riding participants, while a horse trained to accept and respond to a wider range of cues will work more effectively and more safely. Training the horse to respond consistently to the horse leader's cues during sessions — walking, halting, turning, and trotting on command from the person leading rather than from the rider — is the foundational solution to the inconsistency of rider communication in therapeutic riding. The horse leader's cues become the primary communication channel for pace and direction, and the horse learns that these cues override or supplement whatever the rider's body and hands may be communicating. Gradually introducing participants' communication styles during training — having experienced riders simulate the types of unconventional aids that different participant populations use — develops the horse's tolerance for and appropriate response to those styles before they are encountered in actual sessions. A horse that has experienced a wide variety of unusual aid applications in a safe training context before its first session with a participant who uses those aids has better preparation than one encountering them for the first time during a live session.