Mental Aspect of riding

Riding is a sport that is both physically demanding and mentally demanding. On the mental side, it requires us to trust another being that we can't communicate clearly with, and that is very large. We also have to set aside our own way of thinking, and communicate and react in a way that makes sense to the horse.

A quote was recently shared with me that I really appreciated: "In order to get the most out of a horse, you need to put aside all negativity -- about the horse, about yourself, and about anyone who previously handled the horse" Bill Dorrance.

I am sure we have all had bad days at work or at school, which seem to follow us to other aspects of our lives. Those bad feelings will creep into the riding, and set a negative tone, where you will be harder on your horse, harder on yourself, and less receptive to learning. At some time or another you may have been asked to ride a horse that you have seen be naughty previously, and so get on with apprehension even though the horse hasn't done anything bad with you.

This isn't just about being positive when you first get on either, but it is also means retaining a positive outlook as the ride goes along. You have to continually hit the reset button on your attitude towards your horse and yourself.

An example would be yesterday. A certain horse was being spooky and fresh on the flat. Once she got some energy out she was being much better behaved and so we started jumping. The rider wasn't able to ride the moment though, and was still riding the spooky/fresh horse she first got on, so ended up clutching the reins a bit too much, and not allowing the horse to jump as it expected. As a result the horse felt trapped and pinned in an uncomfortable position, and so the horse got a little grouchy on the land and was a bit naughty. The horse was fulfilling the expectation of naughtiness. When the rider was able to set aside her nerves and trust the horse enough to let her canter down to the jump with confidence and some freedom, the horse jumped as per usual and the two were fine.

I don't mean by this that you should toss the reins away on a horse that is having an excitable day as that could be dangerous. You should still ride a little defensively in your position, and perhaps grab mane just in case, but the horse should be given the benefit of the doubt with respect to how much you hold them back or chastise them. Holding a nervous horse too much will just reinforce their nervousness!

Same thing if you do have a horse that is perpetually hot/forward. Sometimes people who ride hot horses get in the habit of always telling them to slow down, slow down, slow down, and make the horse crawl around at a useless pace, frustrating the both of them. I think this is done as the rider feels that if they stay at 10 km per hour, then if the horse rushes a bit, they will only increase to 15km per hour and they will be ok. From the horse's prospective though, it likely feels trapped at 10 km per hour, and feels it has to argue/fight the restraint and then does bully the rider and panic when aimed at a jump. The rider in this case needs to go to the jump at course pace, and correct the increase in speed if/when it happens, not go slow so the rates in speed when the horse runs off averages out to a decent speed. As well in this case, the rider has gotten so used to the 10 km per hour speed, that 15 km per hour feels crazy fast!

In general, you just do what is right, and correct what is wrong. You don't ride the opposite side of wrong hoping you and the horse meet in the middle.
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But this takes trust in your horse, and trust in your ability. You need to reset the positive feeling after each and every trouble spot. Ride smart and perhaps ride defensively, but don't punish a horse for something it may be about to do but hasn't yet, and don't let past issues override feeling and reacting to what is actually happening in the present.

Get rid of the negativity.

Karen