Emotions

I'm sure we have all, at some point, planned a schooling session, only to spend an hour riding aimlessly around the arena and come out feeling thoroughly disappointed with our progress.

Has this ever happened to you? I'll admit it's happened to me - more than once!

I used to feel really down when this happened and it would really knock my motivation and would make me feel like I actually wasn't capable of progressing any further.

Of course this wasn't really the case. I had just let my emotions run away with me and before I knew it I was feeling really down about my riding.

So what did I do about it?

Well, I started to notice when I seemed to have these 'off' sessions and how I felt prior to riding. The more I noticed how I felt, the more I realised that my emotional state prior to riding had a massive impact on how successful or unsuccessful the training session went.

I noticed that lots of factors prior to my riding actually affected it. Things like how busy I was that day, if I was running late or early, other things that were going on at home or with my family, bills that were on my mind and the list went on.

I learnt through my own experiences, that my emotional state on any given day, was THE most influential factor when faced with any horse.

So, I did the only thing I could if I wanted to be successful with horses, I learnt to control my emotions and it was probably one of the hardest but most rewarding things I have ever had to do!

Before I get on my horse, and this applies to any horse I am working with, I take a few minutes. I take a few minutes to breathe, to put whatever is on my mind on the back burner, for the whole time I am training that horse or giving that lesson. I focus only on the task in front of me and everything else just has to wait its turn.

Being able to be completely in the moment with the task in hand has been one of the turning points of my career and it will work for you too!

Before you jump on your horse, give yourself a few minutes to breathe and forget about your day. Focus on the task in hand and connect with your horse. As you ride round, your mind will keep trying to distract with with all of the things you need to do etc etc. Keep focusing on your horse, ride every step and notice what is happening - now.

You may find this hard at first, but keep practising and the rewards are endless! You will start to know your horse better, your training will improve and you will look forward to having an hour free from the pressures of life, enjoy!

Happy Riding!

x