Horses have an enormous ability to immediately read into your thoughts and feelings
I do not know if it is a question of an ability to interpret body language, pheromones or extra sensory perception. But I know that horses have an enormous ability to immediately read into your thoughts and feelings. And that if you are anything other than completely calm and completely convinced that what you intend to do with your horse will go well, you will have problems, it is not a question of if it is a question of when. If you are not confident in a situation, your horse will not trust your attempts at leadership. If, on the other hand, you are completely calm and secure, there is a good chance that your horse will choose to choose trust you. Your absolute calm and confidence in your ability do not solve existing problems, but it does not create new ones.
This quality is the second component that makes an experienced rider superior. Apart from the ability to sit still and do nothing, calm, and confidence in one’s own ability is the other benefit of experience. And at least as important if you will be able to develop or dig an ever deeper hole for yourself and your horse.
My experience tells me that the absence of these two characteristics is the only thing that really distinguishes experienced riders from amateurs. These are simple logical explanations, but I know that if you do not solve them, you can not develop the technical knowledge that you already have or can acquire very easy.
The problem is usually to really understand that you will never get on with your horse if you do not accept these two truths. Sit still and do nothing and always be safe and calm. If you do not, nothing will work, if you can, you can be guaranteed to develop completely on your own.
Since I talked about how you can learn to sit still and do nothing, it feels reasonable to enlighten you on how to avoid projecting your anxious soul on the horse. It is much easier than learning to sit still and do nothing. But equally important.
This is how it works for an experienced rider. They have seen everything and done everything thousands of times so there is no situation that they are not completely relaxed in, no situation that they can not handle. So completely independent of the situation, they are always relaxed and thus they very rarely get as many problems as inexperienced riders get. Just because you more often put yourself in situations that you can not handle, and the stress you feel rubs off on the horse. And because the horse feels that you can not solve the situation, your horse must do so and the conflict is a fact. A conflict that an experienced rider would never have had because he can solve the situation and the horse consequently does not have to do it. Leadership is not equal to dominance, leadership is to be so confident in a situation that the individual you want to lead chooses to follow you. Something that a lot of managers, especially in the public sector, would need to understand.
If you understand what I mean, the solution in all its simplicity is just that you think about and decide what you do with your horse that you are completely convinced that it will go well. Let no one influence you when you decide. You have to define your own comfort zone completely independent of the rest of the people of this ridiculous world. Only you can decide. When you know exactly where you can be with your horse and what you can do without any anxiety on your part, just do it for as long as you need. Do not improvise when you feel like expanding your comfort zone. Everything you do must be a conscious and well-thought-out plan. If you feel like doing more than you already are, do not do it today, wait until tomorrow. Think carefully about what can happen and how you intend to handle it. Never improvise, then you will have problems, in all aspects of dealing with horses, mental awareness and presence of mind are absolutely crucial for how well you can develop. It’s just your responsibility, not a coach’s. But keep in mind that everything you do well is also just your merit, not a coach’s.
Stay on your horse and feel good.
Leaquvie.