How Uncertainty Kills Your Horse Riding Confidence
When you’ve lost your horse riding confidence, you will also be dealing with uncertainty. You don’t trust your ability to predict or handle your horse’s behaviour. Your mind is full of the ‘what ifs’.
When I was rebuilding my confidence, I struggled with uncertainty. My confidence was shattered when I fell off my usually quiet, safe gelding. Dooley surprised me with a bucking fit. It seemed to come out of the blue – with no warning. After that fall, putting my foot in the stirrup to mount any horse had me shaking and feeling nauseous.
I doubted my ability to predict the horse’s behaviour. I doubted my ability to deal with what might happen. That uncertainty killed my confidence.
Uncertainty Is Part Of Riding Horses
There is always a level of uncertainty when you work with horses. You can’t always predict what will happen 100% of the time. You can’t always know how your horse will behave in a particular situation or environment.
We are the same as our horses when it comes to uncertainty. The unknown, the unfamiliar, change – they unsettle us. We feel nervous, uncomfortable and anxious.
Uncertainty is uncomfortable because it triggers the brain’s fight or flight centre. Our prehistoric ancestors’ survival depended on noticing changes and unfamiliar things in their surroundings. It warned them of possible danger. It was best to leave the scene fast and ask questions later.
This innate survival mechanism becomes a problem when it stops you having fun with your horse. You lose your confidence. You lose the dream of the connection and partnership you want to have with your horse.
What To Do in the Face of Uncertainty
To feel confident, you need to learn how to take positive action in the face of uncertainty. Despite the fear and anxiety you feel. That’s how I rebuild my confidence.
That doesn’t mean that you never feel fear or anxiety. Without any fear you would put yourself in life threatening situations. But, instead of allowing fear to manage you, you learn to manage it.
You learn to turn uncertainty around.
You become curious.
You ask better questions.
You become a creative thinker and problem solver.
Reduce Uncertainty By Becoming Curious
Your horse’s behaviour may seem unpredictable sometimes. Just like my young gelding’s did to me that fateful day. But, I assure you that there’s always a reason for what he does (or doesn’t do).
It may be a learned response that needs to be “un-learned”.
It may be a natural response to a noise we don’t hear, a movement we don’t see, or a scent we don’t smell.
It may be a response to a subtle shift in your energy, your posture of your position in the saddle.
It may be, as it was for Dooley, a reaction to pain. (He was later diagnosed with the chronic muscle disorder, PSSM).
There’s almost always a sign that it’s coming. Subtle signs of tension, that most people miss, come before the big behaviour.
Holding his breath.
Not blinking.
Tightness around the muzzle.
Refusing to move or moving too fast.
These are all subtle signs that the horse is anxious.
Become curious about your horse’s behaviour. Learn more about equine behaviour and psychology. Get a deeper understanding of equine body language.
You’ll gain a better understanding of your horse and his perception of the world. With that deeper understanding, you’ll begin to see with certainty what causes his behaviour. Then you can take positive action to change it.
In part 2, I’ll give you a quick tip to move from anxiety to curiosity and how to take positive action. You’ll stop feeling like you don’t know what to do. Because it’s often the not-knowing that’s the worst.
