Building Equestrian Confidence: 10 Steps That Really Work

1. Set Realistic Goals - Break down big goals into small, achievable steps. The smaller the step the greater chance you have of achieving it. This goes for you & your horse. Start the sentence in your head, ‘Today I am only going to…’.

2. Support – Enlist the support of an instructor, coach or friend that understands your specific challenges & stretches you without overwhelming you.

It’s almost impossible to learn or grow when you are extremely stressed.

3. Confidence & Competence – Remember confidence is both a feeling & a skill. The greater your skill level the more confident you will feel. The more you know & learn about horse behaviour, psychology & physiology the more confident you will become. This knowledge will also help you to avoid unwanted behaviours & the ability to pick tasks & exercises that are developmentally appropriate for you & your horse. Knowledge really is power. Look after your education & it will look after you.

4. Groundwork – is a fantastic way to get to know your horse without the pressure of riding. It’s also an opportunity to prepare your horse for ridden scenarios as well as enhancing their balance, physically, mentally & emotionally. We often have a lot more confidence to offer our horses on the ground as opposed to in the saddle. Working on the ground affords you an opportunity to learn about your horse – How do they learn best? What is easy for them? What is difficult? How they move, What specific balance issue they have etc.

5. Live in Reality – We are not supposed to be ever-confident in our equestrian lives, honour situations that are genuinely dangerous. You are eroding your confidence when you continually put yourself in frightening situations. If you find yourself in this scenario you need to make a change.

It’s also important to focus on what you can do in situations that you find daunting, frightening & overwhelming. When your horse spooks can you focus on retreating, bending to a stop, preparing for specific scenarios on the ground first.

When we focus on what we can’t control it activates the emotional parts of the brain, whereas when we focus on what we can do it lights up the part of the brain responsible for logical & rational thinking, the prefrontal cortex.

6. Breathe – This one used to drive me mad in the past, it seemed like such a cop out, but on reflection there is in fact something to this. Particularly focusing on a long exhale has a very positive impact on down regulating the stress response. Your horse is also keenly aware of the rhythm or the lack of in your breathing patterns.

7.  Approach & Retreat – Forcing yourself to do more than you’re ready for is counterproductive, it actually hampers your progress. Do a little of the thing that challenges you & then retreat away from it. If you are petrified of jumping can you work on comfortably walking over poles, then raised poles, then a tiny cross pole, all the while developing your horse’s jumping on the ground. It’s also really important to do sessions with tasks that are not in any way frightening or overwhelming, these sessions help you to keep showing up.

Remember your brain will draw you away from situations & experiences that make you feel really frightened & uncomfortable.

8. Journal – Journaling is a wonderful way to record your sessions, experiences, patterns & log progress. As humans we tend to disregard what we have achieved & over-amplify what we have not achieved. A journal gives you an outlet to reflect on your progress & make plans for moving forward. Making a note of the sessions you do also gives you a sense of how much time you are putting into maintaining or building your confidence. The brain needs time & multiple exposures to think of previously frightening experiences in a new way.

9.Dwell Time – Allow breaks in your sessions, halt, pause or get off, allow yourself an out. This also helps both your & your horse’s learning, dwell time allows us to process what you just did & assimilate it with prior learning.

Short, sweet & successful sessions build confidence & promote high quality learning. This is scientifically proven.

10. Keep Showing Up – Even if it’s just to say hello to your horse, you might be surprised how you feel when you get there.

Remember motivation comes from action not rumination.

Helping equestrians with confidence issues is my speciality if you would like to chat further email me @ helenohanloncoaching@gmail.com