Rhythms and Routines

Become more confident in your riding by training yourself to stay positive during your ride.

- VAN HARGIS, ALLISON REHNBORG 

When I present at horse expos, the topic of confidence comes up a lot. People will ask me how they can deal with their fear and anxiety, and they'll ask for help with training their horses. But the reality is that we don't train horses when we're trying to make confident riders. We train people to become more confident riders.

Building confidence is a matter of training yourself to feel more confident. Like with any other kind of training, being confident is about practicing your confidence. We can practice confidence in the way we breathe, the way we handle negative emotions and negative thoughts, the way we manifest our confidence, and of course, the way we ride.

Establish Your Rhythm

When I'm working with an anxious rider, the first thing I do is ask the horse and rider to start walking. Then I start talking or singing to them, because I want them to get into a rhythm. Why is rhythm so important? Think about it. The world exists in rhythms. Everything we do happens in a rhythm or in a routine. Rhythms and routines create predictability. Predictability gives confidence to people and horses.

You don't get into rhythm with your horse. You establish the rhythm and hold your horse accountable to your rhythm. That's because you're the leader. Horses need confident leaders so that they too can feel confident. If you can confidently ask your horse to walk forward into a four-beat walk rhythm, then you're already well on your way to becoming a confident leader in the saddle.