7 Tips For Horse Riding With Confidence

Top Tips For Better Horse Riding

There is one thing that sets good riders apart from not-so-good riders, and fearless riders from fearful riders.

It’s their mindset.

Have you ever seen a less talented rider do better than a more talented rider in an equestrian event, riding lessons or when hacking out?

What is that one thing that sets them apart? It’s their mind set. Your mind set either moves you forward or holds you back.

Here are 7 tips to help you improve your mindset for horse rising:

1. Be in the present. Keep your mind in the here and now by paying close attention to what is really happening in this moment. When you do that, you become pro-active rather than re-active. You take the best actions to prevent things from going wrong. Even if those things are only happening in your mind.
   
   
2. Avoid worrying about the outcome. Instead, focus on creating a solid foundation for both you and your horse. Build on that base by taking small steps that improve your performance over time – not overnight.
   
   
3. Stop worrying about what others might think. You are not a mind reader. So, you don’t really know what anyone else is thinking. The people who care about you will support you. Why concern yourself with the opinion of anyone who doesn’t care about you or doesn’t know you. Let it go.
   
   
4. Deposit life’s distractions and stresses at the stable door. There really is no need to take them along for the ride with you. They will still be there waiting for you, if you decide to pick them up again when you’re leaving the yard. Or, you could choose to leave them there permanently.
   
   
5. Stop striving for perfection. There will always be room for improvement in riding just as there is in life. It will never be perfect. You will never reach the end. Simply recognize where improvement is possible without beating up yourself or your horse. (Refer back to Tip #2).
   
   
6. Avoid over thinking and analyzing. Horse riding requires you to be fully aware of yourself, your horse and your environment. When you are in your head, you are out of your body. And that creates a disconnection. Bringing your awareness back to your body allows you to build the connection with your horse.
   
   
7. Make having fun your goal. Taking riding too seriously or only focusing on the end result stops it from being fun. Judging how well you did on every single movement, transition or jump takes away all the fun. Every single ride doesn’t have to be work. Plan some fun and games for you and your horse, too.