Tips to build your confidence when you ride
- First of all accept the idea of a lack of confidence: you are not the only one!
- Try to do things gradually: this will help you to buid up your confidence
- Be very analytical: try to understand why you feel unconfortable
- Find a good instructor and, if possible, ask for a private lesson
- Do not forget to breath
First impressions are often right
(fm Gallop to freedom by Magalie Delgado and Frederick Pignon)
You can be wrong but often the first impression is the right one. People often ask me, " How do you know that the horse is suffering or that he's anxious?" It is not easy for me to reply to this because my understanding has become largely instinctive. I say to apprentice trainers, " Try to feel what the horse is saying to you." Remember, you can usually work out what people around you are thinking without having recourse to the spoken word. Are you relaxed? Are you unhappy? You can do the same with horses once you apply yourself to the task. Why is that horse moving away from you? Is he nervous or does he want to play? These two alternatives will produce different telltale signs and you must pick them up. Perhaps you decide that he wants to play so you start a game. How does he respond? If you were right, remember the signs that made you take that decision. I also use my voice a lot. I speak to the horse and watch his reactions. Some horses are very attentive to my voice, which they often betray by turning their ears toward me. Other horses show no such reaction.