How to improve your mindset as a horse rider
How to improve your mindset as a horse rider
We’ve all heard it before, ‘think positive’, ‘ride forwards’, ‘be confident', but what does that actually mean? Or better yet how do you actually do it?
Whether you’ve had a particularly nasty fall, you’re stepping up a level, or you’re just not feeling your most confident in the saddle, just ‘being confident’ is definitely easier said than done.
Your mindset can have a huge impact on your confidence and success in both your riding and your day-to-day life. In fact, it’s widely believed that sports, particularly at an elite level, are made up 90% of mentality and just 10% of physicality. And the same can be said for equestrian sports.
Improving your mindset has the potential to rewire your brain, helping you challenge unhelpful thoughts or doubts, and making you more confident in your own ability. No matter how big or small your horse-riding goal may be, a positive mental attitude will make everything more attainable.
Why is mindset so important?
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right”
Henry Ford
These are some wise words spoken by Henry Ford, and whilst they seem harsh, they’re absolutely true. This relates to the brain's ability to merge your imagination with reality- also known as Neuroplasticity. Ultimately, if you truly believe you are capable and picture yourself succeeding, then you’re much more likely to achieve it. Annoyingly, the same goes for the reverse and if you constantly see yourself failing, that’s more than likely going to be the outcome.
Your mindset is the key to breaking barriers and smashing your goals. You can have all the gadgets and training in the world, but without a positive mindset where you truly believe you can do it and see it in your mind’s eye, then it’s all a waste! Regardless of how capable you currently are, if you start believing in yourself then you’re much more likely to succeed.
Horses are incredibly intuitive animals. They have an amazing ability to tune in and pick up on your emotions, body language, and even your facial expressions! When you’re in the saddle your horse will be listening intently to any cues from you. As a flight or fight pack animal, this is a natural survival tactic that helps them assess their surroundings and determine if there’s an imminent threat.
If you’re feeling particularly wobbly or nervous, then that anxiety and tension will be conveyed right through to your horse- telling him that he too should be worried. This will only cause you both to worry and the ride might not go as you had hoped. Altering your mindset and overcoming your anxieties or doubts will help both you, and your horse, relax and assess the situation for what it is. With clearer minds, you will both be able to approach the task with confidence and positivity.
In short, your mindset makes a HUGE difference.
1. Have a good support system
Having knowledgeable people around you to give advice and support can help to give you a little more confidence. If you have someone in your ear ready to fire off advice or tips, it will allow you to commit wholeheartedly to riding properly as you have someone there to give you support and help you out if needed.
The key here though is to make sure that your network is both reliable and genuinely wants to see you succeed. Find a trainer and some horsey friends who would be willing to come to shows with you or be on hand to offer some words of encouragement if you need it.
Having that safety blanket there with you will give you that much-needed confidence kick to remind you that you’re doing a good job, freeing up space for your brain to focus on getting the job done, rather than worrying about everything that could possibly go wrong. After a while and some good results, you will find you need your support system less and less until you’re able to approach these situations with a positive attitude every time.
2. Use affirmations
I felt a few of you roll your eyes there, but trust me, affirmations are not just some silly superstitious trick but tried and tested scientific hacks to give your mind a much-needed boost.
Affirmations like “I believe in my ability to succeed” trigger the reward system in the brain, specifically the ventral striatum and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These are the same areas that respond to other pleasurable experiences, like eating your favourite food.
Repeating daily affirmations helps to stimulate neural responses in the brain, leading to feelings of confidence, motivation, and optimism. Over time these affirmations work to chemically alter your brain’s ability to self-process, meaning you will be able to tackle challenges with more resilience and confidence, ultimately leading to more successful results!
3. Set measurable targets
Setting your goalposts in the far-off distance is going to do nothing for your positive mindset. The tougher they are to reach, the more likely you’re going to lose motivation or face another confidence knock.
By setting attainable goals and celebrating the little wins, whatever that looks like for you, will stimulate the brain to release our ‘feel-good’ hormone, dopamine. A positive mindset has been shown to increase the activation in the ventral striatum, ultimately reducing the release of stress hormones and increasing the release of dopamine.
4. Make things easy for yourself
Whilst you’re trying to build your positive mindset it’s important to make things as easy as possible for yourself. Having everything organised and under control will help to remove unnecessary distractions or stressors and allow you to give the task at hand the proper attention it requires.
It is possible there may still be the odd hiccup that is out of your control but making sure everything that’s within your power is prepped, organised, and ready to go ahead of schedule will relieve a little bit of tension. This could be packing the lorry the night before or getting to a venue with plenty of time to make sure you know where everything is, walk the course, and tack up.
5. Accept things won’t go perfectly every time
At the end of the day, they’re horses! And we all know that they can be unpredictable, difficult, and a little bit heartbreaking from time to time. Having a pragmatic attitude when things just don’t go how you wanted them to will help you remain resilient and keep your confidence and self-esteem intact.
It’s a fact of life that things won’t go 100% perfectly every single time, whether you have horses or not! So keeping that in mind will prevent you from being too hard on yourself if things didn’t quite go to plan. I don’t mean to become a pessimist, or even a realist, but just reminding yourself that every day is a school day and that there’s learning to be taken from every outcome will soften the blows when they do, inevitably, happen.
Just remember, with your shiny new positive mindset you can rest assured that you’ll still be able to come out next time with confidence and optimism ready to congratulate yourself on a job well done!
In short, your mindset can make all the difference when it comes to achieving your riding goals. And because your confidence and progress go hand in hand, once you start seeing results it becomes a positive cycle that snowballs until you’re riding high and smashing your goals.
With a few of these positive mental attitude tips and tricks you can start to improve your mindset right now, so the next time you challenge yourself you’ll feel equipped to tackle the task knowing you’re more than capable of succeeding.
With love,
Px
P.S. I’ve had my fair share of confidence wobbles over the years so I know just how this feels and trust me if you stick with it- it works! That’s what makes me a good equine copywriter, I experience the same pain points as your audience does. I’m able to really tap into what questions need answering and how to get people’s attention. If this sounds like something you need then please don’t hesitate to get in touch to schedule your free consultation call!
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