When I am mountain biking and come to a big obstacle or steep hill, if I say to myself “I can do it, I can do it” I will almost always make it through. If I allow even a glimmer of doubt to enter my mind, I will invariably fail. Such is the power of the mind.
Me at Sun Lakes, Washington
Everyone knows that a person’s state of mind is very important in sports. I believe it is more important with horseback riding than with other sports like mountain biking or running because there is not just the person’s mind, but the horse’s mind as well. Two minds can act in opposition to each other or they can act synergistically.
I have been thinking about this in terms of three factors – confidence, intention, and options.
Confidence: To accomplish a task both horse and rider need to be confident that they can do it and that the other will play his or her part. My horse, Tupelo, and I are both novice jumpers. Last year at a hunter pace when we approached the first jump I was unsure if he would jump it since he had occasionally refused jumps in our lessons. So, of course, he refused it. I am certain that he sensed my doubt as to whether he would jump it, so he didn’t. As a result, I lost my nerve and the next attempt was even worse.
How can my horse have confidence in himself if I don’t have confidence in him or in myself? He needs to know that I believe he can do it and that he can jump without me falling off or pulling on the bit or some other stupid thing.
How do we develop confidence when we are new at something? I am a firm believer in the “fake it ‘til you make it” principle. Just think, “I can do this,” whether or not you really believe you can. I don’t know why, but false confidence can actually improve our chances of success.
Intention: If we intend to do something, we probably will do it and our horse will too. Without intention, it definitely won’t happen. If we are confused, our horse will be confused. If our mind is somewhere else, our horse will do whatever s/he has in mind to do. When I jump all I can think about is getting my heels down, not pinching with my knees, and releasing the reins (my mind is capable of considering at most three things at once on a good day). After the jump it is anyone’s guess as to what will happen because my mind is off thinking “we did it, that was so much fun!” while Tupelo is doing whatever he feels like.
Options: Sometimes the best way to get something done is to consider that there is only one option. At the same hunter pace I mentioned above, there were jumps that had forest on both sides with no obvious way around. If Tupelo and I encountered one of these jumps, we sailed over it without hesitation. [Note: in hunter paces there is always a way around, but it might be a spur trail 20 meters before the jump.] As with many things in life, options can be paralyzing. Sometimes the best thing is to have only one option. Even if there actually are other options, presenting ourselves with only one option has the same effect.
Here is what happens when there are 2 options versus 1 option
I am always amazed at how sensitive horses are to humans. They do have minds of their own – and I am glad of that, but they also respect us and try to please us. The most successful rides are when our horse’s mind is in sync with ours. Horses see us as leaders. A good leader controls his or her mind. If we want our horses to follow our direction, we must be confident and very clear with our intentions.
Remember the Little Engine that Could.
Happy trails!
Monica
