Like most people, there are things that I don’t like doing and thus avoid. I’m very much on the introvert side of the spectrum, and I’m not the best with social skills or talking to people (see comic). I avoid making phone calls, public speaking, going to the dentist, and a bunch of other things. But, for the things that I really have to do, I do make myself do them. I just sometimes curl into a ball and rock back and forth before doing them.
My life. Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/saOEj3rMBV9HqvNFQBAk0ecG6jE=/700×700/filters:no_upscale()/cassandra-595145213df78cae816f7926.jpg
I have to make phone calls and do some public speaking or I risk losing my job. I go to the dentist every 6 months because I enjoy having teeth. There are some other things that I avoid too, like open mic nights and applying for reality tv shows. These things I avoid and feel pretty happy doing so because these are things that I never plan to do and won’t ever need to do.
Okay, so what does this have to do with riding? Well, today I decided to do a little jumping with my horse, Prophet. To say that he is enthusiastic about jumping is a serious understatement.
MAXIMUM EFFORT.
Normally, he gets a little rushy and overjumps every jump. I’m used to that and it’s a standard jump day for us. However, we haven’t jumped in several weeks because my farrier extraordinaire pulled his shoes for winter and his feet needed a little time to adjust. Now, when I say we jumped, I am not talking a 3’6″ course here… I set up 2 cross-rails that were maybe 2 feet high. Well, we jumped the first one and then proceeded to gallop around the ring in overdrive 5 times because it was SO EXCITING!
In this case I wasn’t really avoiding jumping – we had a break because his feet needed some time off. But the realization that when we jump regularly, my horse isn’t an unstoppable freight train going 30 mph in the indoor ring got me thinking about avoiding things.
When we avoid things that are hard for us or for our horses, it can leave some major training holes that can really sour what should have been a nice trail ride. My last horse, a beautiful appendix mare named Kiss, was scared of water. So, what did I do? For the first several years (yes, years!) I rode her, we would mostly avoid water. Sure, part of this was a lack of access to water unless we trailered somewhere, but I definitely did not seek it out either. I could have found ways to get her used to water and help her overcome her fear. I could have used a tarp, a small pool, puddles, etc. Did I? Nope! I avoided it and I helped create this large hole in our training. In all honesty, I didn’t really even think much about it. We were just not a horse and rider team that did water things. No big deal.
The lovely water phobic Kiss.
However, this training hole became glaringly obvious when my friend, who co-owned this horse with me, tried to lead her over a small brook. Instead of calmly walking across it, she used approximately 147% of her already impressive athletic ability to leap into the air over the water and onto my friend. Yes, that was as painful as it sounds. My friend ended up breaking several bones in her ankle, a bone in her arm, and had some nasty bruises to go along with it. It was not a fun day. My response now would have been to work with Kiss to overcome her water phobia. What did I do then? Avoided water even more. We didn’t go near puddles or even attempt a trail ride with a water crossing. Nope nope nope. We didn’t even get to the level of this comic:
Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/69/63/f2/6963f2f68d7a5bc2c299884e296b68ac.jpg
Looking back, that avoidance was a mistake, a mistake I wasn’t even consciously aware I was making. I now try to tackle those training issues as early and often as I can. I may not always be successful at first, but I do keep at it.
That’s not to say that you can’t avoid some things you don’t want to ever do with your horse. Some people don’t ever want to jump and that’s fine. But, if the thing you are avoiding may be something that you encounter out on the trail and you want to trail ride, I would encourage you to address it before you head out for that trail ride. Don’t just avoid that thing that’s challenging or scary, because it can really impact your enjoyment of a ride and, in the worse cases, the safety of you, your horse, or the people you are riding with.
If you’re worried either about your safety or having the skills to deal with an issue like a fear of water, I strongly suggest seeking the help of a qualified trainer.
Happy trails!
Kerrie
