As the days grow longer and the weather warms, anticipation builds for riding! Before saddling up for spring riding, it's essential to ensure both horse and rider are properly prepared for the journey ahead. Here are my favorite 4 tips to prepare:
1. Fitness and Flexibility:
Spring riding often follows a period of reduced activity during the winter months. I love working on my core strength and flexibility through targeting these in everyday life. Dancing, pulling my foot to my torso to put on socks and shoes instead of bending over, balancing on one foot while I fold laundry and then the other foot while I do dishes. Play with fitness and flexibility. Building physical fitness enhances balance and stability in the saddle, reducing the risk of fatigue or injury. It also improves your confidence.
2. Equipment Check:
Before heading out to ride, give all your tack a thorough cleaning and inspection. Also check proper fit for horse and rider. Knowing your equipment is safe and ready helps relieve stress. If you wear a helmet, make sure it is ready to protect you as well. Add in any safety equipment you have been thinking about.
3. Horse Health:
Make sure your horse is ready for spring. Develop a comprehensive health care plan for your horse. Regular grooming and hoof care are also essential for maintaining her horse's overall well-being and knowing if any issues need to be addressed.
4. Mental Preparation:
Lastly, prepare yourself mentally for spring riding. This may involve setting intentions, practicing mindfulness techniques to stay present in the moment, and visualizing successful outings. Cultivating a positive mindset and embracing the joy of riding helps create anticipation for the coming adventures with confidence and enthusiasm. If you would like an example of mental prep, check out my video here!
With careful preparation and attention to detail, we can make the most of our spring riding adventures, create cherished memories and strengthening our bond with her equine companion.
If you have resonated with these tips, check out the Pre-Ride Checklists for horse and rider! Get the Checklists here!
Riding around in the Junior Hunters Under Saddle as a kid, I remember all the people placed all around the rail just whispering to me "Breathe" as I rode by. They already had put Vaseline on my front teeth so my smile would be there but the breathing they had to keep telling me, over and over. I would hold my breath. I would continue to hold my breath. I would almost pass out holding my breath. Why? I was so afraid. When fear creeps in, we hold our breath or the other extreme of hyperventilating (which I used to do when I have to have blood drawn).
The great thing about learning breathing techniques is that they work for just about everything. They can be practiced sitting on your couch or front porch. You can gradually introduce them to areas in your life that bring you anxiety (or even just visualize those things and use breathing to calm down). Here are my favorites:
1. Ferris Wheel Breathing - so many people talk about box breathing but I like to picture a Ferris wheel with breathing in, going up and then exhaling while going down and just picturing that circle as even as possible. The reason I like this better is it gives me more things to focus on. I can visualize the Ferris wheel as I am breathing. When I am visualizing and breathing circular, a feeling of calm comes over me. If you don't like Ferris wheels, you can use a Carousel. These are both great for really slowing and calming the breathing.
2. Hum, Talk, or Sing. Sing a song. Hum a song. Whatever is your favorite for vocalizing. You can't hold your breath and do any of these things. Singing a song is my favorite since I also have to think about the words. The brain can't be focused on fear and focused on the words to a song at the same time. Even something like 99 bottles of beer on the wall is good because you have to think of the numbers while singing and breathing.
3. Play a game like "I'm taking a trip and I pack...." or "I Spy". Play games that you have to talk with your horse. I even like the “I am taking a trip” and I pack something and then something my horse would pack, like carrots, back and forth. So much fun and you can't hold your breath while talking and playing a game out loud. The "I Spy" has the added benefit of having you keep your eyes up and your focus on where you are going. Here is a video I did sharing how I play the games: Check out the video!
Play with your breathing and see what works best for you. You can do this sitting at home and play with it until it feels natural and then start introducing it when you feel your anxiety coming up.
If you liked the ideas, here are some ideas for other games to play with your horses! Get Energy Games Here!
I was climbing down from the step stool in the rabbit area and just as I was stepping off, I panicked! My subconscious realized I would be stepping onto a snake. In the blink of an eye, my body was able to redirect my step to miss the snake. This triggered a number of thoughts for me.
1. My fear was subconscious. I didn't "think" there is a snake and jump, my body just did it and my mind caught up after the fact.
2. The fear was not in my mind. It turned out it was just a skin the snake had shed so I was not in real danger but my subconscious didn't know that.
3.. Fear doesn't take a vacation. I am not afraid of snakes, but I did jump at this to keep me safe. It happened on Thanksgiving day. My fear didn't take the day off for the holiday.
4.. Fear can take place anywhere, anytime. Fear doesn't care if you are sitting on the couch thinking about something that happened, or that it is really happening. Even now as I write about the snake I thought I saw, my heart rate and breathing rate go up. I am sitting on my couch.
Fear takes place in our subconscious first. It might be triggered by our thoughts, like me sitting on the couch writing this or it may be triggered by our senses but we don't think "I am going to be scared" and then be scared. Our subconscious takes over and keeps us safe, whether perceived, imaginary, or real fear.
This give us POWER. We get to choose to think about amazing, positive things so that at least the perceived and imaginary fear can leave us alone. We do have control of our mind and we can practice. Just like putting training wheels on a bicycle, we can practice courage and joy. We can change it around so that fear only takes place when it is actually keeping us safe. We don't want to ignore fear, but honor it, act if necessary, and move into courage and calm if we don't need to react.
Let's practice together!
1. Find a place to sit comfortably.
2.Think of the last thing that scared you that wasn't a big deal, just a little scare.
3. Observe your mind and body: Feel your breathing and your heart rate. Did they increase with the recall of the memory? Notice if how you feel changed. Did your anxiety increase?
4. Now, think about something calming for you or play some calming music.
5. Observe your mind and body as before.
6. Repeat until you can easily bring your feelings back to calm and courage. Then, you can increase the pressure from your memories or the "what if's" from the future.
7. Get really good and feeling the anxiety and fear, and calming back down.
If you would like to read my journey from fear to courage that is filled with ways to help you find your courage, grab my book now! CLICK HERE!
Hindsight is 20/20 right? Looking back over my horse accidents, I would say they were all preventable. I know that isn't the case with all horse accidents but in my case, all of them were preventable. Looking back at your accidents, are there things that if you had done them different, you would have had a different outcome.
Unexpected surprise: A great example is the horse in the Disney parade that gets a balloon wrapped around his hind leg and panics. This 100% could have been prevented. The handlers were checked out, just going through the motions of leading the horse, instead of keeping their eyes open and staying focused on the horse. If they had been aware, they would have seen the balloon. Even if they had not seen it, they could have refocused the horse and gotten the balloon off the leg.
What to do: Stay aware, don't check out. I love to play "I Spy" with my horse. This keeps me engaged and makes it fun.
Comfort zone: I competed in a 4' jumper class that was beyond me. I was so excited to be riding in the big ring, until I walked the course. The fences were HUGE. I knew I was not ready. My trainer told me to do it anyway. I froze. Jumping big fences is not the time to freeze. My wonderful horse did his job with a lump sitting on him. I fell off over one of those fences.
What to do: Don't let others push your out of your comfort zone. You decide when you want to move out of your comfort zone. It is like deciding to run and you run a mile. You get excited and run a marathon that weekend. Horse riding isn't any different. I love Warwick Schillers saying to play Donkey Kong. You go a bit, and then start over and go a little bit further, repeat.
Preparation: My big accident happened because I didn't have a pre-ride checklist. I know without a doubt if I had tuned into the horse while tacking him up, I would not have gotten on. He was in pain. He was tense. He had been bit by a black widow and I had no clue.
What to do: Develop your pre-ride checklist for you and your horse! It is different for everyone, but just like a pilot, going around and checking the plane. Check yourself, check your horse, check your tack.
Really think about any accidents you have had and see if you could have prevented it. They are not all preventable but a lot of them are. That gives us confidence! We know we can prevent the things that happen.
Here is a link to my pre-ride checklists if you would like a copy!
When I saw the horse flipping over on top of me, the feeling of falling and seeing that he was going to crush me, left me mentally in much worse shape than I was physically. The fear hung out with me like a dear friend. Like many of you, we have things happen that we cannot control, and the fear remains, long after the danger has passed.
Honor your fear or it will explode to get your attention.
This can be so hard to learn. We are taught to push down our fear, just buck up and do it, get on with it, and we end up feeling so alone in our fear. That feeling that nobody else understands. The hardest part is realizing that we can't just push that fear down. We can honor that fear, the precious fear that is just trying to keep us safe. It means well. It is doing its job. It doesn't know that we are no longer in danger and can make different decisions.
You might be wondering how. Here are my three tips for honoring your fear and returning to joy:
1. Really say thank you to your fear. Feel that it has helped you to stay safe. Take some time with this and let your feelings flow. If you enjoy journaling, put it down on paper. If you are like me and writing isn't your thing, close your eyes and just really breath into the fear, feel gratitude, feel yourself saying thank you.
2. When you start to feel the fear come up, practice amazing "What If's". There isn't anything that says we have to stay in negative what if's. We can pick and choose new ones, ones that fill us up with passion, desire, and joy!
3. Use tools. Whether it be checklists, breathing techniques, calming oils, CBD, preparation, music, or something else. Find out what works for you. Tools have such a bad stigma but really they can help us keep fear at bay and really let it know that we have this, we are good, and not in danger.
If you would like a little help on your "What if's", here is a short video on my thoughts and a little challenge! Click here.
