horsebackriding

This is a GREAT question.  Think about it, do we ask, how do you drive a car safely?  Or, how do we walk down stairs safely?  Or, how do we walk through the shopping mall safely?  All of these things can be dangerous but we don't ask all the time about their safety.  I think because riding a horse, is an agreement and a partnership between two beings, it is a little more daunting but really, driving a car is an agreement with all the other drivers if you think about it.

So, there are things we can do to improve our safety riding.  First of all, mentally, we need to be ready to ride.  Think about going to the shopping mall with your friend, and the entire time, she is worried about being robbed, that person doesn't look nice, what if that person has a gun, etc.  You would be a stressed mess and not enjoy it.  We do this to our horses when we are not mentally in a good spot to ride.  There are so many exercises we can do to get our mind right, before getting on our horses (and I love using CBD under my tongue to also help just take the edge off, to see the one I use, just click here),

We need to make sure our horses are ready to enjoy a nice ride.  I have created some pre-ride checklists, like a pilot checking out a plane for flight, to make sure our horses are ready and look for signs that we may need to make a different decision.  If we can have bad days, our horses can too!  I also love to put a big pile of hay in front of my horses while I groom and tack up.  A full stomach keeps their stomach acid from sloshing while riding so they want to be ridden the next time.  If it always hurts when you are ridden, you wouldn't want to do it again.

When we go to get on our horse, are they standing quietly, waiting for us to get on?  This is a big one!  If they are not super quiet and relaxed, I don't get on, ever.  We work through what is causing their worry and stress.  It may mean I don't ride that day.  I think the best thing we can do for our horses, is to always give them a choice.  A partnership is about agreement of both parties and our horse deserves that respect from us.

If you enjoyed this, I did do a short video talking about it too!  

I used to think that riding, was a great way to tone my body and get my exercise, but then I realized that getting in shape, especially balance and flexibility would help my riding and my courage!

Riding does help keep my body toned and in shape.  People say the horse does all the work and I just offer to let them take a horse around a course of jumps.  It is a lot more strength than anyone really thinks about.  Riders are athletes just as much as their horses, except maybe those that just relax on easy trail rides (which I used to do).

Let's take it a step further.  If we can improve our balance and our flexibility, we can be better riders and then gain even more strength and benefit from the riding.  I recently did an 11-day jumpstart program to reduce inflammation and I was shocked at how much better I felt overall.  My wedding ring fit over my knuckles, which it hadn't done in three years!  I could touch the ground at my feet, which I am not sure I have ever been able to do.  

This newfound flexibility is a breath of fresh air.  I can't wait to get riding this spring now that I feel GREAT, my body feels better, and even though I didn't want to, I lost weight.  Most of all, with reduced inflammation, my energy levels are through the roof!  That means cleaning the tack room, cleaning tack, mucking stalls, and all the other chores are so much easier.

So, back to the question, how does horse riding affect your body?  Well, the riding improves how my body is toned but all the other things I can improve about my health, improve my riding and that to me is everything!  Bring on SPRING!

If you want in the next 11-day jumpstart for riders, Click here!

What if we turn it around from how do I stop obsessing over what if, to how do I obsess over amazing what if's?  There are a lot of times we worry and stress about what might happen, what could happen in a bad way, the worst-case scenario.  Nobody says we have to stay in the negative mind yuck.

Let's change our what ifs around to the best possible outcomes.  The amazing things that we want.  Fill ourselves up with what ifs that support our dreams and become our reality.  This was more powerful that I could have imagined.  I first wrote down the main yucky what ifs that were stuck in my head when I would think about riding.  I looked at them from the root.  For me, it was not being in control.  Surprise, that shows up in other areas of my life too!  How could I change it around to what ifs that let me be in control?

I just dove in.  What if my ride is relaxing and we enjoy every minute?  What if I feel the rhythm of my horses' feet and we are in sync for the entire ride?  What if we get to see amazing things, feel the sun on our backs and the breeze on our cheeks.  The more I wrote down the what if's the filled me with joy, the more I felt good.  The less room there was for anxiety and fear.  I wrote down 10, powerful what if's and practiced them 5 times a day for 7 days.  WOW.  I could hardly remember the original what if's that had caused so much stress.  They had faded.  The more I fill up with great, amazing what if's, the more the yuck fades.  The best part, my horses seem to feel the shift in me, they are more attentive and in tune.  They want to be with me instead of running from me.

If you would like to see a short mini-course I did on creating better what if's, just click here!

I started to write about riding horses if you really want to ride horses. Don't let anything stop you.  I was going to give a pep talk on making it happen.  But then I realized, the loss of confidence can turn into feeling like riding would be a chore, at least it did for me.  So I changed course and decided to write about how to have fun riding again.  I have had so much fun and thinking about it, helps me want to get on and ride!

 

First of all, riding a horse, is all about the connection to your very best friend.  It is like going to the mall and shopping with your bestie, only riding a horse takes that connection one step further to actually feeling the rhythm between the two of you physically.  Hearts connected and bodies connected.  That feeling of pure joy as the two of you see the sights together.

 

With that in mind, riding can be fun for both of you.  I spent most of my hours riding as a kid, riding trails and playing, almost no time in an arena.  We would race each other and even race motorcycles.  We would jump over anything and everything that we could find.  I think my favorite was playing tag in the heat of summer.  We would swim in the ponds and if our horses touched the ground, we were out and had to sit out in the heat until everyone was out.  We would do this for 8 or 9 hours.  I think back now to our poor horses swimming for hours but I think they enjoyed not being in the 100 degree heat.

 

As an adult, I love to play "I Spy", "Red Rover", and tag (having the horse touch all kinds of stuff while I am riding).  I also love a good jumper competition but the arena work can feel too much like work!  What are two or three things you can do to make riding more fun for you?  Think about them, picture them, get excited about having that fun on your horse again.  It will help overcome the confidence issues as you bring joy into your thoughts of riding, more and more.

 

Picture what that fun will look like.  Develop that picture and share that picture with your horse.  The more you can imagine that fun, the better you will feel about riding. 

 

Why is horseback riding fun?  I would love to hear the number one thing you would enjoy having fun with your horse!  Whether it is riding or not riding, not everyone wants to ride.

 

If you enjoyed this and would like to see some fun ways to ground play with your horse, you can get my guide, 5 Fabulous Ground Play Challenges here!