What does the word Confident mean?
- Firm trust
- The feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something
- A state of feeling certain about the truth of something
- A feeling of self assurance about ones abilities or qualities
Therefore confidence is ‘a state of being’
When it comes to helping our horses be confident with us and in any situation we may put them in, requires the ability to –
- Multi task
- Have composure
- Be decisive
- Have consistency
- Patience
- Be proactive
Your success or failure depends on you having the above qualities, demonstrating a level of skill in your
riding and horsemanship appropriate to where your horse is at and your beliefs. This means that for a successful outcome with horses, YOU come from a place of personal integrity NOT ego!
Confidence is a great motivator and inspires horses to try harder, get excited and more involved with their
human. Once this is clearly demonstrated from human to horse and the horse happily responding back, the sky is the limit to what is possible with horses. Confidence creates a special bond weaved around love, trust and respect. Let the fun begin!
Leadership cannot happen without being confident, confidence cannot happen without having an unshakable
knowing that what you are doing is fantastic and great for all parties involved. This cannot happen unless
you become proactive in interactions with horses. This means having the ability to think on ones feet about creating solutions to situations not just focusing on the problems. All the while ensuring that a positive attitude is maintained throughout.
When situations have us reacting, this absolutely shatters confidence, and chaos and crisis management then kick in. This in turn creates more chaos and short-term bandaids to the problem or situation. Have you ever had your horse blow up and then not be able to move its feet??? This is a classic reaction, and whether the experience can be turned into a positive or is forever remembered in horror will depend on your ability to show the horse how to unstick his feet and move towards doing something positive. Anything that the horse knows well and is very happy doing will not only stop the negative behaviour but replace it with something very positive and help the horse feel good again.
What does a reactive or unconfident horse look like?
Right brained – mentally and emotionally left town!
High head running on adrenaline
Tight, tense body
Unable to move feet or very unbalanced and unsteady on feet
Glazed eyes
Leaning on the halter so the lead rope is very heavy in hand
Defensive with certain parts of body i.e. shoulders coming towards you, heavy on front feet
How can we help our horses and ourselves become more confident?
Firstly you have to find this state of being in yourself. Then and only then can you help the horse.
The response can never be manufactured or made to happen, you need to proactively help the horses
re-establish a feeling of confidence within themselves, just like you need to do within yourself.
Strategies that may help include:
Using approach and retreat on ourselves until we are Mentally, Emotionally and Spiritually in the right space to try again with the horse, this can also apply to the horse.
Setting up the solution so the horse thinks they have ‘found’ it themselves
Giving the horse responsibilities or jobs to do. This demonstrates a trust and belief that ‘we’ can do this together
Playing a game the horse and human know very well and both enjoy, will regain composure, open the lines of communication thus creating confidence.
Remember not to be too hard on yourself when the wheels fall off! It is part of learning and luckily horses are amazingly forgiving creatures! It is more important to take the time to reflect on your mistake and understand what went wrong and why so that you won’t make the same mistake again.
