Building Horse and Rider Confidence

(Photo credit to Laura Szeremi)

Confidence is crucial to both horse and rider in the sport of Eventing. If you or your horse don't believe that you can so something, you most likely won't be able to do it, even if you actually are capable. A solid foundation with good basics will go a long way towards building confidence levels. Many times horses or riders lack confidence because of a weak link in their basics. It is so very important to find a good instructor who can identify what that weak link is, so that it can be improved. Many riders are pleasantly surprised to find out that they CAN do something that they didn't think they were capable of, once a good instructor has fixed an underlying problem.

For example, I regularly see riders who think that they are just inherently not talented at jumping. They may have been attempting to improve for years, and don't feel that they are getting anywhere. But when I show them how to find their balance independently of the horse in the two point, and they master that skill, they are suddenly much more secure and confident over jumps. Why didn't they already know how to find that balance? Because many instructors teach a particular "position" instead of balance. In other words, they say things like "shoulders back", "heels down", and "legs tight". But without true balance those position corrections will be hard to maintain.

Once there is a solid foundation for horse and rider, the way to further build confidence is to.....(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)