Riding and handling horses can be stressful, especially when we juggle these activities alongside our everyday lives. Ideally, spending time with your horse and riding should bring you peace and joy. Here are a few tips to help you centre yourself and relax both before and during a ride:
1. Breathing Techniques
Horses often sync their breathing with those around them. If you are tense and taking short, sharp breaths, your horse may feel the need to worry as well. When you feel yourself becoming tense, stop, take a long, deep breath in, hold it for 3-10 seconds, and then release. Repeat this 4-6 times to help you relax and soften.
2. Gentle Stretches
We carry a lot of tension in our hips and shoulders, which need to be relaxed to ride effectively. Here are a few stretches that can help open your hips and relax your shoulders, preparing you for riding.
Every goal requires a journey. Think of your goal as a ladder; the more rungs there are, and the closer together they are, the easier it is to climb towards your goal.
4. Don’t Worry About Taking a Step Back
There is often pressure to be perfect and constantly improve. It’s important to listen to yourself and your horse. Taking a step back, whether it’s going down a level for a competition or deciding to focus solely on schooling for a month, is completely fine. Sometimes, taking the pressure off helps you progress further in the future.
5. Connect with Your Horse Before Getting On
Getting on your horse should not be seen as just another task. If either you or your horse are nervous, mounting can lead to tension for both of you. Spend some time at the start of your session walking your horse in hand, giving them scratches or cuddles while standing on the block, and once you’re on, take a moment to chill near the mounting block. This will help both of you connect better during mounting and minimise the chance of your horse walking off. If your horse needs training to stand at the block but is too active at the start of a session, consider lunging them first or riding for a while before working on the mounting block training at the end of the session.
6. Track Your Progress Against Your Own Past
The saying ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ rings true. Everyone’s path in life is different and may not look the same as others.
7. Talk to Friends, Horsey or Not
Speaking to others about your day helps you process it. Hacking with friends is a great way to open up, but chatting with a non-horsey friend after being at the yard can be beneficial too. Our four-legged friends are important, but our two-legged ones can be quite helpful as well.
8. Don’t Hold Onto Things That Go Wrong
If something goes wrong, try not to dwell on it. Take a step away, analyse, and move forward. Bad days happen to everyone. It’s okay to stop the session and try again another day.
9. Distract Your Mind While You Ride
Distract your mind by playing music, singing, or reciting your times tables. This helps your brain focus on one thing while your body handles the riding. (The 2 times table can also help maintain a good trot rhythm.)
10. Make It Fun and Joyful
Over 80% of UK riders engage in the sport as a hobby rather than a profession. As a hobby, it’s important to have fun and enjoy it, just like we did when we were kids. Not every ride needs to contribute to a goal; sometimes you just need to do something silly like playing gymkhana games, having a picnic hack (or a pub ride), or a fancy dress hack.
