I am not much of a gambler but gamblers like hedging their bets, to try and achieve the best possible winning outcome. This approach does not always work when it comes to horses and riding.

I coach someone whom when asked a question, would always answer like this.
E.g.
Me : Do you like A or B?
Student : Uhmm A… but….

And this showed in this student’s riding; whatever was asked from the horse was never clear enough, always worried about making the wrong move, being tentative with the aids. This also showed in the canter transitions never being direct or crisp enough and in asking the horse to work into a positive connection.

The first thing I suggested to my student was that questions are now to be answered definitely.. A or B.. no “buts” allowed. Tone of voice was also important as we are trying to instill confidence and less self doubt. This was done off the horse as well as on the horse.

When riding, the student was to be definite in what was being asked of the horse – worry less about making mistakes, that is how we all learn. Better to be black and white, instead of 100 different shades of grey. The clearer our aids and our intentions are, the easier it will be for the horse to understand and to give us the correct response. That is also the basis of good correct training.

Slowly but surely, we are seeing progress. Sometimes it is not just the physical aspect of the riding that we have to work with, but also the mental aspects.  I feel that there are days where I am more a life coach than I am a horse riding coach, but that just comes with the territory.

It has been a long year but I hope all of you get to enjoy some time with your loved ones to close the year. Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas, happy holidays and looking forward to a better year ahead. Happy riding.. and of course, happy eating!!!!!!!!!