Thinking while we Ride

Something that I have noticed over the past few years while riding and working with others and their horses is how often people are not thinking while they are riding. They tend ride as passengers for a majority of their ride, until they want to do something, stop, change gaits, turn, or move laterally. When it is time to take one of these actions, without the proper preparation they ask their horse to complete a maneuver. They are usually met with some resistance from the horse, even if it is only short term, while the horse prepares itself and then responds to the request. Then they wonder why the horse is bracing against them, stiff, or just plain non responsive, and more times than not, they blame the horse, this can be avoided if the riders will simply THINK while they ride.

For example, if you are going to stop, plan ahead, make sure the horse is with you mentally and is soft, then change your body position and allow the horse to respond. If you have already created a non-responsive horse, then you may have to firm up some while you teach your horse to respond rather than ignore your cues. It is really important when doing this that you first offer the best deal possible, if you don't offer lightness, you never will get lightness, then firm up, get the desired response and then get out. Give your horse a moment or two to think about what happened and then ride on, repeating, remembering to always offer to good deal and then to get the job done. It shouldn't take to much time and your horse will be responding to your lighter cues. Remember not to overdo this though working on one maneuver over and over again, don't train on your horse, ride them with quality, changing up the routine and remember to THINK while you ride.

Here are some things you might want to think about while your riding. Am I mentally engaged in my ride, is my horse mentally engaged, am I feeling of my horse, can I feel of my horse, is my horse feeling of me, do I know where his feet are before I ask for a transition, am I in time with my horses feet when I ask for a transition, or am I getting in his way. Is my horse responding when I ask him to prepare and complete a transition, how is he responding, with understanding, with confusion, with softness, with life, with resistance, with dullness, is he responding at all, is he checking out, is he reacting rather than responding. These things are very important to know, and they can change from moment to moment if the rider is not aware of them, or is simply not thinking.

Now that you are aware of these things and thinking, you can change them. This will not be an easy task as you will need to change your riding habits and be discliplined about these changes. It is easy to keep doing things the same, but the reward will be endless if you can make these changes. Remember, be aware of your riding, try to develop feel and timing, notice when your horse responds softly, without resistance, and with life, also take note when your horse responds with resistance. If you can learn to Think while you ride, you can develop feel and timing which will allow you to refine your horsemanship and have a soft and responsive horse.

Enjoy the Journey

Nick Donohue