Ep 357: Hidden Habits That May Create Anxiety or Resistance in Horses
Recently, one of the members of our membership group asked a question that really made me think:
What's something you see good riders doing that they don't realize is actually creating anxiety or resistance in their horses?
I like that question because we're not talking about people who don't know how to ride or train a horse. We're talking about good horsemen. People who understand timing, feel, pressure and release, and the fundamentals of training.
But no matter how experienced we become, we're still human. We get nervous. We get in a hurry. We get frustrated. We become more focused on the outcome than the process. Sometimes we get so comfortable with what we know that we drift away from the basics that got us there in the first place. And whether we realize it or not, our horses feel those changes.
Sometimes the anxiety or resistance we're seeing in a horse isn't coming from what we're asking them to do. It's coming from how different we feel when we're asking them to do it.
Your Horse Feels the Change in You
I see this in myself. At home, I'm comfortable. I've spent thousands of hours in these arenas. I know the environment, my horses know the environment, and it's easy for me to get into a rhythm.
Take that same horse and rider somewhere new, and things can change.
Earlier in my career, I competed and traveled constantly. I might be at two or three different rodeos in a week, so riding in a new environment became normal.
For the last 25 years, I haven't competed nearly as consistently. I've spent a lot more of my time at home training horses. Because of that, I've had to work on being able to recreate the same mental and physical state I have at home when I go somewhere else.
That's important, because my horse doesn't know that I'm nervous because there's more money on the line, we're at a bigger event, or I really want to make a good run. He just knows that I feel different. And when I feel different, he may start to feel like the situation is different, too.
Hurry Creates Tension
I got a simple reminder of this recently while working horses at home. It was getting hot, and for just a moment I caught myself getting in a hurry.
Almost immediately, I could feel a change in my horses. They got a little tighter in the corner. Their stops got a little tighter.
I hadn't intentionally changed the training program. I had changed. My urgency changed the way I was presenting things, and they responded to it.
Think about how easily that can happen when we compete.
We're running late. We're thinking about the entry fee. We're worried about making a mistake. We're thinking about the people watching. We're trying to get our horse warmed up, get to the arena, remember everything we're supposed to do, and perform.
Our horse feels all of that nervous energy before we've ever asked them to do their job.
That's why one of the most important things we can learn as horsemen is how to control our own state before we try to change our horse's.
Before You Settle Your Horse, Settle Yourself
One of the simplest tools I've found is breathing. I'll take several deep breaths, hold each one briefly, and slowly breathe out. By the time I've done that five or six times, I can physically feel myself change.
My breathing slows down. My mind slows down. My body feels different. And if I feel different, I'm going to feel different to my horse.
Before I make a competitive run, I want to do everything I can to recreate the same confidence and comfort I have in the practice pen. Because whatever I'm feeling before the run is going to carry into it.
With a horse like Boone, that's especially important. He doesn't need me to go somewhere new and get him more worked up. He can raise his heart rate just fine on his own. My responsibility is to help him stay soft, comfortable, and confident.
So when I go somewhere with him, I don't need to become more aggressive or put more pressure on him just because we're competing. In some ways, I need to be better there than I am at home.
That's a skill. And just like anything else in horsemanship, it's a skill we can practice and improve.
Nervous Energy Travels Down the Reins
A horse going somewhere new is already dealing with more than they deal with at home.
You unload at an unfamiliar facility and you've got different horses, sounds, smells, footing, people, and activity.
You haven't even done anything yet, and your horse may already be closer to reacting than thinking.
Then we climb on carrying our own nervous energy and expect the horse to calm down.
That's a hard combination.
If I want my horse to feel confident, I have to give him something confident to follow.
That doesn't mean we never get nervous. It means we learn how to recognize what we're bringing into the situation and develop ways to manage it.
Nervous energy from the rider is hard on a horse. It's also hard on us as competitors.
The better we become at controlling our emotions, the better chance we give our horses to control theirs.
Sometimes Resistance Starts When We Abandon the Basics
There's another habit I see good riders fall into, and I've certainly done it myself: We start believing we're too advanced for the basics.
We work hard to improve something in a horse. We get it really good. Then, because it's good, we stop working on the things that made it good. Eventually, it starts slipping.
That's human nature. We don't want to keep working on the same things over and over. But one of the things I say all the time is: Advanced horsemanship is just better basics.
The fundamentals are what create trust, understanding, comfort, and confidence. Those things are the opposite of anxiety.
It doesn't matter if you've been riding a horse for two months, two years, or ten years. The basics still matter. A finished competition horse doesn't necessarily need more speed, more pressure, or more runs. Sometimes that horse needs to go home, slow everything down, and rebuild confidence in the fundamentals.
When we keep asking for more because we think an advanced horse should be beyond basic work, we can start creating the exact tension and resistance we're trying to eliminate.
Don't Confuse More Pressure With More Progress
Competition horses spend a lot of time being asked to perform at a high level. That's mentally demanding.
Physically, horses are incredibly gifted. A lot of times, the bigger challenge is keeping them mentally confident through all of that full-contact work.
That's why every training session doesn't have to prove how much your horse can do. Sometimes the best thing we can do is slow down and put them back together.
I want every run I make to build something.
Did it build confidence?
Did it build understanding?
Did it build trust?
If the answer is yes, then I have something I can continue building on.
Replace Frustration With Understanding
One of the biggest changes I've made throughout my career has been learning to respond differently when things aren't going well.
Years ago, I might have responded to a problem out of frustration. Today, I try to respond from a place of understanding.
Why did that horse react that way?
What changed?
What am I doing differently?
What small adjustment can I make that would help this horse become more confident instead of more anxious?
Horsemanship is a thinking game. We have to be doers, but we also have to be thinkers.
The goal isn't to become a good enough rider that you never make a mistake. The goal is to become aware enough that you recognize when something you're doing isn't helping the horse—and have the willingness to change it.
The Better We Manage Ourselves, the Better We Can Help Our Horses
The habits that create anxiety or resistance aren't always obvious.
Sometimes it's getting in a hurry.
Sometimes it's carrying nervous energy into the arena.
Sometimes it's putting more pressure on a horse because the stakes feel higher to us.
Sometimes it's drifting away from the fundamentals because we think we should be past them.
And sometimes it's allowing frustration to determine our response instead of stopping long enough to understand what the horse needs.
Our horses are constantly reading us.
So before we assume a horse needs to change, it's worth asking ourselves:
What am I bringing into this situation, and what does that feel like to my horse?
Slow your breathing.
Slow your mind.
Go back to the basics.
Look for the small change that builds confidence, trust, and understanding instead of anxiety.
Because if every ride builds those three things, there's no telling how far you and your horse can go.
Today and every day, let's be our best.
