Manage Horseback Riding Fear By Staying In The Moment
September 30, 2009 by admin
Filed under The Fear Factor, Tips, Uncategorized
Fear is a very real issue for many horseback riders. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, it would be surprising if you never felt afraid when riding. After all, you’re dealing with an animal that greatly outweighs you.
In addition to their size, horses are not always predictable. After all, they’ve survived all this time because of their flight instinct. The fact that they’re reactive creatures rather than logical ones can be scary.
So what do you do about the fear that stops you from totally enjoying your riding and your horse?
First, understand that when you’re afraid, your mind isn’t in the present. It’s on what might happen in the future.
Then consider the fact that 99% of what you fear, never happens. Why use up so much energy and emotion worrying about things that might happen but usually never do?
So, here’s a quick tip to help you cope with your fear when horseback riding. Use it not only when you ride, but also for any other area in your life when you’re immobilized by fear.
Learn how to manage your fear by staying in the moment.
To bring yourself back to the present moment, involve as many of your five senses as you can. Hear the rhythm of your horse’s footfalls. Look at the trees outside your ring. Feel the texture of the reins. Smell the fly spray. And taste your salty sweat dripping down from underneath your helmet!
Stay in the moment by adding emotion too. Remember a time when you felt calm, relaxed and connected to your horse. Recreate that feeling when you start to get nervous.
If you have a hard time conjuring up that feeling, borrow the emotion from another time in your life. Maybe you’ll remember being totally relaxed at the beach. Or maybe you’ll feel the sense of peace you have when you’re patting your dog or cat. Or maybe you’ll experience the calmness you feel as you rhythmically curry your horse during grooming.
So manage your horseback riding fears by staying in the moment by using your five senses and including positive emotion. Doing so will get you out of future thinking which is where fear lives and bring you back to the present. Click here for more tips on managing horseback riding fear.
2 Quick Tips For Coping With Irrational Fear while Horseback Riding
September 26, 2009 by admin
Filed under The Fear Factor, Uncategorized
I often hear from horseback riders that they have irrational fears about being out of control or getting hurt when riding. The fear seems irrational because they’ve never actually had an accident or injury. So they wonder where the fear comes from.
For what it’s worth, I used to have “irrational fears” about flying. It was so bad that I would only do clinics within driving distance. It turns out that the fear of flying was just a convenient “hook” to hang stuff on. It allowed me to express fear, anger, or even grief.
Apparently, my mind thought that fear of flying was an acceptable way to express those emotions. After all, no one was going to tell me I was crazy to be afraid to fly. After all, how weird is it to go hurtling through the air in a huge cylinder? What holds that thing up anyhow?
By the same token, no one is going to say you’re crazy to be afraid of being out of control on a horse. After all, horses significantly outweigh you. Plus they’re reactive creatures of flight. They don’t operate “logically”.
So hanging other fears, anger, or grief on something like flying in an airplane, heights, or bolting horses is something we can justify to ourselves. No one would ever say we were “crazy” to be afraid of those things.
So here are two quick tips to help you cope with irrational fear while horseback riding.
1. Here’s one I use that I learned from Susan Jeffers who wrote Feel the Fear…And Do it Anyways.
Since fear is future thinking, our self talk often takes the form of “What if” questions. What if my horse bolts? What if I get tense when I ride? What if I fall off?
Preface your “What if” questions with the word “So”. Then answer yourself with “I can handle it”.
Here are some examples.
So what if my horse bolts? I can handle it.
So what if I’m tense? I can handle it.
So what if I fall off? I can handle it.
Because the truth is that you can and will handle it. You have no other choice.
2. Try scheduling “worry time”. Sometimes it’s better to acknowledge and give permission to your fears than fight them.
Tell your fears they have 15 minutes a day to make themselves uppermost in your mind. Then worry your head off. At the end of 15 minutes, stop.
After time is up, if the fears return, acknowledge them but tell them they have to wait until your designated 15 minute “worry time” period tomorrow.
So you don’t have to be victimized by seemingly irrational fears when horseback riding. Arm yourself with tools and strategies to help you manage your fear. Click here for more info on coping with horseback riding fears.
Don’t Let Your Horseback Riding Fears Hold You Back!
June 28, 2009 by admin
Filed under The Fear Factor, Uncategorized
My new program to help you Raise your Fear Threshold and escape “Fear Paralysis” while horseback riding is just about ready.
I want to thank all of you for your awesome input on your personal riding fears last month. After hearing about some of them, I added extra tips and tools to the program. Thanks to your help, it really has become your program.
Next month, I’ll be offering a special introductory price ONLY for my newsletter subscribers. If you’re on my newsletter list, you’ll automatically get that info so you’re all set.
If you’re NOT on the newsletter list, go back to the Home Page and sign up right now so you can get in on the special offer.
Among other things, when you sign up for the newsletter, you’ll IMMEDIATELY get a free special report on 5 Tips to Demolish Fear while Horseback Riding.
Click here for more info on managing your horseback riding fear.
