Dressage Trainer Jane Savoie’s DVD on Handling The Horse That Shys

“How to Handle Shying” DVD

Hosted by Jane Savoie

This DVD on How To Handle Shying helps you:

• Learn Why Horses Shy
• Understand The Dominant Eye
• Avoid Several Common Rider Mistakes
• Learn Simple Exercises to Help You Relax Both On And Off Your Horse
• Learn The Exact Aids For A Suppling Technique To Relax Your Spooky Horse
• Learn How To “Read Your Horse’s Ears” To Know When He’s About To Shy
• How To Gradually Introduce a “Scary Object”

Have a Laugh with Funny Images To Help You with Equitation and Horse Training.

Here’s a fun training tip to improve your horse training and equitation. I call it RIDES WITH FRUIT.

I’m sure you remember Kevin Costner’s movie, Dances with Wolves. Well, I call this horse training tip, Rides with Fruit. I thought it was appropriate since it’s summer in some parts of the world, and many of us start to eat more fruits and vegetables.

So let’s bring some fruity images to your horse training and equitation! When you’re on a circle, your horse’s body should curve like a banana. Feel the weight of a grapefruit in your outside hand and the weight of an orange in your inside hand. Sit deep and relax your gluts by saying, “My butt is a marshmallow.” (Oh? You mean marshmallows aren’t a fruit?)

Click on Program Your Position for more help with Equitation.

2 Quick Tips For Coping With Irrational Fear while Horseback Riding

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!

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.