Overcoming Fear

While we as riders face many challenges; the biggest and most prominent hurtle seems to be overcoming emotional and mental obstacles. Whether it is fear, anxiety, focusing, or struggling with the ability to control your emotions, we all have to learn how to conquer these mental blocks. Because we trust our lives with twelve hundred pound animals and hope for the best, fear and anxiety are only natural, but they DO NOT have to defeat you. We as humans tend to naturally favor either a fight or flight mentality. While a seasoned, well rounded rider has an equal balance between the two, finding that balance usually is a skill that takes years to develop.

            The riders that tend to have more of a flight mentality have to learn to find a little fight in them. Some horses can be bullies and try to intimidate the fearful or insecure rider, while others will feed off of the negative energy which can create an even worse situation. In these moments we as riders have to get a handle on our emotions, slow our minds down, be present in the moment, and breathe so that we can push through the “negative” situation and turn it into a positive one.  We cannot let our everyday fears paralyze us, so we have to channel our inner strength to defeat our obstacles.

            With that being said, the riders who have more of a fight mentality tend to overcompensate for their fear, which can be counterproductive.  While this may be the lesser of two evils, you must be careful because you are still reactive.  The rider with a “fight” reaction often becomes too defensive and over reactive.  This can lead to adverse results because the rider’s judgement is clouded by the “fight” response and is living in the past, not in the present.  Many times the rider may over-correct the horse or be unfair to the horse because they themselves are too defensive and waiting for something bad to happen.  This again is why it is very important to control your emotions, slow your mind, be present in the moment, and breathe!

            However a rider naturally deals with fear, it is important that they find a positive balance to help them overcome their obstacles. Everyone experiences fear at some point, but it is how you deal with it and overcome it that is important.  This can be a long, hard, and frustrating process, but be patient with yourself.  The joys these animals bring are well worth it!