De-spooking Your Mind
April Clay, Psychologist
Spending a lot of effort de-spooking your horse might be for naught if your mind is of the spooky sort.
What does it mean to have a spooky mind? Well actually we all do. As humans we are wired to notice negative things in our environment. It is essential to our survival. Horses do this too, as prey animals they must be aware of potential predators and danger. The two of you together can mean for a sensitive and over reacting team if you’re not careful. The good news is there are a few steps you can take to lessen your own spooky potential.
Finally, accept you will spook at times, but it’s really not the end of the world. You can learn to correct yourself as well as your horse. You can learn to desensitize yourself to previously anxiety producing situations by developing good thinking tools.
Want to get tougher? Try the Resilient Rider Online Course today! Go to www.outofyourmindcourses.com for more information
© April Clay, 2017
April Clay, Psychologist
Spending a lot of effort de-spooking your horse might be for naught if your mind is of the spooky sort.
What does it mean to have a spooky mind? Well actually we all do. As humans we are wired to notice negative things in our environment. It is essential to our survival. Horses do this too, as prey animals they must be aware of potential predators and danger. The two of you together can mean for a sensitive and over reacting team if you’re not careful. The good news is there are a few steps you can take to lessen your own spooky potential.
- Know your triggers: What sends your mind into alarm mode? Is it a certain kind of jump, people watching you, riding outside or going to a new show? Take some time to clarify what gets your system running scared.
- Take that deep breath (or two): When we are nervous or scared we set off the “fight or flight” response in our body. Your heart rate and breath rate will increase, pumping blood to the larger muscles in your body preparing them for action. It can feel very uncomfortable, and worse yet, change your ride. In order to give your body the message that things really are ok, take a few deep breaths to reset your respiration rate. Doing so will also slow your mind down and help you think more clearly.
- Define your spooky thoughts: “People are judging me!”, “I’m going to mess this up bad”, “I will never learn to ride this horse”. Make no mistake, your inner voice is the one that is scaring you. What is it saying? What is the danger?
- Replace your scary thoughts with realistic ones, and plan ahead: take those thoughts and try downgrading the threat. “People are watching everyone, chances are they won’t even remember me”, “I’m going to stick to my plan and if a mistake happens I will deal with it”, “I’m having some challenges with this horse but I am committed to working through them.”. Negative thoughts exaggerate- so help yourself calm down by defining more realistic thinking and practicing that new approach every chance you get.
Finally, accept you will spook at times, but it’s really not the end of the world. You can learn to correct yourself as well as your horse. You can learn to desensitize yourself to previously anxiety producing situations by developing good thinking tools.
Want to get tougher? Try the Resilient Rider Online Course today! Go to www.outofyourmindcourses.com for more information
© April Clay, 2017