Rider Confidence
By Ken Jones

Today we’ll explore building the rider’s confidence. A rider has to have the confidence to take the leadership roll, which is the most important part of horsemanship.  I believe confidence comes from knowledge and experience. A calm and assertive attitude is reassuring to your horse. It gives your horse the confidence to follow your intentions. A horse is a follower by nature and is looking for a relaxed, confident leader allowing him to be a relaxed, confident, and a safe partner. 

If you are a rider looking for confidence, I recommend finding an instructor who can understand where you are coming from - then take the necessary steps to help you build a foundation of knowledge of how to become a leader with your horse. Then it’s practice, spending time with your horse, working on communication, respect, and intention.

There’s an old saying, “a horse knows when you know and he knows when you don’t.”  I have found this to be true.  Real confidence that a horse can respect will come from your body language and in presenting yourself to the horse in a calm respectful manner. A confident rider builds confidence in his horse. Horses are keen on body language, and since they are looking for a leader, they will check you out before you know it.

The other side of this equation is to find a horse that has the confidence to handle an inexperienced rider. This is a horse that has been ridden a lot and is confident in his ability. He will not over react to a tentative rider. He is a horse that is confident in his job and goes about doing it regardless of the rider. These are routinely called school horses and they are worth their weight it gold. They can respond when the cue is only partially right and follow through without challenging the rider. This gives the rider a chance to relax and concentrate on doing the right thing, not worrying about being intimidated by the horse.

A rider needs a foundation of how horses communicate, good training and a horse that supports the rider’s learning without challenging the rider’s intentions. Follow this with practice, practice, practice and you’ll be on your way to becoming a happy confident rider.

As a teacher, I like to focus on the positive and not on the fear. I like to show my students what works and keeping focused on pushing energy through the horse in a way that he accepts it.  So many people get bogged down in what not to do that it can be a very paralyzing experience.  I think it’s vital to find a positive, intuitive teacher that can keep a student focusing on what to do and keeps the energy moving forward all the time. The positive flow of energy from the rider through the horse builds confidence in horse and rider.

If we are confident, the energy flows. If we aren’t, it stops and leaves the horse on his own.  A horse that lacks confidence can be easily confused without the proper leadership; and will make his own decision where to send his energy. He can kick into his flight mechanism and head back to the barn, the gate, the other horses, or where ever he feels safe and confident. 

Sending out positive energy works in all life situations.

Keep ridin’ and reading.