Riding horseback often looks easy when a trained rider is at the reins, but it is actually one of the hardest activities to master. One of the biggest problems that new riders face is getting into their heads too much. However, there are some horse riding tips to circumvent overthinking in the saddle. Number one, make your focus more physical. Focus on the feel of your horse, or the way your body is moving. In other words, pay attention to your senses more than the voices in your head.
Get Out of Your Head
The point is to think less, but if you can’t stop your thoughts at least change what you’re thinking about. The second and third solutions are imagery. Imagery is a great way to improve your riding. Think about taking a leisurely walk when you want to ride slowly and think about running when you want to ride faster. Alternatively, imaging a song or sound bite can help. If you are practicing a light trot with your horse, think of a song with a slow and steady tempo. For more aggressive riding, think about a song with a quicker tempo.
Horse riding tips number four: use a catchphrase. This might sound a little silly, but thinking of a phrase that gets you in a specific mood could really help shape your confidence. The best part is you don’t have to say it out loud. Thinking “ride like the wind” or even “high-ho silver” is enough to get your head in the right place for riding. The last and most important tip is to think quicker. Doing any type of training at home, we have the space and time to make mistakes. We can stop what we’re doing and think about how we can do it better. When riding you often have to make quick, split decisions. You’ll still make mistakes. However, once your skills improve, being about to make quick decisions will be a very big asset. If you are looking to buy or sell horse property in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and talk to one of our horse-person realtors.
