Eight tips to soothe your nerves
Many riders are affected by nerves, and in Part 1 of her two-part series, CHRISTINE ARMISHAW offers some great tips on keeping anxiety at bay.
If you’ve never felt the flutter of nerves as you prepare to mount, or when you are riding your horse, you’re one of the lucky ones! It’s a feeling many riders experience, either as a result of a fall or just because – you are, after all, working with a strong and sometimes unpredictable animal!
But here are some tips to help you manage those nerves so that you gain more enjoyment from the sport you love:
- Have the right horse: If you have a horse who is spooky or reactive, and you are not completely comfortable with that, then even before you hop on, you’re already going to be feeling apprehensive. Plus, you’ve got a horse you have to work extra hard with, because aside from keeping your balance, staying on, trying to ride a circle, and all that good stuff, you have to deal with anything the horse might throw at you.
After getting lessons at a riding school, some people decide they want a horse of their own – and with no idea of what they should look for they go and buy one, realising too late that there’s a huge difference between a ‘real life’ horse and a riding school horse who’s ridden twice daily and is happy to play follow the leader.
Preferably, take an experienced someone with you when you go looking, and be really specific about your requirements. I generally advise people to aim for a horse who is 12 or more years old. There are always exceptions to the rule and sometimes younger horses are fine. But if you’re a little bit nervous anyway, try and stack the odds in your favour, because horse riding can be dramatic and scary enough at the best of times.
Also, look for a horse who’s already proven their suitability for the things you’re hoping to do with them, whatever they might be – and if they frequently lick and chew, so much the better! Horses who freely lick and chew typically process information more readily and hold less tension than horses who don’t.
- Have lessons: If you suffer from nerves, I would strongly encourage you to have lessons. Interestingly, a lot of my new students tell me that they don’t really know what to do when they’re riding at home. However, my job as a coach is to set things up in the lesson so that the student has something productive to work on at home, and can have a successful and confidence building ride even when I’m not there.
If you can’t commit to weekly lessons, try for fortnightly or even a regular monthly lesson. Then you know that if you’re finding something challenging, it’s not all on you. You can talk it through with your coach – you’ve got someone who can help you break the problem down and suggest areas for you to focus on. Lessons themselves are invaluable, because they’re going to help you think of things that you haven’t yet thought of, which is going to make a big difference to your riding.
- Have a plan: Typically, when people get on their horse and their horse is unsettled, the rider starts to feel nervous, and then they sit there waiting to see what’s going to happen – and that’s a terrible idea! Instead, have a plan. Your mind can only really think about one thing at a time, so it’s better to fill that space with a deliberate thought, rather than sitting, nervously waiting, and hoping for the best.
You don’t have to plan the entire ride, but at least be two to three steps ahead of where you are right now. For example, I’m going to ride a circle when I get to that letter, or if you’re not in an arena, when you reach that tree or that tuft of grass. Learning dressage tests is really helpful with this, even if you’re not going to ride dressage, because it means you’re frequently changing what you’re doing. You don’t have the luxury of riding half a dozen circles and then deciding to stop! You ride one circle, and before you get to the end of the circle, you have to be thinking ahead to what comes next.
As I said, the main thing here is to plan at least two to three steps ahead – and don’t ride a whole lap of the arena before you change what you’re doing. Changing can be as simple as going from a straight line to a circle, or making your trot bigger and then smaller, or going between walk and trot. It doesn’t have to be super complicated, but it does have to include frequent, regular changes.
- Say it out loud: Talk, sing, or count strides out loud because it forces you to breathe. When we get nervous, even without realising it our breathing becomes very shallow, and if we are not breathing deeply, the prefrontal cortex, the decision-making part of our brain, won’t get enough oxygen. If this happens, we start using the back, reptilian section of the brain, which is the centre of the flight or fight response. Clearly, if that’s the part of the brain controlling what we do next, we’re not going to be in a very good state.
The way we deal with that is by talking to the horse. I’m super chatty if I’m on a horse who’s making me feel nervous. It really doesn’t matter what you say, but because you’re talking, you will breathe. If you don’t know what to say, sing a song. There’re people I know who get really nervous at the mounting block, so as they’re about to mount up, they’ll sing. So pick a song, any song – it will make you breathe and therefore keep you more relaxed. I’ve had so many students who tell me that, after having lessons with me years ago, they still sing or talk to help their breathing and ease their nerves. It really does work.
Another trick when you’re riding is to count your strides out loud. Obviously, this could be relevant for jumping, but even with a trot, counting strides nice and loud will help you to breathe. Often I’ll tell a student to count their strides, but if I can’t hear them it means they’re not loud enough and they’re not breathing properly – and breathing is critical in helping ease jittery nerves.
Don’t miss Part Two of this article in our June issue, when I’ll have more to tell you about breathing, as well as more great nerve busting tips.
Christine Armishaw Equestrian offers a variety of coaching and other equestrian services at her Otford Valley Equestrian Agistment & Training Centre just south of Sydney, NSW.
