Try Something New

Next time you prepare to take a trail ride, I want to ask you to try something new. This doesnt require any special equipment or even training. Here is what I want you to try.

Practice letting go of all that you know. I dont mean common sense or your skills of safe trail riding. What I am referring to is letting go of all your fixed ideas and predetermined beliefs about your horse or riding. Each time you see your horse, pretend it is the first time you have ever laid eyes on him. Open your eyes and your mind to a new way of seeing these wonderful new discoveries in your horse. Reprogram your mind to change the way you approach riding and relating to him. Reinvent yourself and your horse. This will influence how you develop how the two of you behave and perform when you are together and apart. This will also influence how your body feels and your health and wellness. Try not to resist this experience or experiment. See if you can relate to the forces of nature and gather a new awareness to change the programming of your horsemanship.

Accept your horse just as he or she is, and affirm them just exactly as they are, the beauty and the flaws. Be grateful for their presence. Through doing this exercise, you will feel a sense of peace, clarity and harmony. Bond with your horse and try to see yourself in your horse. Tune into your horse and make a connection through your mind, body and soul through the way you groom them, touch and feel their body. Pay close attention to how their tack is maintained for cleanliness, comfort and fit. Be very kind and considerate to their feeding and turnout schedule. Remind yourself to think about what it would feel like to be stalled for hours and put off another day because it wasnt convenient to get down to the barn. Being mindful to this puts you closer to your horsemanship and your horses needs.

Realize the big picture that includes, one day your horse concluding their life as a riding partner. By remembering why you enjoy your horse, new levels of creativity will be available to both of you. This will be a powerful step in a new way of seeing your horse and your horsemanship skills. Take it in, and come from the heart. Give it all youve got, and youll begin to see more and more new ways of developing an effective relationship with your horse. Let go of old memories and thoughts about disasters, accidents, trail mishaps, spooking and blow-ups. Transform your fear into a passion for learning. By facing your trail riding with courage and a love for being out in nature, your horse will reflect your positive outlook. Educate yourself and search for ways to be more helpful to other horses and riders. Nurture your relationships and draw inspiration from your efforts to share your positive experiences. Help where you can and see where it takes you. Eliminate the idea that you cant do something new or challenging. Clear your mind today of being afraid, confused, and stressed out. Be recharged by the results of building a deeper more meaningful connection with your horse and all of nature.

This is a way to organize your new life with enthusiastic riding. Liberate yourself from what others may have observed or criticized about your riding or your horse. Write down some questions about what your ideal ride would look, feel and be like with this new approach. Dont worry about when the answers will appear or what they will be. Just put out thoughts about what you really want to do. Practice not being too harsh on yourself or your horse. This makes your horse an opponent instead of a partner and it blocks the path to deeper understanding. Let all of your analyzing and mental clutter of needing to classify, label and evaluate everything your horse does or cant do. Try this for a three week period then step back and take a break and feel the difference.

Remember who taught you how to love and enjoy horses. As you do, notice how you feel, how you breathe, how your energy runs through your body. Be aware of how you interact with your horse now. Visualize the lines of his body, and see his color patterns. Feel his body temperature and texture with your palm against his neck. Are you relaxed? or Are you tight when you are riding? Continue the evaluation of your body and your horses. Is one leg putting more pressure in the stirrup than the other? Do your hands feel heavy or light on the reins? Can you hear the hooves each time they strike the ground? Does your breathing match your horses? Are you that concerned for developing yourself to be this caliber of a rider?

When students express their desire to advance their horsemanship skills, they sometimes believe that more lessons or another horse will be the solution. While this is sometimes true, it is not always practical or the solution. Often improvements can be made in riding skills by being more in tune with their everyday movements. For instance, how they enter a room, how they swing their arms when walking, filling up a glass with water, pushing a shopping cart or backing out of a parking space are a few indicators of a persons ability in the saddle when riding. Physical gestures and actions often reflect balance, heavy hands, clumsiness and focus. When a person develops this kind of sensory awareness, the improvements that theyre searching for occur more naturally without the need for added instruction or blaming the horse.

This is a form of applied horsemanship that I believe the earliest horsemen used to stay injury free and to thrive while living with horses. It never hurts to be mindful. By doing this you will be wiser and more responsible with any horse. You will never think about injuring a horse, taking a risk or letting anyone get in a dangerous situation. This includes your horses well being also. You will always take rides of various levels, but now you will be more connected through this intuitive and powerful form of riding by becoming an observer. By learning to appreciate nature, you will now see the trails you ride as a mirror of yourself. Taking care to nurture yourself, your horse and the trails, will be bring you closer to the experience you seek. Attention to trail ecology, wildlife management and responsible riding will preserve parks, campsites or any back country for other trail riders. Youll release any need to take over with your ego, and in return, you will be nurtured with trust, beauty and love.

This will be the end of opposition between you, your horse or anything. It may show up in various ways but you will now have no need to defend yourself with your horse or your point of view. No more struggle, conflict or battle in the saddle or the trail. That doesnt mean you will be weaker or passive. You will now meet any challenge with ease, understanding and love. This will allow you to be one with your horse at all times. No more built in excuses when you dwell on your past or the distant future. See the flowers on the trail, and notice the colors of the leaves and the shapes of trees as if your seeing them for the first time. Think of your time on the trail as a way to get in touch with your riding, your horse and nature. Experience this new freedom by trusting in your intuition and your horses ability the next time you step in the stirrup and head out on the trail to the unknown.

Robert M. Liner
Equine In Line Horsemanship www.equineinline.com