30/ MAY 2020 THE RIDER
Top 6 Essential Lessons From Horses
By Kathy Farrokhzad. When you enter the horse world, you might not really
know what you’re getting into. Especially if you want to become proficient at riding, set and meet some goals, and make regular progress. Every day can bring a new discov- ery, whether you intend it to happen or not! Over the years, as you become more entrenched in
the world of horses and riding, some “truths” repeatedly reveal themselves until you truly do “get” those essential lessons that will necessarily make you a better horse per- son, and a better human being. Here are the top 6 essential lessons that I’ve learned over my years of horsing around.\
6) When to back off or leave it for another day. Because you won’t really have a choice. In the end, no matter your goals and desires, the horse is a partner in
this whole “thing” (whether it’s riding or groundwork). And he’s big. And there’s always the possibility of you get- ting hurt. You might make a few mistakes in the early days, and not recognize the signs that your horse is giving you. But over time, you’ll know just when he’s had enough, and how useless it really is to force beyond that certain point. And you’ll definitely learn that with horses, stopping
what you’re working on, especially if things seem to be getting too complicated, will NOT result in your horse being worse the next time - as long as you end on a good note.
5) You really do have to listen. Anyone who knows horses knows that you really
can’t make a horse do anything. The very fact that they weigh tens times the average person makes it that much more remarkable that they allow us to do the many things we do with them. Let’s face it - when they don’t want to do something, we’ll know! Which is where the listening comes in. If you are sensitive enough to recog-
nize and accurately interpret their actions, you’ll be able to get the feedback you need to make all kinds of decisions - from train- ing to feeding to turnout friends to comfort and safety - it’s all there for you to “listen to” and understand. And the more you listen, the more re-
warded you will be. Just as with people, when horses are well nourished, happy in their daily routines, comfortable and confi- dent in their environment (and people) ... that’s when the sky is the limit. You will ab- solutely be able to recognize the happy, willing, giving horse when you learn to lis- ten.
4) Patience and perseverance is the key. Being patient when it comes to horses
doesn’t necessarily mean that you end up doing nothing and waiting till eternity for something to happen. Quite the opposite, actually. In fact, if you can develop the self-
control and skill that is necessary to know when you should repeat something, do something else, add something, break something down, or call it a day - then you can make incredible gains in fairly short manner. Because having patience invariably al-
lows us to make good progress, limit stress and set up for success - for both the horse and the rider. And the perseverance that is required isn’t always the drill and skill type - it’s the getting-up-and-doing-it-again-the- next-day kind of get-up-and-go that sets us on our path and allows us to achieve.
3) Step only 5% out of your comfort zone. That’s when the real learning hap- pens.
I have to confess that I learned this
from yoga, not from horse riding. But the horses continue to reinforce this notion for me over and over again. Just think about it. If you push you or your horse too far out of your comfort zone, then bad things happen. We lose focus, harmony, beauty. Things be- come too difficult.
On the other hand, not challenging
ourselves leaves us in an obvious plateau that we simply don’t struggle enough to overcome. And so this concept of just 5% out of your comfort zone is enough to jazz things up, challenge and maybe even frus- trate enough to motivate the required change, but then allow for the comfort zone that is inherently necessary to allow learn- ing to be successful.
2) Maintaining balance is the key. Well, horses teach you that right from
the first time you sit in the saddle. But the nuances that we master at first become al- most insignificant as we develop feel and core and seat and independent aids and so on.
Then we learn about the horse’s lateral
and longitudinal balance and wow - the feels we get when we first realize what “level” feels like, and then what “uphill” feels like! And then there’s the bend and the 3 tracks and the lead changes and the half- passes... well, at this point, we become friends with a whole new concept of bal- ance that is simply non-negotiable. And we finally recognize how important good bal- ance is to the horse’s health and longevity, especially if he’s going to be a performance athlete.
1) You’re never going to be perfect! Not in this lifetime anyway... It’s ok to settle on the fact that you’ll
never learn enough, even if you’re deter- mined and consistent and hard working (which will definitely get you very far). But there’s always going to be something more. Something new, some other detail you never knew about. And that’s what keeps bringing us die-
hards back for more
Bio: Kathy Farrokhzad is an EC coach and author of the Horse Listening book collec- tion, Goal Setting For The Equestrian: A Personal Workbook, and the creator of the Practice Sessions online program. If you liked what you read here, check out her blog at
HorseListening.com for many more articles about horses, riding and life in gen- eral.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
