Would you like to feel confident about riding your horse out alone in traffic or on the stubble and bridlepaths?
I'd like to introduce my new horse, Millie. Millie is a German warmblood pony imported to the UK to showjump - but she found her way to me instead and is adjusting to her new role as a happy hacker. She had only been in the UK a few days when I bought her, so she was a bit of an unknown quantity, and she gave the impression that she hadn't been hacked out much, if at all. Was I nervous? Well, a bit! Not while actually riding, but while thinking about it. These are the strategies I used to get us off to a good start:
For Millie
Bach Flower Remedies Star of Bethlehem (for shock) and Walnut (to help her cope with change). Walnut is known
as "the link breaker", helping her to enter fully into her new life.
For Caroline
- Labelling my feelings of anticipation before riding "excitment" and reminding myself of how lucky I am!
- Bach Flower Remedies Rock Rose (for thoughts of disaster) and Aspen (general fear that something will go wrong).
- Keeping a BIG smile on my face whenever I thought of riding, and while riding.
These confidence strategies have helped me to be a good leader for Millie, someone that she feels is worthy of her trust and co-operation. I was able to feel very confident riding her out in less than three weeks and to cope with the odd blip with no problems.
Most important of all, Millie and I are really enjoying riding out, as you can see from these pictures! Contact me if you'd like to really enjoy riding your horse, too.
