Have you ever stopped to notice how you feel after riding your horse?
These feelings can tell you so much about which part of you dominated your actions during your ride.
If you can begin to notice these feelings, you can start to learn how to have less ‘battles’ or confusion with your horse and more understanding and harmony.
So, may be you’re able to remember times in the past when you’ve had a feeling of disappointment or regret after riding your horse? May be you can remember thinking like you had let yourself or your horse down? Like you knew you could have done better or handled a situation differently.
Or, maybe there’s been times of frustration, where you’ve felt it was your horse who was the one to let you down.
Perhaps there’s been times where you dismount and you’ve just noticed you feel tense or upset? You may recall thoughts going through your head like, where did it all go wrong? Why does my horse always do that? Or, I knew I shouldn’t have ridden today.
Or may be its just been the realisation, after you’ve ridden, when you’ve turned to look at your horse and you notice how they must feel. May be they looked exhausted or even seemed depressed and it’s then that you felt the guilt for the way you rode them and all you could do was try to justify to yourself why you had to ride the way that you did.
In contrast, I’m sure there’s been times where you can remember feeling amazing after riding your horse?
Like you dismounted and felt like you could go and do just about anything.
May be there was a feeling of being inspired or motivated and you remember thinking that you couldn’t wait to get back in the saddle again for your next ride.
Or, may be you can recall times where you’ve felt a sense of calmness, like a quiet confidence after riding your horse.
Almost like you felt super relaxed yet awake, at the same time. You may have noticed a sense of time passing slower and feeling strangely more whole, more connected to yourself and the world around you. You may even have noticed how you carried on with your day feeling more relaxed and at ease.
If any of these scenarios resonate with you, they can tell you a lot about which part of you dominated the ride.
Was it your head that you were listening to? Or was it your heart that you were just allowing to make the decisions and lead your reactions?
Did your ego step in and influence your thoughts and actions during the ride? Or did you manage to stay focused and centred, creating a feeling of calmness throughout your ride?
Well, the first set of scenarios are a pretty good indicator that the place you rode your horse from was your head or your ego.
Overthinking and over analysing.
Thinking a lot about the whys and the why nots, why will they not do as I ask? Why are they doing that? Why won’t they listen? Why do I always have this problem? It’s almost like your head took over, and everything you tried felt like a battle.
The contrasting scenarios are an amazing indication you rode your horse from your heart and body and may be even your soul.
You felt how your horse was feeling and you could feel when they were ready for each instruction.
You felt the connection and how and when to use your aids and you found you could communicate easily, through your seat, down your legs and through your arms, to the reins.
You rode almost every step for how it felt at that exact time and were only engaged in the present moment. Any confusion that may have come about, you felt it, almost before it arrived and instinctively knew how to work through it.
Remember to follow your heart whilst you are riding, what feels right, usually is right. Try not to over think things.
If you feel each ride as it flows, the solutions will come.
Try to stay in tune with your own body, riding is created through your body and is expressed through the horse’s body. You must connect with this and ride with it.