Let’s start this topic off with a personal story. 

My horse, Cali, is consistently very calm and unbothered. There have been many times she hasn’t spooked when other horses have, and she usually just naps in the turn out. I often can give her multiple days off or not jump for weeks and she will behave normally when ridden and jumped again. She can cross busy streets or ride along the trail next to the busy streets without batting an eye. Typically, she is not a horse I ever need to worry about; my beginner rider mother safely rides her once a week. The only circumstances she will not tolerate are walking through mud and puddles. With all that being said, she is still a horse which means that she is capable of unpredictable behavior. Although it is a very rare occurrence, she has lost her marbles from time to time in the four years that I’ve owned her.  

One day, she had a bit of a meltdown. After taking it easy for a few days, I decided to take her on a simple trail ride. Although it was a bit chilly and windy, she went along like her normal self. All was going well until we turned a corner and there was heavy machinery blocking the trail. No problem, we could just turn around and head somewhere else. The problem was that as soon as we turned around, we were faced with a cement truck backing up onto the trail towards us. Now, as I have mentioned, my horse doesn’t often spook, but I don’t think she’s seen a moving cement truck in her life. As she was very understandably bothered and trying to move away from the scary truck, we were finally given an opportunity by the driver to pass by. Unfortunately, Cali was already so wound up that she was past the point of regaining calmness in this situation. As I slowly and carefully walked her past the truck, it started backing up again right behind her and she completely lost it. She took off galloping at full speed on a narrow trail between two streets. Yes, this is a terrifying situation that would cause any normal person to panic. Instead, I kept my cool, sat up, shoved my heels down, and used a pulley rein to bring her back down to the walk. We then had to ride next to the busy, loud street until we could turn onto another trail. She wanted so badly to run again, but she continued jigging until I was able to take her somewhere else. Eventually, she calmed down and I was able to make it home safely. 

Now, this is a recipe for disaster that would likely scare any rider, but between the horse and the rider, only one of the two is allowed to be scared in a situation. Unfortunately, it is never the rider’s turn to do so. This particular situation set off Cali’s instinctual fight-or-flight brain function, and she was prepared to take flight and not stop until she reached safety. This situation could also easily set off the human fight-or-flight response, but the main difference between the horse brain and the human brain is that the human brain possesses higher order thinking and judgment. The initial perception of the situation brought up a fear response, but while Cali reacted by running away, I responded by taking action to control the situation at hand. I recognized that we were in a dangerous situation, but it was my responsibility to do something about it as my horse was in full-blown panic mode at the time. Now, if I had reacted based upon my instinctual fight-or-flight response, I would have screamed and held a fetal position. We both would have been doomed as a result. Since I kept my composure, I was able to maintain a present focus and make accurate decisions that would lead us to safety.  

The point of sharing this story is to emphasize the need to remain calm and composed in the face of fear or perceived threats. Although it can be easy to follow the lead of an automatic reaction, it’s not always the right choice for the situation at hand. Learning how to respond rather than react will go a long way not only in riding, but also in daily life. The reality is that automatic thoughts, feelings, and reactions are not always helpful in some scenarios and often give the opposite effect. Well thought-out responses allow athletes and individuals to be grounded and connected in the present moment as well as in their performance. Having that connection is important for accurate decision making, attentional cues, and it increases the likelihood of a flow state occurring in performance. The more this is practiced, the more you will be able to calmly respond in a variety of situations both in and out of the saddle. Sometimes, we have to put a brave face on for the sake of our horses’ mindset and physical safety in the moment. When we remain calm and composed through sticky situations, our horses will likely mirror that current feeling and deepen their trust in us in the long run. We have the power to control our thoughts, feelings, and responses, which highly benefits our horse as well as our overall performance in the end.  

If you struggle with reacting rather than responding to situations and circumstances, unable to keep your composure, then you are letting the automatic tendencies of your brain take over. Unfortunately, these functions are not always helpful and can serve as a major disservice to performance. Practice taking control over what your brain automatically wants to think, feel, and do by connecting to the present moment and current task at hand. Eventually, you will learn how to “talk back” to your automatic thoughts and be able to make conscious, well-thought-out decisions. Once you learn how to respond, you will consistently be able to stay composed through difficult and fearful situations. If you would like to start working more in-depth on this, please reach out!