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Setting goals is easy. Achieving these goals, on the other hand, can be more challenging. Sometimes, it’s not always the fear of failure that gets in our way--it’s the fear of success. As high achievers, we tend to set such big goals for ourselves that the thought of achieving them can become intimidating, overwhelming, or even unrealistic. When we get overwhelmed by our goals, we can become paralyzed by the thought of what it will take to achieve that success. That’s why we set the goal to get 1% better every day. This is a manageable, realistic goal that, over time, compounds into monumental growth.
On this episode, I’m sharing my tips for setting realistic goals and expectations for your training. Read the full show notes at philhaugenhorsemanship.com.
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When you come across an anxious horse, it is easy to become frustrated both with yourself and with the horse. The fact of the matter is--some horses are just wired this way. It has nothing to do with you or your training program. But, you and your training program can be the thing that makes the difference for this type of horse.
On this episode, I'm sharing some perspectives that can help you develop patience with anxious horses and adapt your training program to help those horses reach their full potential. Read the full show notes at philhaugenhorsemanship.com/podcast.
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“I just haven’t had time.”
How many times have we used this excuse? Maybe we were referring to riding our horses, or maybe we were thinking about the laundry we haven’t folded yet. But, the truth is, we always have the time. We just might not have the necessary level of commitment.
Commitment is a funny thing. Our minds are always at war against us. This is because our brains are wired to talk us out of anything that has the potential to cause us pain or discomfort. The first battle we have to win is the battle between our own two ears. We cannot let our minds talk us out of making commitments.
Making a commitment can be uncomfortable, especially when we are faced with time constraints. Having time and making time are two completely different concepts. We wake up each morning with the same amount of hours in our day as the day before. Our priorities determine how we spend this time.
If you find yourself “not having time” to do something, it might be time to reevaluate your priorities to make sure they are aligning with your goals. When you are choosing which activities you will commit your time to, ask yourself: “Is this supporting the way I want to represent myself and my program?” You might be surprised how clear your priorities become after asking this question.
In all phases of my life, commitment has proven to be an essential piece of the success puzzle. I’ve learned that if I don’t make the commitment to progress myself or my horse, neither one of us ever get to where we want to be.
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One of the biggest mental challenges we run into as trainers is a lack of time. Most of us are faced with tremendously busy schedules, which makes it difficult to devote adequate time to our horses. It seems as though we never get “done”—we just find a place to stop and start again the next day. It took me a long time to get comfortable with this idea. Years ago, I was very hard on myself if there was something on my to do list for the day that didn’t get done. Now, I have become much better at setting realistic expectations for myself and my horses; and, this has come from developing mental maturity as a trainer.
My attitude on Monday morning determines the mental state of my horses throughout the rest of the week. When I am rushing around or carrying my frustrations from one horse to the next, it is virtually impossible to make progress. But, if I approach my training by being soft, keeping my hands down, and taking my time, my horses become relaxed and more receptive to the responses I am asking for. The first thing I do when I step on a horse is to flex them laterally, yield their hindquarters, and get them comfortable with their one rein stops. I do this for two reasons: 1) I want to immediately stimulate the thinking side of that horse’s brain, and 2) I want them to be dialed in and listening to my feel so that I can control their speed and direction.
The more mentally, emotionally and spiritually mature I become, the more that maturity carries over to my horse. The better place I am in, the better place my horse is in. My horse looks to me for confidence and security. It’s not my horse’s job to make my day good; but, it is my job to help my horse have a good day. Every day I spend with my horse is a reinforcement of the relationship we have, and I am in total control of whether that relationship is a positive or negative one.
If you are struggling to have numerous “good days” in a row in your training, I challenge you to take a step back and be honest with yourself. Is it truly a problem with your horse, or is it a problem with your maturity toward the current situation with your horse? It took me a long time to take responsibility for my horse’s attitude, but this shift in your philosophy may just be the thing that accelerates your training program. I know that it sure made a difference in mine.
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We often underestimate how much our horses rely on our feel, timing, and balance.
I’ve touched on this topic in previous episodes, but this week, I want to dive into some of the reasons why it is so important to understand how a horse’s anatomy impacts its responses.
In terms of vision, our horses’ eyes work a little bit differently than ours do. Horses are blessed with some skills in their vision that we don’t have, such as better nighttime vision. However, there are some key differences between human vision and equine vision that pose challenges when it comes to training.
Horses do not see things the same way that we do. This is why it is absolutely essential for us to develop consistent feel, timing, and balance so that our horses can rely on our cues rather than their own sight.
We, as humans, have binocular vision—meaning, both eyes work together to form images in our brains. Horses, on the other hand, primarily have monocular vision—meaning, each eye works independently of the other.
A horse can see roughly 350-degrees around its body, but there are approximately 5 degrees directly in front of and behind a horse that are blind spots. This is because the placement of horses’ eyes are designed to support three main abilities: 1) spotting predators 2) looking for footing 3) identifying food.
A horse’s line of vision acts somewhat like a bifocal lens. The bottom part of horses’ eyes are used primarily for identifying things that are close to them, such as their footing and food. The top part of horses’ eyes, on the other hand, are used to identify objects further away, such as movement from a person or another animal.
When horses see the world from a different perspective than we do, they will occasionally perceive a situation to be more dangerous than it really is. This fear is driven by the blind spots in their vision. Any time an object enters the blind spots in a horse’s field of vision, there is a moment in time when the horse is unsure of where that object is. This uncertainty almost always causes a reactive response, especially in younger horses.
So, why are some horses scared of things that other horses are not? It is because they have become comfortable with situations that other horses have not. This level of comfort comes from a strong foundation of trust.
If you have ever tried to get a horse to cross water for the first time, you know how “scary” of a situation it can be for a horse. This is because the horse likely can’t see the water, but it can sense it in other ways by sound or smell. The only way that horse builds enough confidence to cross the water is by giving into our encouragement. But, the key is, our horse has to trust us enough to take that step.
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I think we often underestimate how much our horses rely on our feel, timing, and balance.
Horses are prey animals, meaning their anatomy is structured to allow them to see what is behind them or what is chasing them. This is why a horse, by nature, tends to have reactive responses, unless trained otherwise. With they way a horse’s eyes are positioned on its head, I’m not convinced that horses can see a barrel pattern or a steer very well. When we’re making a run, that horse relies heavily on our cues to know when to make a move. This is why it is so important to spend the time allowing your horse to understand the way you ask for a response.
It takes hundreds—maybe, thousands—of repetitions before a horse becomes confident in your feel, timing, and balance. Although it will take time, doing 20-25 repetitions of a pressure/release system per day is one of the best things you can do for your horse’s foundation.
Each time you release, you are starting to build trust and confidence. Although it might not seem like a big deal, those small steps are some of the best lessons that horse will learn throughout its training career. Even if you anticipate having to pick up the reins and create pressure again right after you release, you still have to create that release for your horse.
When you always have pressure on the reins, you can somewhat control your horse’s movements, but you never allow that horse to recognize when it has performed the maneuver you are asking for. When the horse stops moving its feet and gives to the pressure of the reins, that is when you provide the release. When you release the reins, you have to make a conscious effort to relax your body as well.
As trainers, it is our job to help our horse develop its full potential. Sometimes, this means slowing things down rather than speeding them up. It is easy to do the things that make a great horse, but it is also easy not to do the things that make a great horse. If your horse isn’t having fun and isn’t confident, there is a pretty good chance you are going to have a hard time having fun or building any confidence, either.
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When I meet someone who has a big smile, I never forget that person’s name. Why? Because, that person made a good first impression.
The reason we tend to remember our first impressions of people so well is because the things we remember are attached to emotions.
The same is true for our horses. Our horses learn through emotion, and those emotions can be positive or negative. Every time we interact with our horses, we are creating positive or negative experiences that shape our horses’ impressions of us and the responses we are asking for.
A common mistake I see many trainers make is pushing their horses too far. When things are going well, it is tempting to ask for a little more from your horse. But, often times, that extra push leads to more problems.
When you are tempted to ask for more, you have to remind yourself to let your horse win. You have to create opportunities for that horse to find small victories during a training session. You have to help your horse find the release point.
For example, let’s take a look at a horse that is anxious when it is tied up. Most generally, our horses are tied up before we work them (i.e. while we saddle). Over time, our horses will learn to anticipate the work that follows getting saddled, and they will become anxious and jittery when tied up. To change the horse’s impression of being tied up, we must change our point of release.
Next time, try working the horse first—on the ground or in the round pen—then, tie it up at the trailer. When you perform the steps in this order repeatedly, standing tied at the trailer becomes their new release.
The same is true for a horse that doesn’t load well. If you have a horse that won’t load or backs out of the trailer quickly when loading, do some ground work away from the trailer. Then, try loading again. Eventually, the horse will learn that the trailer is its’ safe space. Repetition is key to changing your horse’s impression of certain situations.
When you are working through challenges with your horse, remember to be patient and ask for improvement in small increments. 1% better every day.
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This week, I worked with two small groups of trainers—barrel racers and team ropers—on some tune ups with their performance horses. Though they were working in completely different disciplines of horsemanship, the trainers were running into very similar issues. Both groups of trainers were struggling to effectively communicate the release to their horses.
I see many trainers who are taught to communicate with their horses using pressure and/or contact. To a certain extent, this method is correct. Pressure or contact is used to stimulate the thinking side of a horse’s brain; however, a horse does not learn what you are asking them to do based solely off of pressure. A horse learns from the release.
I once was told “the release is what you teach,” and this mentality changed my training program forever. Over the years, I’ve learned that providing that release is the only way to communicate to my horse that it have done something right.
Constant pressure is a cue for your horse to get tense and anxious. Release builds confidence. As a horse builds confidence, it becomes more relaxed. When your horse becomes relaxed, it slips into a state of flow. This state of flow is where the horse achieves its optimal performance level.
As a trainer, the goal is to build your horse’s confidence in your feel. They need to learn what it feels like when you ask for a response, as well as what it feels like when they have done something correctly and receive a release. Once a horse gets comfortable with your feel, it will learn to be more relaxed and receptive to what you are asking it to do.
It is important to remember that every horse is going to learn a little differently, and as a trainer, you have to adjust accordingly. I have 10 horses in training this month, and although my program is consistent for each horse, I have to be mentally flexible enough to make small adjustments and apply my techniques differently based on each horse’s unique learning style.
Regardless of what discipline you are training for, the release/reward system is one of the most effective communication tools you have with your horse. Let the horse understand that a release will follow pressure when they provide they correct response. Once the horse grasps this concept, you will be amazed at how quickly their performance level accelerates.
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Clinic Recap: Advanced Horsemanship Clinic in Sebeka, MN
Dates: March 13-15, 2020
Featured Trainer: Carrie Arntson
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This period of time that we’re going through right now is tough. Life has caught us taking things for granted, going through the motions, and assuming that things are going to be just like they were yesterday. Now, we are thinking about things we have never had to think about before. We are considering realities that we have never had to face before. We are learning to live without conveniences that we never dreamed would be taken away from us. But, I have a hard time believing that this isn’t the wake up call that we all desperately needed.
Prior to this pandemic, did we ever stop to think what life would be like without these things? Did we ever express gratitude for the simple fact that a rodeo was being held? Or, were we too busy complaining about the stock, complaining about the ground, or wishing our run would have been better?
To the kids that unknowingly attended their last high school or college rodeo, my heart hurts for you. To the kids who will miss out on the memories of prom and graduation, I’m so sorry. To the couples who had to postpone their weddings, it’s not fair. Although it might not seem like it now, there is a lot of good that will come from this struggle. There will be unity. There will be appreciation. There will be growth. And, there will be a renewed perspective that we have all needed for quite some time. Embrace the struggle, for it will only make you stronger.
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When someone comes to my facility to pick up their horse after it has been training, I see a common fear: “will I screw it up?”
While your horse is not returned to you as a programmed computer, it is also not going to flip a switch and go right back to where you started. The purpose of having a horse in a training program that develops fundamentals is to get that horse in the habit of using the thinking side of it’s brain.
When a horse switches riders, it goes through a transition period where it has to learn and recognize your unique style of communication. If the horse has a solid foundation, eventually, it will find the right answer.
Foundation is extremely important, especially in performance events that require speed. Speed is a reactive characteristic. When you ask a horse for more speed, you are essentially asking for a reactive response. Horses with a strong foundation will have enough confidence in themselves to switch back and forth from the thinking/reacting sides of their brain to perform correctly.
As with a horse’s foundation, your foundation as a trainer is equally important. The biggest challenge in your training career comes from your own thought process. You have to have strong foundational philosophies before you can make a positive change in your training program. One of the biggest mindset shifts you must make is changing the way you look at failure.
Everyone will go through a phase where they are afraid to mess something up. Once you reach a pinnacle in your performance, you might be afraid to continue pushing boundaries in fear of going backwards or falling off the cliff. But, if you want to continue to perform at that high level, you can’t be afraid to make mistakes. You cannot start each day with the fear of messing up.
The fear of failure has a paralyzing effect on us. If you dwell on it long enough, you will miss the opportunities that are right in front of you. Sometimes, you have to flip the switch in your brain so that you can get out of your own way.
It’s like taking a test in school. You are better off to take a guess and write something down—even if you’re not sure it’s the right answer—than to leave the question blank. If you leave it blank and do nothing, you guarantee that it will be counted wrong. But, if you take your best guess, you give yourself the opportunity to figure out what the right answer is and learn from it. A wrong answer is better than no answer because you have successfully eliminated one way that doesn’t work.
You have to approach training with the mindset that challenges are learning opportunities, not failures. And, trust me, there will be some intense learning moments along the way. But, you are better off to try and fail than to not try at all. Getting the wrong answer is not a failure, it’s an accomplishment. Don’t let the fear of messing up keep you from moving forward. Any bad habit you create is fixable. Always keep moving forward. If you don’t know what to do, the first thing you need to do is do something. Action creates clarity.
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Horse training is an unpredictable business. There is no telling how many horses you will have in training in a given month. There is no guarantee or stability in your monthly income. But, over the past 30+ years, my wife and I have managed to raise a family one ride at a time.
At some point, you decide what is important to you and follow it with everything you’ve got. There are easier roads to go down to get through this life. But if you are up for a bit of a challenge, have the courage to pursue your passions. You can approach your dreams with faith or fear. Starve your fears and feed your faith. You don’t have to have it all figured out to start, but you have to have the courage to start in order to grow. Have faith that you have the resources you need to succeed. And if you don’t already have the tools, believe that you are capable of learning and finding the answers. Believe in yourself, and always believe that good things are going to happen.
Training horses is a lot like life, and I believe that God put horses on this earth to help me learn more about myself. There is no perfect manual to go by. No two horses will ever be exactly alike as no two people are exactly alike. If your program works really well with one horse and not so well with another horse, don’t give up on yourself. You are only as capable as your mind leads you to believe. Never let the fear of failure steal your fire.
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Between high-performing genetics and the advancement of horsemanship knowledge, the horse industry has come a long way over the past five decades. Despite the undeniable growth, there are certain foundational principles that have not changed. One such principle is the learning experience that a trainer must go through in order to help their horse(s) reach their full potential.
One thing to remember about the horsemanship journey is this: Bad experiences are learning experiences.
Those times when you are being challenged and tested are the times when you have a chance to grow. When you look at each experience from a growth perspective, all experiences become good experiences when you have the opportunity to learn something.
One of the biggest changes in the horse industry is how accessible horsemanship knowledge has become. These days, there are tons of free resources, online videos, and outstanding clinics, seminars, and expos that are available to spread the wealth of knowledge.
At my clinics, I always say that your biggest goal at a clinic should be to leave with a new perspective. Sometimes, the slightest change in your mindset toward a particular situation can be the missing piece that bridges the gap between struggle and success.
You may train 10 horses, and 9 out of 10 times, your method of communication with your horse works—but that tenth time, your horse may not respond the way the others did. In situations like this, it is easy to become frustrated. If you want to continue moving the needle forward in your training career, you have two choices: 1) be patient and continue to ask for the response, or 2) change your communication slightly to help your horse understand better.
No two horses are exactly alike. They each have different personalities, tendencies, and abilities. Therefore, each horse is going to require a slightly different pattern of communication from you. Until you open yourself up to new points of view and new ways of solving a problem, you will likely struggle to improve your horse’s performance and understanding. Once you embrace this mindset, your training program will escalate rapidly.
Anytime you are working with a horse, remember to be less concerned with perfection and more concerned with your application and execution of a concept. Progress will come with consistent, correct repetitions.
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If you spend long enough in the horse training business, you will likely encounter some situations throughout your career that put you at risk. Any time a horse develops a severe reactive response—such as flipping over backwards or bucking excessively—your safety, as well as your horse’s safety, is compromised.
An overreactive horse is not untrainable—training it properly will just take more time and patience. Overreactive horses need some confidence and consistency-building activities to focus on. Those horses need to learn trust and respect.
A horse’s overreactive nature wasn’t made overnight, and the problem won’t be fixed overnight either. The first step is to attempt to understand why the overreactive horse behaves the way it does. What mannerisms does it exhibit? What situation did the horse come from? Why is it behaving this way?
As crazy as it sounds, your horse has been conditioned to rear up. When a horse is put in a high-pressure situation, anxiety builds, resulting in an extreme reactive response. Horses learn by release, and in an overreactive horse, the release the horse is looking for happens when you, the rider, comes off of its back. Instead of finding a release on its own, you want to retrain your horse’s brain to look for the release when you provide it.
As a rider who has been on a horse’s back during one of these extreme reactions, it is incredibly difficult to feel confident and secure about what is going to happen when you get on that horse. That, in turn, creates a lot of anxiety in us. When you have a frustrated horse, and then you add a frustrated rider into the equation, there is no good that will result from that scenario. If we aren’t relaxed, our horses won’t relax. One of the two bodies must constantly be using the thinking side of their brain.
What you are training on any horse—especially overreactive ones—is their minds. You are training the horse to think and look for responses. This is achieved through a simple “ask, release, reward” routine.
When a horse seems like it has “fallen apart” — meaning, with speed, it is not working very good anymore — what has happened is that they have gotten weak in one of their fundamentals. If you can identify the fundamental element that need work, you can almost always remedy the problem by solidifying that horse’s broken foundation.
Often times, we can make more progress as a rider from the ground. The “boring stuff” you see people doing — such as making your horse soft, yielding the hindquarters, etc. — is the stuff that builds trust and respect. Building a foundation takes time.
When you go to a clinic or training, it’s not all about what happens in those two days. It’s about how you use those two days to change your thinking process. When I host a clinic, I am much more concerned with your results 4 weeks, 4 months, 4 years from now as opposed to 4 hours from now. Knowledge is power. But, knowledge is only powerful if you apply it consistently.
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As human beings, we all have our insecurities. In the horsemanship world, insecurities happen when we get in a streak of bad runs, when we have a bad practice before the rodeo, or when we haven’t developed the confidence we need with a certain horse.
Insecurity not only affects us in every day life, but it adversely affects our horsemanship as well.
When we aren’t able to devote time to our personal horses and sharpening our competitive skills, it affects our mindset and performance. Whether it be our careers or family obligations that get in the way of our normal practice routine, we tend to develop insecurities that let us fall back into bad habits.
Anticipating and micro-managing your horse’s every move is an example of a bad habit caused by insecurity. Your horse is like a chamelion. It will transform based on what you ask it to do. Horses don’t learn from pressure. They learn from release. So, you have to let them have the release. Even if you know the next step may be followed by a mistake, you have to let it happen. Then, you can correct it.
The fastest way to confuse your horse is to correct a problem before it happens. If you anticipate a problem and cue your horse accordingly, your horse won’t know what they are supposed to be doing. Don’t be afraid to trust your horse. It is okay to allow them to make a mistake. Over time, your horse will learn your style of communication and will understand how to avoid making mistakes.
Most of the time, mistakes with our horses are caused by our own mistakes as trainers. If you want to sharpen your own skills (and, in turn, your horse’s performance), you have to be willing to get uncomfortable.
Making these small changes in your performance is not going to be part of your normal routine. It is not going to feel “safe” or comfortable. But, until you let yourself get uncomfortable, the correct actions are never going to feel comfortable.
Maybe, getting out of your comfort zone means dropping your hands a little bit. Maybe, it means relaxing your legs. Or, maybe, it means being more aggressive. Whatever it is, you must be willing to analyze your own performance and recognize what uncomfortable steps you might have to take to get to that next level. In doing this, you might be opening yourself up to frustration and embarrassment—but, that is okay. Anytime you feel like you have failed, embrace that, because it means you’re growing.
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In our previous episodes, we have talked about activating the thinking side of your horse’s brain. But, today, we are going to talk about activating the thinking side of your brain.
There was a time in my career when someone would make a suggestion, and I would take offense to it. This is when I was a young trainer, and to be honest, I was a little insecure about my abilities. I titled myself as a “horse trainer,” and I didn’t want to admit that I didn’t know everything. But, when I finally accepted the fact that I have more to learn, I set myself up to make some essential changes to myself as a horseman. From that point forward, the results I achieved with my horses were always a direct result of the changes I made in myself.
To change your results, you have to change your standards.
Everything you do is a result of your standards. How you treat people, how you behave, how you look, how you shape your body, how you shape your mind, how you take care of your horses… your standards are what yields the results you are getting. Your daily rituals are a product of your standards.
I have a favorite quote from Tony Robbins that reads: “Willpower won’t last. Rituals will.”
Human beings are too emotional to rely on willpower. It’s just our nature. But, when we form a new mindset, new commitments, and new habits, our progress will unfold by leaps and bounds.
If you’re listening to today’s episode, you are already taking a step toward bettering yourself as a horseman. And there’s a chance that if you’re listening, you might feel like you have hit a plateau in your performance or your training career. I am going to challenge to you to take a very realistic audit of your own program.
I hear so many people fall back on the excuse “well, I’m no trainer, but…” Every time you step up on a horse, you are either creating or reinforcing a habit.
I get the question of “which horse should I bring” a lot before my clinics.
When I went to one of my very first clinics, I wanted to bring a green horse and start him at that clinic. I was surprised when the clinician told me to bring my most advanced horse to the clinic instead of my most inexperienced horse. This surprised me because, at the time, I was under the impression that it was my horse that needed the fixing, not myself.
You’ve heard me say it before, and I’ll say it again—my horses have taught me so much more than I will ever teach them. Always remember that the horse you bring to a clinic is just a vehicle for you to learn how to communicate. The more advanced horse you bring, the more you will get out of it.
You’re not done yet. You’ve got a lot of things to learn and things to get better at. Make the commitment today to set a new standard for yourself.
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“My horse is good enough.”
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this phrase over the years as a competitor, clinician, and trainer. When we adopt this mindset of being “good enough,” we are limiting our potential to become great.
We need to eliminate the term “good enough” from our horsemanship vocabulary. Instead, ask yourself, “is my horse good, or is my horse great?”
When you strive to get your horse to that “great” level, you automatically elevate yourself as a trainer. We have passed the time when your own athletic ability can make up for a lack of horse power. Everyone’s skill level has increased so dramatically over the years that horse power is now the differentiating factor between good and great competitors.
The people who understand how important it is to simultaneously develop their own abilities as well as their horse’s are the ones who achieve truly great things in their careers.
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When I was younger, I came from a “horse” family, but not necessarily a “rodeo” family. So, when I began practicing roping events, I was always trying to make up for lost time. In the practice pen, there was never really much discussion of horsemanship, but we were always focusing on getting more repetitions with my roping. Over the years, I began to realize that when I was in position, my catch percentage was much higher. That’s when I started to shift my mindset from roping for myself to roping for my horse.
Being a better horsemen starts with understanding where you’re at right now—with your skill level and your horse’s understanding. Then, you must identify where you want to get to and come up with a plan for how to get there.
For example, if you want to have a horse that is great at scoring in the roping events, you have to have a program that helps to develop that. In roping events, we tend to put our horses in a situation that naturally creates some anxiety when we back into the corner. We apply pressure in the mouth, expecting them to stand still, yet going from zero to thirty in a matter of seconds. This pressure is not necessarily what causes a lot of horses to “blow up” in the corner over time. Rather, it is our inconsistency with reinforcing correct fundamentals that causes the blow up.
If you don’t correct your horse’s mistake at the time the mistake occurs, you are reinforcing a bad habit. A mistake essentially transforms into a repetition that continues to create an undesirable outcome. When you’re establishing and creating habits, the foundation and fundamentals of slow work—or putting your hand down and letting your horse get into position—is what makes all the difference.
Many people fall to the assumption that once their horse is “good,” the training stops there. But, this simply isn’t true. The better you get, the more steps it takes to get even better. You can’t do too many correct repetitions. You can’t have your horse “too good.”
The number one thing that separates a good roper from a great roper is a great horse. Ask yourself—are you doing something every day to help your horse get better? If you’re not getting better, you’re going backwards. Sometimes, this requires going back to some of the most basic fundamentals and reinforcing correct habits.
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Every time you repeat something, you are at the beginning stage of establishing a habit. This is true whether you are an advanced rider or just starting out. Each time you get on your horse, you are presented with the opportunity to identify your good habits and bad habits. Your bad habits are your weaknesses. A weakness is something that has been developed over time, whether we taught it that way or whether we have allowed the same mistake to happen repeatedly.
Although many of us understand the importance of repetitions, I think we tend to underestimate the power that lies behind correct repetitions. Correct repetitions are an essential part of building a foundation for long-term success.
Once we have achieved an end goal with our horses, we have a tendency to quit doing the things that got us there. At the end of the day, your horse is not a programmed computer. Even horses that perform at a very high level a high percentage of the time require repetition of fundamentals to continually improve their performance.
When faced with a goal, we often think of time as our enemy. But when it comes to repetition, time is our ally. One of our biggest downfalls in the performance horse industry is our obsession with short term goals. We’re all focused on short-term satisfaction. But, when we break long-term goals in to short-term repetitions, that is when we achieve power over our performance.
I have a personal goal to do 50 sit-ups and 50 push-ups five days each week. Honestly, I hate taking the time to work out. But, this routine takes me less than five minutes to complete, so I have made a habit of it. While my 50 reps may not seem like much, this adds up to 13,000 sit-ups and 13,000 push-ups each year.
Just think if you apply the same concept to your training—if you can make a habit of dedicating a small amount of time toward performing correct repetitions with your horse, your results a year from now will be astounding.
The power of repetition makes something that appears overwhelming look very achievable.
The moment when it finally starts to click and you begin to see those small repetitions pay off is incredibly rewarding. When you reach that point of success, figure out the thing(s) that got you to that point. Then, make a commitment to keep doing those things, or you won’t stay there for long.
One of my favorite quotes is “win the day.” This is a simple reminder to do the small steps that will propel me toward my end goal. When we break big goals down into manageable repetitions, the road to success becomes a little shorter each day.
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The way your horse acts is a direct reflection of you. Even if you are working with just one horse, you are a trainer. Every time you work with your horse, you are establishing habits—good and bad.
Bad habits are reactive responses. Things like pawing, kicking up, or bucking occur when your horse engages the “reactive” side of its brain rather than “thinking” side. If your horse is doing these things when you get on its back, your horse is not ready to learn.
Too often, trainers who are struggling with their riding adopt the mindset of “I’ll fix it tomorrow.” But, this mindset only reinforces your horse’s reactive responses. You must be mindful of the signals you are sending your horse.
For example, in barrel racing—if you have a horse that has been going by the first barrel, you begin to anticipate this exact response. When you anticipate, you are starting to correct a problem before it even happens. Horses are smart animals, and they can feel the tension in your body when you begin to anticipate a problem. Often times, this tension is enough to flip the switch from the horse’s “thinking” side of its brain to the “reacting” side.
Your horse’s reactive state of mind is the number one thing that holds you back from progressing. When your horse adopts this mindset, it is controllable, but not trainable.
But, there is some good news—you, as a trainer, are capable of flipping the switch back and helping your horse engage the thinking side of its brain. When you control your temperament, you soften your mind, as well as your horse’s.
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