Your Horse Is Your Mirror Part 1
What could your equestrian “issues” be telling you about yourself? Here’s how to improve both.
Every time I work with a horse – or person, I think how the problems and solutions relate to a human’s life, including my own. There are so many lessons, but it’s important to remember that they’re not all hard lessons and they’re not all unpleasant to learn. -Buck Brannaman, The Faraway Horses
As a dressage rider and a sports psychologist whose clients include many equestrians, I am frequently amazed at how the love of horses and riding motivate riders to address their own imperfections or personal issues. As the saying goes, “There’s something about the outside of the horse that’s good for the inside of a man.” At times, in order to continue at all, introspection and personal growth are necessary. It takes great courage to look at oneself honestly and objectively.
As a rider, perhaps you have hit one or more plateaus during the learning process and haven’t been able to figure out why. All you know is that something isn’t working and that you’re making little to no progress. Adding to your frustration, you find that your attempts to get the dressage ball rolling again seem useless. Maybe the harder you try, the worse things seem to become.
Why, despite our best efforts and intentions, do we riders occasionally encounter periods of stalled progress or even apparent regression? In this article, I’ll discuss some of the possible causes of these vexing times. Then I’ll give several real-life examples of riders’ breakthroughs and mastery over various psychological obstacles, one of which may help jump-start your own journey of self-discovery.
Your Horse Is Your Mirror Part 1
What could your equestrian “issues” be telling you about yourself? Here’s how to improve both.
Every time I work with a horse – or person, I think how the problems and solutions relate to a human’s life, including my own. There are so many lessons, but it’s important to remember that they’re not all hard lessons and they’re not all unpleasant to learn. -Buck Brannaman, The Faraway Horses
As a dressage rider and a sports psychologist whose clients include many equestrians, I am frequently amazed at how the love of horses and riding motivate riders to address their own imperfections or personal issues. As the saying goes, “There’s something about the outside of the horse that’s good for the inside of a man.” At times, in order to continue at all, introspection and personal growth are necessary. It takes great courage to look at oneself honestly and objectively.
As a rider, perhaps you have hit one or more plateaus during the learning process and haven’t been able to figure out why. All you know is that something isn’t working and that you’re making little to no progress. Adding to your frustration, you find that your attempts to get the dressage ball rolling again seem useless. Maybe the harder you try, the worse things seem to become.
Why, despite our best efforts and intentions, do we riders occasionally encounter periods of stalled progress or even apparent regression? In this article, I’ll discuss some of the possible causes of these vexing times. Then I’ll give several real-life examples of riders’ breakthroughs and mastery over various psychological obstacles, one of which may help jump-start your own journey of self-discovery.
