Petsmu

Many of us spend a lot of time convincing ourselves that our dreams will never come true. That we will never master the half-pass, or jump a clear round or canter fearlessly on a hack.

You can easily turn these negative thoughts into positive beliefs by being you own life coach. The next time you feel destructive thoughts coming on, take a deep breath and say, I love myself, just the way I am. I can and will achieve my dreams.

Banish negativity by setting realistic horse riding goals

Instead of thinking negatively, think about what you want to achieve and how you are going to do it. Make plans, write down your goals, and take action to reach those goals. Start with something simple. Learn how to clean tack properly. Learn how to ask for canter properly. Small victories will give you the confidence to aim for larger ones.

No matter what, just say no

Learn to say no. Even to your horse. In fact, especially to your horse. For most of us, our natural instincts lead us to help others. However, are you sacrificing your own needs to consistently take care of other peoples needs, even your horse’s? Or are you taking time out of each day to pamper yourself and recharge your batteries? Maybe you are spreading yourself too thin?

If you are spreading yourself too thin, it will lead to worry, discontent and many sleepless nights. You will feel anxious and get depressed. This will do you riding and your horse no good.

So you aren’t good enough?

Do you tell yourslf that you are not good enough to jump a clear round or get a high dressage score? Do you feel like you deserve whatever you get? Focusing on negative thoughts causes loss of self-esteem depression. If you do not respect yourself, how can you expect your horse to respect you and do as you ask?

If you are one of those people who at interviews, when asked about your qualities, skills, etc, rambles on about your bad qualities, you need to stop now. Some of us are lost at words when it comes to speaking highly of ourselves. For some people this seems selfish, or boisterous, yet it is not.

Be your own life coach. Build your personal confidence by avoiding negative thinking. Your riding confidence will increase in tandem. Learn to become your own best friend and give yourself frequent compliments. Stop criticizing your every move, and forget about past mistakes and focus on your future. Know your weaknesses, and know your strengths, just as you know your horse’s strengths and failings.

Or is it your horse / trainer / equipment that isn’t good enough?

So many times, we do not take full responsibility of our own actions. We blame others for our mistakes or misfortunes. Do not obsess over past mistakes, but do not live in denial either. Stop blaming others (including ou horse!)

We all make our share of bad choices in life. This is a natural part of living. Learn from your mistakes and move ahead.

If you are stuck in a spiral of negative thinking and feel you cannot escape, engage the services of an equestrian life coach. It will without doubt be one of the most empowering decisions you ever make to increase your horse riding confidence.

About the author: Dr Margarethe de Clermont is the author of the e-books “Ride with Supreme Self-Confidence” and “Letters to Lady Belle, my Friesian Mare” and edits the Equestrian Information Newsletter and the Equestrian Online e-Zine. Subscribe at her website www.equestrian-life-coaching.com to receive your FREE 7 day e-courses. Visit her bookshop at www.browse-ebooks.com
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

In my opinion choosing a saddle has to be the most difficult and unpleasant task with relation to owning a horse or pony .

My current horse was the first horse I have owned where I had to buy a new saddle. Every other horse I have had before has already come with a saddle. Thankfully someone saved me this dreadful job.

You might by now be thinking I am very strange. Most people love buying new things especially for their horses and ponies, but not me in relation to saddles.

I must have clocked up more miles driving back and forth with different saddles to try to get one that was a good fit for both my horse and myself.

When we look at riding it mostly falls under one of two styles - Western or English and then can be broken down even further into what type of riding you’ll be doing. For example do you need a specialty saddle designed for specific activities like dressage, polo or jumping or will you just be hacking out.

This has to be the first thing you think about before you buy a saddle and if at all possible buy one designed just for the type of riding you will be using it for.

Choosing a saddle is a very personal choice, what fits and is extremely comfy for one person will feel terrible to another. It is all based on riding style’s, riding position, body shape, weight, fitness and experience in the saddle. That is without even thinking how comfy and suitable it will be for your horse or pony..

The one thing I found when I bought my last saddle was I could sit on it at the saddler’s, then sit on it on my horse and it felt fine, but the real test was after I had ridden on it for a while. That’s one of the biggest problem’s with choosing a saddle. The best way to determine which one works for you and your horse is to ride on it for a while.

Saddle sizes are measured in inches and to get the correct size you measure the length between the pommel and the cantle. As with any type of sport in which your body has close contact with the equipment, a horse saddle should fit you and your horse- comfortably. Aside from your own comfort issues, an ill-fitting saddle can cause back muscle bruising on your horse. You will then start to get what is perceived as behaviour problems from your horse or pony including bucking. They are not really being naughty though . They are just trying to tell you something is wrong.

When you are seated in your saddle, you would want there to be about two to three inches of space between you and the back edge of the saddle. It is really difficult to fit a saddle and see if it is right for you and your horse on your own. It is easiest to fit a saddle to both your horse and your body if you have someone with you. Your helper then can either act as you in the saddle (so you can see how it fits on the horse), or he/she can do this for you while you’re in the saddle. They can check your seat and make sure there is enough space between you and the back edge of the saddle. They can also make sure the saddle sits level on the horse’s back, and that it fits comfortably on the horses withers with you sat on it and that it doesn’t tip when you are riding on it.

In general, the saddle should not impede the horse’s movements, and it should fit you comfortably.
You might need your saddler to alter a saddle for you that is a pretty good fit making it into a near perfect one. A good saddler will come out to your horse and take measurements then alter the saddle to fit.

Remember when you have your ideal saddle to periodically clean it with saddle soap and polish it with shoe wax to keep the leather clean, soft and looking nice.

About the author: You can get more information and advice regarding horses at horse bits and pieces At horse bits and pieces you will find all the horse and rider equipment you will ever need.
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

When I started writing my tips for breaking a young horse I thought I must be mad, what did I know? There are loads of experts out there all offering advice and I was just a humble horse owner, not a trainer etc. Then I decided that if my story helps anyone to have the confidence to work with their own horse then I believe they will find it a rewarding experience and it will be beneficial to both the horse or pony and themselves.

Backing, Breaking and Training a young horse. Well its something that we are told is best left to the experts and to some degree I agree, as you can do a lot of damage to a horse at such a young age, but with the right support and information I do believe you can make a good job of it.

Its easy to say leave it to the experts but for most of us our horses and ponies are part of our family. We are the one’s who are with them every day and the one’s who have built up mutual trust and a bond with them.

I took a break from owning my own horse for about 15 years. Then found myself, in my naivety, being the proud owner of a 2 yr old filly. I fell in love with her, what more can I say, but she was 16.1hh and very powerful. A lot could have gone wrong. I did contemplate sending her away when the time came, to have her professional broken, backed and schooled. There were several problems with this idea though. Number one was the cost, I just didn’t have the money to do that as the quotes I had attained were extortionate. Number 2 was this was my horse, I had spent hours and hours in the stable with her, bonding, grooming and just sitting there gaining her trust. I didn’t want to send her away and lose all that. I knew she trusted me, she would follow me around the paddock like a dog, if I ran she would trot after me. Quite scary when you have a 16.1hh thoroughbred chasing you. I had never read a natural horsemanship book, but I realised that this was just what we were doing.

I also discovered she had never been walked off the yard, boxed, lunged or had a bit anywhere near her. I figured it was going to be a long drawn out process.

In reality I couldn’t have been more wrong. Although I did take things very slowly I found backing her to be extremely straight forward.

I used a lot of common sense, sought loads of advice from local tack shops and the people on the yard, and read as much information as I could find including everyone else’s tips on breaking a young horse. A lot of the techniques and equipment had evolved from when I had had my last horse. So I had to learn what to do with it again.

The things I learnt and my 10 tips for breaking a young horse are:

1. Spend time bonding with your horse or pony, don’t just rush into breaking it. You will need time to build up mutual trust.

2. Learn your horses moods. Learn their normal behaviour and pick up when something is wrong.

3. Spend time before you try to back your horse getting it used to basic commands, both on the lunge and long rein. Stand, walk, trot will be invaluable once your horse is first backed.

4. Introduce the bit slowly - don’t just expect to put it in your horses mouth and leave it there for hours. Try a few minutes at a time over several week and get a bit suitable for a young horse. I used a copper key bit.

5. Introduce the saddle without girth, stirrups and leathers to begin with and remove again after a few minutes.

6. Before you even think of putting someone on your horses back get the horse used to wearing the saddle and bridle on the lunge or in hand.

7. When lunging the first few times in tack make sure stirrups and leathers are not flapping around and spooking your horse.

8. When you do introduce someone on their back ensure you are the one who is talking to your horse, after all you are the one who is built up the trust.

9. Try to get someone light to be the person who first sits on your horse. Start with them just lying over your horse and then gradually sitting. Make sure every movement of the rider is slow a fluid. Again make sure this isn’t rushed and is done over weeks.

10. Take backing your horse or pony slowly, take the lead from the animal. If they are looking stressed or anxious or are really misbehaving stop. There is generally a reason.

It took me about 2.5 months to back my horse from only ever having a head collar on to gently hacking out with me on her.

I introduced everything bit by bit and talked to her constantly. It might seem a long time to some people but I was left with a well adjusted horse who doesn’t get stressed or act up very often. She takes the lead from me and will attempt new things because I firmly believe she trusts me.

Make sure you are safe at all times and that someone is with you if necessary who is more knowledgeable but don’t be afraid and take the lead.

There is no excuse when horse breaking to be cruel, and remember animals including horses are not born bad, they react to what we as humans do to them.

About the author: You can get more information and advice regarding horses at horse bits and pieces At horse bits and pieces you will find all the horse and rider equipment you will ever need.
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com