03/08/2023
What have we got without trust?
I’ve been on a learning path of late, one I feel ashamed of only just embarking on now after 30 years of riding.
It’s a journey that has emphasised just how important trust is to almost every horse. You see, Pea (my “safe” horse) is safe and reliable and because of that I have implicit trust in her to keep me safe or at least to not compromise my confidence. Pat however, is sharp and spooky and because of bad experiences I’ve had in the past with him, my trust in him had totally broken down.
I had Zero trust in him to keep me safe, I feared getting on (even if just a fleeting thought) EVERY SINGLE RIDE.
Something just clicked.
Instead of blaming him for this lack of trust I have, I have now begun to realise that the cause of any of his unwanted behaviour is almost completely down to my lack of trust in HIM.
He doesn’t get the confidence down the rein or in my aids or from my increased heart rate and quite rightly assumes a defensive demeanour, acting “sharp” as the outcome.
If I put my trust in him, down the rein, in my seat and thigh not tensing and allowing him to enjoy his time with me on top… it’s total magic.
Now, I’m not saying that this feeling of trust is easy to truly feel but I am saying it’s definitely possible to build. Today, for the first time in almost 10 years, I got on and didn’t take the contact up. I allowed him his head, I let him stretch in all three paces and he rewarded me with the softest back to sit on, the floppiest ears and the happiest ride. I didn’t assume he was going to bronch, I wasn’t sitting there waiting for a spook, I consciously took a breath and told myself to relax.
Today, I might have only done 20 minutes of what looked like nothing to most people, but it was almost certainly the best 20 minutes I’ve spent on the back of this horse in 10 years.
