If you don’t seem to be as motivated as you once were, or have simply lost confidence then here are seven quick tips to get you going again
- Only ride nice horsesBe easy on yourself. If you are not looking forward to riding, it may be because your horse is not the right one for you.
- Know your horse on the ground firstConfirm that your horse can go forward, backwards and sideways, canter on the correct lead and pop over a jump. Horses should have a basic understanding of these requirements before you ask them when you are riding
- Set GoalsSetting riding goals and realising exactly what is possible might just give you the motivation to ride
- Mindset & visualiseOnce you have set your goal, visualise it. Don’t just visualise it once, visualise it every chance you get. When you first wake up, every time you have a quiet moment during the day and before you go to bed. The more your mind accepts that it will happen, the sooner it will.
- Take Little Steps &Ride More OftenDo something towards your goal every day. Just one tiny little step towards that goal is ok, as long as you are progressing forward.
- Accountability partner Regular instructionChoose the right accountability partner. You need some-one that will hold you accountable for taking those small steps, but not one who will bully you into an unsafe situation. An understanding riding instructor is perfect.
- Surround yourself with mentorsKeep yourself in an atmosphere of learning. Listen to podcasts (‘Horse Chats’ of course), read books and watch videos. Everyone is going to have different opinion, but you will then have the information to make the right choices for you.
If you would like to teach people about increasing confidence, then have a look at the course on this link:
Horse Riding Instructor Course
This is not a cheap course, where you can receive a qualification for little or no effort.
It is a proven, world class way of teaching and training people to ride safely and confidently, a course that is well designed and highly effective that gets you results.
Or if you are already qualified an as instructor and would like to keep compounding your knowledge, then talk to us about our more specialised and advanced courses.
Happy Riding,
Glenys 🙂
these are great points for building confidence as i can relate. i also believe that controlling your breathing and take your time. Don’t rush to succeed.
natasha beadman i agree with your comment about these tips and it might also be good if you know your horse’s personality and her or his capabilities=
I am thinking about taking horseback riding lessons because it is something that my husband grew up knowing how to do but that I never learned. Thanks for mentioning that it can be smart to set riding goals and to think about what you can achieve to help motivate you to stay with your lessons. If I decide to get lessons I will have to ask my trainer what kind of goals I should realistically have so that I can know what direction I need to go in and so that I can stay interested and motivated in my lessons.
I believe that these steps will make you a more comfortable and confident rider. I’m a beginner rider and I get a bit anxious before getting on a horse so I like to spend a bit of time around the horse to build a bond so that I can trust them and they can trust me.
This is really usefull to help indeviduals build confudence.
Breeanna Weeks, i agree with your comment about the tips, they really do help with confidence building as i own a horse myself.
Great article to help with confidence issues. I struggled with confidence after a fall off my first horse so I took this article all in so I can take what I learnt back to the paddock with me.
these are some good tips for building your confidence. i also believe that keeping calm in difficult situations is important.
I definitely will keep these tips in mind and fingers cross they help
The right instructor for you is also so very important. What may suit another person may not suit you.
Good tips on how to build confidence. A lot of us have that bigger picture in our heads but are a little confused as to how to break that down into manageable baby steps to get there.
These are really great tips for improving your confidence around horses! It’s so important to have confidence in order to improve yourself and allow you and your horse to become a strong team.
As a beginner, I find every one of these points crucial to excelling as a rider both on the ground and on horseback. Personally I find setting realistic and exciting goals, along with maintaining a positive mindset, allows me to build confidence within myself and my abilities before transferring into my riding. Sometimes these goals are small however any step forward is progress!
These are some very helpful points that I can use to gain some knowledge and further my abilities as a rider.
All great tips for improving confidence when around horses and when riding…
Something I do whenever I meet a new horse and everytime when I am going out with my horse before I ride or train is:
I always make sure to spend time for 5-10 minutes (longer if possible) just to see how they are going making sure they are relaxed, focused, responsive (you don’t know what has happen within the time you leave your horse and they are alone so you can’t expect your horse to always act the same) and just that few minute will create a bond and make the horse know that its not just about getting on and riding its about a partnership and teamwork, check on your horses emotions and wellbeing. Also make sure you make time to have a day where you just spend time with your horse, no riding, no training just sitting in the paddock, just watching how they act move react… it is amazing how just sitting with your horse improves every aspect in your training and riding and in your everyday relationship of you and your horse.
Most people can relate to a lack of confidence or motivation when it comes to horses. Getting someone to hold you accountable to take small steps and start to overcome your issues is a great way forward. Spending time with horses reminds you both positively and occasionally negatively why you fell in love with horses and riding in the first place – and it’s important to understand what is holding you back from enjoying your time with these beautiful animals and getting the most out of it.
Lack of confidence was such a big thing for me although i have been riding and working around horses for as long as i can remember i am still always looking for ways to make myself more confident and step outside the box every now and then. Its not only my confidence i want to improve but i also want to make sure my horse is comfortable and is as confident as i am.
These are very good pointers. I agree with all of them.
I used a lot of these steps to regain my confidence on a horse and now i’m more confident than ever riding my ex-racehorse out on my own and being in charge when he decides to test me.
Excellent 7 tips. Groundwork is especially important, whether the rider is very experienced or new to the world of horsemanship. The exercises used can be tailored to suit the ability of both rider and and horse allowing the rider to understand the mind-frame of the horse and her/his own limitations and abilities.
These steps are great to help you boost your confidence. I have used multiple steps and they have helped me to overcome my fears and help me become a better rider. I always have a set goal / plan that I will follow when I go for a ride. I connect with my horse to try and put these goals / plans into action throughout the ride. If my horses doesn’t like what I trying to do, we take things slow and build confidence so we can both go onto the next level.
Great advice. Looking to try out these tips and further my knowledge and confidence as a sometimes nervous rider.
Great advice.Seven excellent tips to be able to ride safely, confidently and get in tune with your horse.
Riding confidently is so important, there are a lot more tips but these seven are important.
🙂
Great tips to building up confidence. I find setting goals for yourself is a great way to achieve success at you own pass.
Sounds like you are on the right track. Setting goals is the first step to achieving them.
🙂
Awesome tips to help boost confidence and motivate riders to get out and do more than just ride their horse.
Yes, sometimes just getting out there and doing it is important
🙂
Very well said, I believe these are excellent points and justified. I have used these methods to coach lots of my students with success.
very good article, excellent points
I found this article very helpfully as it will help me to know how my confidence can be gained and place it into my riding skills.
The above information of ‘steps to increase riding confidence’ is a good guide to follow, I do not particularly agree with ‘only riding nice horses’ as I believe any good horse can have a bad day and behave out of step.
I like to do more ground work above riding as this ensures that anything I do under saddle has already been taught to my horse on the ground first. I believe in following various techniques and including a natural horsemanship approach. This is all dependant on the type of horse as well.
Set Goals
I often set goals for myself which coincide with the training that my horse needs. Sometimes we revisit an area that seems to lack confidence in. I will generally have goals for my horse and for myself that include riding and ground work.
Mindset & visualise
I firmly agree with having a positive mindset and working with your horse with a positive attitude as they tend to pick up on the slightest emotion. I will often visualize a sense of calmness if my horse is stressed about something new and this often works with my training approach.
Take Little Steps & Ride More Often
.I acknowledge that at times I have rushed too much with training and expectations with my horses. Some pick up things quickly and others need to revisit training in certain areas, whilst another of my horses picks things up very quickly and is ready to progress to the next task. I agree that riding more often is great for horses as long as they are not overworked.
Accountability partner Regular instruction
I have been riding a few times with others who like to gallop everywhere or try to push me or my teenage rider beyond their limits. I like to leave both the horse and rider with a positive note after a ride. This is why I only have the two of us in a riding area (myself and Teenage rider and of cause the horses). I find that when other horses and a lot of different people are around, the horse loses focus and the rider can be distracted and push the horse above what it should be doing.
Surround yourself with mentors
I definitely have many mentors, not all are positive but they do have a different viewpoint and ways of doing things. Not all advice is good advice or good for one particular horse. The key is to know your horses and how they learn and therefore ridden in the best and safest manner possible.
It sounds like you are a horse person with sound knowledge of teaching students who need to increase confidence!
🙂
these are great tips for riders of all ability.
These tips are a great way to increase confidence in a riders ability.
These tips are great. I use most of these daily and have done for quite a few years. They are so helpful for riders that are learning and for rideres that dont have as much confidence.
These tips are a great idea. I will definitely try them out to gain confidence and my riding ability.
This article was great to read and is encouraged me to set goals and have a mentor throughout my riding. Setting goals will enable to to become and better and more confident rider.
These are excellent tips to anyone whether they be a beginner or a experience rider. it encourages many people to gain confidence and push themselves to further improve their confidence ability. And by getting out and doing this will make people more confident in themselves before working or riding horses.
Wow what i can say right now , is that this tips are even more helpful. For sure on my behalf like this gives confidence even though i haven’t started to work with horses.
this is very helpful. hopefully this helps.
As a beginner, these are very nice and easy to follow tips. Riding a horse can be overwhelming at times so it is always nice to have some help from websites and other people.
Great tips! I found this article very helpful.
Awesome tips! I found the best way to regain my confidence was working with the horse on the ground, being around him, lunging him, and then eventually slowly getting back on (maybe just a walk) and I found this really gained back my confidence after a few scares
This article is very helpful it provides a lot of great information on how to help your self get more confidence around horse riding. The tips are also very easy but would work very well. This is suited to all ages and levels of anyone that rides horses.
I will definitely use these in future to gain some more confidence. Though I do most of these anyway but setting a goal is definitely a good way to go.
i have once ridden a sabino mare, she kicked another horse while on a trail ride, on an another event, this same mare had been ridden by a young girl who fell off while the horse was again kicking another horse. also, i have found not just getting on a horse and off you go but spending time to say hello to the horse, yes they can be unpredictable, but it still helps to gain confidence.
I lost my confidence a few years back and by doing ground work, surrounding myself with people that will encourage me and not rushing into anything really helped! I am naturally a very competitive person so some of this was very difficult for me but in the long run it really did help. Sometimes when you lose your confidence all you need to do is step back and assess the situation, and really think am I getting ahead of myself?
These steps are super realistic and very helpful to use, even if you haven’t lost much confidence.
Very helpful article.
very helpful
These are all great tips! It’s important to make your riding experience as great as possible to help you gain confidence. It’s just like jumping a horse: you take it slow, jump small for a while, and gradually build up as your horse gets more confidence! There’s no need to rush yourself. Take your time and make your riding experience the best it can be! I know this from experience ????
This article outlines some great tips on how to increase confidence whilst horse riding. This would be a great resource for new riders or riders that are not so confident.
a good article with some valuable tips, which would provide most people with an understanding to increase their
confidence within the field of equestrian sports . however just a few points to consider , be careful not to over think
your riding , be mindful of information overload , number one tip enjoy your horse and riding and keep it simple.
A good article with some valuable tips, which would provide most people with an understanding to increase their
confidence within the field of equestrian sports. however just a few points to consider , be careful not to overthink
your riding, be mindful of information overload, number one tip enjoy your horse and riding and keep it simple.
Reply
jonathan hall
jonathan hall on July 7, 2020 at 10:06 am
A good article with some valuable tips, which would provide most people with an understanding to increase their
confidence within the field of equestrian sports. however just a few points to consider , be careful not to overthink
your riding, be mindful of information overload, number one tip enjoy your horse and riding and keep it simple.
This is a great article and they are all great tips. I had some riding lessons a few years ago and have decided to start riding again. I was quite nervous when I first got back onto a horse and lacked the confidence however I found a kind and understanding instructor who will help me build my confidence in myself and with horses. Also, I believe that these tips will help me to build up my confidence.
This article is really captivating and true as I believe when I was younger that all of these thing were what made me actually gain confidence in riding.
Interesting article, biggest tip I have to that even riding for 15 minutes (if that’s all you can get through with your anxiety) is still much better than not riding at all. Lots of small wins add up 🙂
Such a helpful article, I lost confidence in the saddle many years ago and have only recently started to get back on. I need to remind myself to break things down , to breath and to acknowledge my wins.
I always look forward to reading the latest posts on this blog, as they consistently offer a unique and interesting perspective on a variety of topics. It’s very informative.