Just as there is a right way and a wrong way in the sport of dressage, there are also good days and bad days; good moments and bad moments. We all have been there. When we are flying around the arena feeling like we are on top of the world and our trainer says to us, "What the hell is that?" Equally frustrating is when we leave the arena feeling like we have just performed our best test ever, only to find out that the test we won was the previous test where we thought we plopped around in a baffled mess.
Dressage, like any sport, has its ups and downs, but even more so because it is dependant on not one but two different individuals and how they are feeling mentally, physically, and emotionally. In the moments when you feel like all hope is lost, it is time to take a step back and ask yourself how can I more effectively communicate my message to my horse?"
Easy to say this and often the reaction we go for is instead to get frustrated, usually with ourselves and feel that we have not achieved our goals and should therefore give up. On the contrary, admitting things are not going well is the most difficult aspect of any sport and once you do this, you can take action to solve the problem and move forward!
A lot of the top riders I've spoken to say they often stop and walk on a loose rein for a bit, to try to decide what is happening. A top rider will also never blame the horse and will instead try to work out why they are not communicating their message to the horse in a way he understands. However, even the best riders surely have some days that they are more effective and mentally "on the ball" than others and so of course must learn to identify and deal with their own weaknesses.
With three horses to work everyday, my low days are fairly evident and if you have all three horses going in a not so what I'd hoped for way, then I know it surely must be me! If you only ride one horse, the signs are more difficult to pick up on, and just like humans,your horse may be having a bit of a downer.
When asked whether horses have good days and bad days like humans, Dr. Andrew McLean, the manager of the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre, says he has spent years researching the psychology of the horse and feels that while they may not have the same emotional ups and downs as humans, they can be effected by their surroundings. "I would say that different environmental influences can have an effect. For example; weather, hormones (mares in season), etc." says Dr McLean.
Some riders may be able to turn off their emotions in the saddle, while others find this more difficult and riding three stallions has made me more aware of how horses also put this same theory into play. One of my stallions cannot control his natural urges and if a mare is in his vicinity, that will be his focus for the training session. While the other two may be interested for a second, they can very quickly switch off that natural urge and come back into work mode.
The difficulty in the good day-bad day phenomenon is thus two fold. Is it my bad day, or my horse being influenced by his surroundings, and then once you determine which it is, how best to combat it.
Again with three horses, it's obvious if it's you. With one, you may need to stop, breathe, and think about what state of mind you are in. Your mind controls your body, and while you may think you are riding the same as yesterday, a tense mind will unknowingly create tension in you. If you really believe that you are calm and relaxed, and that you are having a good day riding wise, ask what environmental circumstances might be affecting your horse.
Unfortunately, riders are often too quick to assume their horse is being lazy, when in actual fact there may be a very valid and easily fixed reason behind your horse's lack of enthusiasm. Was he fed at a different time? Has he just got new shoes? Did I not warm up properly?
Instead of immediately getting frustrated, concentrate on a simple aspect for that lesson and then try to work out how you might alter the horse's environmental circumstances to prevent the same happening again. Rome wasn't built in a day, so use the more challenging days to simplify and refine your riding.
"The secret in riding is to do few things right. The more one does, the less one succeeds. The less one does, the more one succeeds," said my hero Nuno Oliveira (1998, 29).
By focusing on a single issue, for example, "today I will get my inside shoulder back and relax my inside leg," you will hopefully counteract the natural urge to make an excuse and give up. "I just got a new saddle. My jodpurs are sticking to me. I have pain in my back. I rode really well yesterday. Tomorrow I will be able to do it. Today I am just getting used to him. I haven't ridden him outside before. I haven't ridden in the rain before, etc etc etc.."
Making excuses gets us nowhere and before you make your next excuse about your training, take time to laugh by considering the possible outcome if you humanize your horse and it could make excuses back at you. "I've just been shod. The drop in hay quality is effecting my performance. You've been cheating on your diet and the extra weight is hurting my lower back. I hate this ground, it hurts my feet. You're being unfair asking me to go sideways when you just got me going straight. I was already dizzy and now your making the circles even smaller. These bandages don't suit me and the brow band shines and hurts my eyes."
by Sarah Warne for Eurodressage
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