Something continues popping up its little head, quietly, back in mind cobwebs where useful things like to hide. It just makes eye contact & then returns to its burrow, but each time, it reminds me how much I continue to evolve in the psychology of my riding & training. And how far I have to go.
And stay off my lawn! |
Now, I can't say that I still don't want to throttle That Person, because life ISN'T that simple, but I started applying an adapted version of this type of psychology to my riding (if you have the patience & psychiatric fortitude -- hey, don't look at me) & it was a game-changer.
In online seminars, articles, lessons, similar themes kept surfacing & finally, I began to string together these points of mental contact into a little Brain Sub-Toolbox (it's blue, naturally). I can't decide if it holds just one big tool, a psychological Sawz-all, or if it's more like my box of a zillion drill bits -- all similar, but specialized per application. But let’s rummage, shall we?
If you'd just listen to me, mom... |
Rumour has it that the brain doesn't recognize the word "don't," so when you say, "Don't hang on the left rein, you dolt," it hears, "Hang onto that rein for all you’re worth, baby." I'm not sure if I buy the phrasing, but in this case, the means justify the ends: tell yourself what you ARE going to do, instead of what you AREN'T going to do.
FTW example: Enter sandbox with following internal monologue: let's trot forward, make eye contact with the judge, smile like we know we're damn good. My eyes & shoulders will lead my horse straight as an arrow down centerline & then I will use my leg to feed his forward energy through the bend of the corner.
A bit less of this, perhaps? |
If you keep working FTW, then you've succeeded in avoiding one of our worst habits:
I practice all the time! |
Stirring up all the negatives in my brain means that is what my subconscious is focused on as well, which leads to the oft-repeated discovery that clamping down on your horse like a straitjacket does not produce a relaxed, balanced dressage test. After much practice with this charming technique, I have finally recognized it for what it is: riding for contingencies that have not happened yet. Which means they are imaginary.
I have plenty of other issues with imaginary things, I could stand to dump one…
Supposedly this helps. I wouldn't know. |
Because if I keep my brain positively distracted by waving good things in front of it, it (sometimes) remembers to tell my body to do the right things & pay attention to the horse I have underneath me NOW. This keeps me focused on his energy & attentive to my riding, like a little mini-trainer is standing in my cerebral cortex. (Hey, explanation for the voices: BAM!)
Maybe just more of these... |
This goes far beyond just the dressage arena or show day itself; as I wrote about at the beginning of...uh, last year, I want to continue to step up & dial in my riding, sporadic though it may be.
- That means having a plan for schooling rides…and a backup plan if it's not our day.
- That means keeping my cool if the horse is frustrated & GETTING OFF if we both get frustrated.
- That means envisioning each step of each ride as if it were perfect, including the feel of the contact, the rhythm, my posture, weight, balance.
- That means also being ok when it's NOT perfect, recognizing the effort, letting the negative slip away & resetting the mental plan back to how the next great step will feel.
- That means after dismounting, I mull over what went RIGHT & what that felt like in my back, in my arms, in my horse. Each time, this reinforces my muscle memory & increases my ability to replicate that for a few more steps next time.
Requisite annoyingly positive graphic! |
Here’s where I open it up to you: pick a positive for the next few weeks of your own riding. Leave it in a comment here & let that be your goal (remember, they all move in baby steps, occasionally even forwards!). If you have your own blog, I’ll even issue a friendly challenge to share it there in the spirit of mental commitment. Then we’ll check back a bit later & see what happened!
Bonus: you get to call me out on mine! Although a certain genius horse has sprained his stifles while inventing pasture games in mud (a post for later *headdesk*), at least the therapy involves riding. In doing so, I WILL ride from my leg & core while my arms remain evenly soft on the contact.
If it makes you feel better, it was excruciatingly difficult to write that without any negative clauses!