It's true that BEING with horses is a joy in itself. There's nothing like the moments we get to just spend time and enjoy their presence, their attention and their sense of humor! I mean, loving horses is what it's all about, and that's probably why most of us gravitated toward these huge four-legged friends in the first place.
But if you're a life-long learner like me, you'll relate to the need for self-improvement: do more, keep learning, try new things, and become a better rider and horse person - as much for your horse's sake as for your own. Because in the end, it really is all about the horse.
And so - Practice.
"Practice" comes in many shapes and sizes. Ground work, tricks, "play" or riding - you don't have to be limited to one thing or another. But in the end, Practice is where it's at!
Here are my top 5 Horse Listening reasons why consistent, dedicated Practice will change your (and your horse's) life forever.
* I'm writing about riding below, but you can apply all the same thoughts to any activity you like to do with your horse.
5) It'll give you purpose and timelines.
While we all ride for recreation, there comes a time when we begin to recognize that if only we did something different or new, we'd become better, more coordinated, stronger in our posture, or one of the myriads of goals we can set for ourselves as riders. Setting goals helps us, of course, as the human partner in the equation. But I'm a firm believer that even the slightest improvement we make in ourselves will benefit every horse we come across in our future.
Goal setting isn't the the only factor, though, because we can set all the goals we want and if we DO nothing (as they say), our goals are simply dreams. This is where timelines make such a huge difference in the achievement of goals. There's nothing like a deadline to make me clean up my act and expect more of myself! This is one of the reasons I jumped on the Virtual Show bandwagon this past summer. I was reminded of how "making it happen" isn't so bad at key points in time, and putting a little pressure on myself allows me to jump through entire stages of learning.
4) You'll fill in the missing parts!
When you give yourself time to practice something repeatedly, patterns begin to emerge. You might notice that while it seemed fine for you to make that smaller right circle compared to your left circle the first couple of times, the more it happened, the more you felt the true crookedness of you and your horse. 🙂
And then you might begin to consider the reasons why that crookedness exists in the first place. You might be inspired to seek out the help of a riding instructor, or you might look things up on the Internet - but one thing is for certain - you'll realize that there's something missing from the basic of the basics that needs to be improved upon!
And doesn't it feel amazing when you finally figure out how to do it better - and discover how much better balanced (and happier!) your horse becomes! Which leads us to...
3) Trying new things will get you doing new things!
Let's face it - stepping out of your comfort zone can be quite... uncomfortable!
But when you do it often enough, you realize that the only way to improve is by trying new things, feeling like you've gone right back to the beginning, and struggling all over again. But you know what? Once you overcome the newness, you're suddenly on your way to wonderful feels, movements and FUN!
2) You'll be pleased with the improvements!Â
So goal setting for its own sake isn't all that exciting. But when you make progress, and change things for your horse, and you discover how GOOD your horse feels - just because you spent the time and energy to improve your skills - you'll feel AMAZING. Your confidence will soar!
Because your horse will feel amazing! And you might notice that HE'S happier with you, happier with your riding sessions, happier in general about his life.
I know it sounds far-fetched. But it truly can happen. It just takes practice!
1) Practice doesn't make perfect - but it gives you time and opportunity!
So I've expounded before on how as horse riders, we never really achieve perfection. There's always something more to learn, a deeper level of understanding, a better feel. So let's let go of the need for perfection, and instead, learn to be happy and accomplished just because we're spending the time...
- for growth
- for opportunities
- for learning
And in between all that - for practice.
It isn't magic!
***
If you like this sort of Practice idea, take a peek at my Practice Sessions Premium Membership.
The Practice Sessions is a complete program beginning with clearly planned out exercises, designed to improve specific aspects of the horse and rider. All set up and ready to go, just watch the animated whiteboard video, print off the Cheat Sheet (with all the tips you need right in your hands) and head to the barn!
But there's so much more! There's Quality of Movement exercises, theory "Mini-Classes" on specific aids and figures, a fantastic Private Facebook Group where I share even more tips almost daily, and so much more! Click here to learn more.
