Well, all I can say is I wish I had video of this...Over the past few weeks, the place where I board has been doing quite a bit of construction, and we're all excited to watch things unfold as the old is removed and the new is built!  A super shout out to the owners Angele and Andy Mlsna, they're amazing!

Anyway, trhough all this consturction I can say that Guinness has been handling it better than I thought, however he has taken to being a little (lot) more spooky than usual as he's waiting for the next beam to loudly crash and fall!  So over the past few weeks, our rides have been very mindful of what the construction du jour brings for the day when I'm out there.

So today, I got to the barn and it was quiet, which is unusual.  It was also warm, so I was really psyched for the ride.  After a reasonable warm up to "check the temperature" of where my horses mind was, I got on...ahhhhhh, what a feeling!  So all alone and quiet, I set out to ride.  Over some ground poles, through a couple of standards to grandmothers house we rode (okay, not really about grandma's house, but I couldn't resist!).

Anyway, not 5 minutes into the ride, along comes someones big truck.  Soon we hear sounds of crashing and tossing and throwing...and not in a pattern of any kind, just randomly.  So, I thought dang (actually something with more of an explitive) and Guinness' energy had certainly turned "up".  I quickly assessed the situation and said to mylsef "damn it, we're going to ride through this today no matter how much noise is made"! 

Well, I guess Guinness "heard" my thoughts, and as I gave us both a job to do, we got on with it.  Even when there was a particularly loud bang (truck being hitched up to a very large trailer with construction debris in it), and then the said trailer and truck "appeared" over the indoor door just as we were riding past, Guinness and I stayed together through a spook or two (or three) but we did it.

Then, crickets.  Well, not crickets really, it's too cold, but there was enough silence that you COULD have heard crickets if it was warm enough!  So, I was so proud of both of us for sticking through this together, and I realized that Guinness is actually more confident with me riding him, than with me on the ground with him...hmmm, something to explore, and I'm sure I'll get more construction chances!

Cheerio, Anke and Guinness:) (\___~

                                            <\ /\

It was a gorgeous fall day in November 2009 when my equine partner “Murphy” and I embarked on what we intended to be a several hour trail ride.  Along with me was my best friend Debby and her steed Phantom, followed close behind by yet another group of trail riders out for the same fun that we were!

As we moved up the hill from the barns that connected to the trails, I noticed that Murphy was starting to balk, and became resistant.  He had been losing his eye sight and was now spooking at things that had never bothered him before, but it was certainly manageable.  We had been a team for almost a decade at the time, and I could read him as well as he could read me (unfortunately, he just couldn’t see me!).  I decided to get off because after a quick assessment of the situation (we were going uphill, there was an electric fence that I knew he couldn’t see about 2 feet from us on the left, and a steep embankment on the right side of us) I realized that if he were to spook, he would probably turn left, touch the electric fence and canter back downhill toward the barn…not a good scenario!  So in that 5 second decision making time, I had made the decision to jump off and handle the situation form the ground.  It would have been a great decision had I not jumped off the near side right into the path of where he would spook, which was exactly what happened.  And as predicted, I believe he did hit the electric fence which further spooked him as he tried to run.  Unfortunately, Murphy was 16hh and 1200 pounds, and Anke is 5’4” and 130 pounds…I was no match for him and ended up underneath him.  As many accidents happen, it was over with in a flash but that seemed like minutes.  He had tried very hard to avoid me (the onlookers had agreed), but unfortunately I rolled down the hill and his front hoof pushed me down further so that his attempt to avoid me caught me on the left hamstring as he jumped over me to avoid me further.

After an embarrassing but necessary trip to the ER was complete, I healed very nicely over the next few weeks and met full recovery in a period of months.  During that time, I was grounded, but was ever so eager to get back in the saddle again!  To prepare for the ride, I had mentally pictured my next ride up that hill on that same trail in a very positive manner; I even stopped telling people the story of the accident so that I could fully focus on what I wanted and not what had happened.  Even though the accident kept trying to creep back in, I was able to mentally change the picture and the outcome.  The day to ride finally came, and when it did I was mentally prepared to be back in the saddle.  I would be lying if I told you that those first few rides were easy going past that spot where the accident took place, they were not.  However by having prepared myself as I did, I was much more successful than I had been in the past “post-accident” and was able to enjoy my rides again both mentally and physically.

This is not the way it had always been; in fact it used to be quite the opposite!  For most of us, the physical healing of a post-traumatic accident is the easy part; it’s the mental and emotional healing that many times leaves us wanting!  The ideal thing would be to not get hurt in the first place, and in the case of my latest accident as I mentioned I made a wrong decision to get off the near side of the horse, when I should have gotten off the off side to avoid his spook (ah, hindsight!).

When we ride with fear, our physical and mental bodies are very much different from the relaxed rider.  The relaxed ride is soft, balanced, rhythmically breathing and supple; able to move with the horse in one unit, and able to provide passive leadership to the horse so that they too can relax knowing you’re at the helm.  The fearful rider has tense muscles, stiff joints and is more perched rather than draped around the horse.  Their balance point is typically challenged so the horse has to work harder to help keep them balanced.  The fearful rider is looking to someone or something else for leadership, as their mind is focused more on “what if” and post-traumatic memories!  If the fearful rider is breathing at all, they’re ahead of the game!  Most of the time, they hold their breath waiting for the inevitable to happen.  When we hold our breath, our very sensitive horses feel this and also become hyper alert to the prospect of danger; they become more fearful, stiff and reactive, and are more apt to spook or react.  So now we have a vicious cycle of fearful rider, fearful horse, rider riding fearful horse and becoming more fearful…you get the idea!

To break this cycle, it’s paramount that your horse can depend on you to be his leader in and out of the saddle.  This means that there are several things that YOU can do to help yourself and consequently your equine partner.  If this cycle is not broken, all too soon you may be making all kinds of excuses not to ride, and in extreme cases getting out of horses all together.

Coming back from an accident doesn’t need to be difficult; in fact it can be (and should be) part of a journey that helps you to grow inwardly.  And the more you grow the more tools and skills you’ll have to further your passion with your horse activities!

Start by finding your own threshold.  When do you start to feel that tightening of your stomach, the sweating of your palms, the fluttering or rapid beat of your heart; you hear yourself making up all the excuses of why you shouldn’t be riding?  Find this threshold and come back to just south of it;  this place will bring you back into your comfort zone.  Just like our horses, if we continually push past a threshold, we’re not building confidence, we’re eroding it.  So by starting and staying within your comfort zone, you’re providing yourself with permission to trust yourself again (change that self talk of “wow, how stupid was I to…”) and allowing yourself to regain your confidence with a mind setup for learning and not for reacting.  A calm mind learns (horses using their “left brain”) versus an anxious mind that reacts (horses using their “right brain”).

Next, check in on your breathing.  Are you breathing at all when you think of riding (notice I didn’t say when you are riding)?  Most of us hold our breath quite often when we ride or are working with our horses in any capacity.  Start by consciously setting yourself up to rhythmically breathe as you walk with your horse on the ground.  Maybe a small enclosed place will make things even more conducive to success for you.  You decide based on your threshold.

Now you can start to play “yo-yo” with your comfort zone to expand your learning without eroding your current level of confidence.  Go back to your threshold, and then move out of your comfort zone just by one little step.  It could look something like this:  If your threshold is on the mounting block mounting your horse, you may want to do the following.  First, make sure your horses mind is where it needs to be at the mounting block, which means that he will stand quietly, balanced and waiting for you to mount; this means not walk off!  If he does walk off and you’re not sure how to fix it, consult with a professional.  Once your horse is settled and being a partner, you can place your foot in the stirrup and then take it out again.  Do this as many times as it takes for you to start thinking “this is ridiculous!  I’m ready to get on!”.  What you’ve done now is expanded your comfort zone from being “okay” on the mounting block, to “being ready” to mount!  And all with a simple “yo-yo” game with your comfort zone.  This new threshold is now your new comfort zone, congratulations!

Now continue to challenge yourself by expanding your comfort zone little by little.  You could be moving from mounting to walking in an enclosed area.  Walking on a lunge to walking without.  Moving from an enclosed area to an open area.  Again, use your best judgment, and most importantly give yourself the time to make these small steps become small successes.  By honoring your thresholds, moving forward with what I call Ridiculously Small No-Fail Goals (RiSNG© to success), you’ll have no other option than to gain confidence!

If you slip back to where you’re feeling your confidence erode, that’s okay!  You’re not failing, you’re learning and it’s all part of the growth process.  Unfortunately, the word “failure” has a very negative feel to it.  Actually, failure is great because it allows us to grow by experience.  I like to call failure a “slip”, because that’s all it really is; an opportunity for you to right yourself, be aware of what got you there and regain your balance to move forward!

When you slip, go back to where you last felt comfortable, and check in with yourself where you may have moved forward too quickly.  Reassess what you did and make a new plan that will better position you for success.  And learn from the experience by being aware of what precipitated the slip in the first place, and what you can do to encourage further growth.

Reward yourself as you move forward.  We tend not to want to reward ourselves for accomplishments made until we’ve accomplished something “big”!  But rewarding big accomplishments encourages you to procrastinate.  If the task seems too big, you’re more likely to view it as something daunting and unattainable, instead of something that will motivate you to greatness.  By rewarding the small successes, you celebrate your accomplishments and thereby self-motivate yourself into an upward spiral of success that’s unstoppable.  Much better!

Overall, moving forward with small, RiSNG goals that are honored by your inner self, and celebrated accordingly will move you to where you wish to be at a speed you may not have thought possible.  Most of all, your confidence gained will be lasting because of the strong foundation that you’ve built.  Your horse will also be an intricate part of this process, and will gain confidence in you as his passive leader and partner; and that’s exactly where you want to bring the enjoyment back to your riding!

Anke Johnson, Certified Health and Life Coach for the Equestrian   As a Certified Health and Life Coach for the equestrian, published author on topics such as the De-Spook You, Wizardry of Change, Weight Loss for Riders and Building a Foundation for Success, Anke’s contributions to the equestrian continue to help them become the best partners for their horses that they can be.

As a lifelong rider, Anke understands how the challenges of horsemanship and the challenges of life interweave. Having experienced firsthand how a strong, healthy body, free of tension, contributes to being free of injury, elimination of chronic pain, coordination, balance, posture, carriage, and an independent seat, she is uniquely qualified to coach other riders toward their health and life goals, in and out of the saddle.
With Anke’s help, equestrians gain the self-knowledge, confidence and body awareness they need to get them closer to that perfect ride; in and out of the saddle.