CONFIDENCE l EQUIPILATES
In the final part of our fascinating series on Equipilates, Mel Beale discovers how riders can break the cycle of knocked confidence by reconnecting with their horse
FROM WHERE DOES knocked confidence originate? The rider? The horse? Probably from both. “I’ve never come across a partnership where I’ve thought that 100% of the problem was caused by the horse or 100% by the rider,” says Equipilates instructor Emma Stamenkovic. “Usually, the issue is that communication between the two isn’t very good.”
Riding is a partnership, just like any other team sport, but unlike other disciplines the lines of communication in equestrianism are between two different species. It is therefore no wonder that we can sometimes struggle and our confidence can be knocked.
A loss of confidence can also be traced back to a weakness: for the rider it could be a weak core or a reliance on the reins for balance; for the horse it could be that he carries too much weight on his forehand, or that he isn’t supple around bends or circles.
In this series we have already looked at the rider’s side of the relationship (Your Horse Spring to August issues). Now, though, it is time to bring both sides of the partnership back together.
Chicken or egg?
Whether the chicken or the egg came first is a conundrum we have pondered for centuries. You might wonder what relevance it has to riding, but it is important to ask yourself whether you lost your confidence following a fall or a bad experience — and what had happened up to that point. It is easy to blame your horse for bucking, or yourself for losing your balance and falling off, but there is a lot more that goes on to reach that point.
“Let’s say that you are nervous to ride your horse because he canters too quickly and you don’t feel in control,” says Emma. “But take a few steps back and look at the bigger picture. It might be that your horse isn’t very straight and falls out through his right shoulder, so when you ask him to canter he can’t get the correct lead, becomes unbalanced and drops onto the forehand. As he canters he becomes more unbalanced and he speeds up. While this happens he becomes heavier in the hand and pulls you forward. You become anxious and start to tip further forward because you’re nervous and also because your core isn’t strong enough to keep you sitting up. He speeds up because you’ve leaned forward and mistakes this for ‘go faster’, which can eventually lead to him bucking to try and rebalance himself. This is how it can become a perpetual cycle.”
