Intro
Reflect on your horsemanship skills and take a look at your relationship with your equine partner. As the new year approaches, it’s the perfect time to evaluate your progress and assess where improvements can be made in your training and bond with your horse. Are things going well or are there areas that c
ould use some work? It’s important to be honest with yourself and your equine partner in order to set realistic and beneficial goals for the upcoming year. So, let’s dive into some self-reflection and see how your relationship with your equine partner is truly going.
Celebrating Your Achievements and Positive Moments
As horse enthusiasts, it’s easy to get caught up in focusing on what needs improvement and what we can do better. While self-reflection and striving for growth are important aspects of horsemanship, it’s equally important to take a moment to celebrate our achievements and positive moments along the way. So, let’s take a step back and acknowledge the progress we have made with our equine partners.
Think about those pivotal moments in your journey, the key moments that have shaped your horsemanship skills. Perhaps it was when you successfully executed a difficult manoeuvre, or when you finally built a trusting rapport with your horse. These are the moments that deserve celebration. Take a moment to relish in your accomplishments and acknowledge the hard work and dedication you have put into your horsemanship.
It’s also important to recognize the signs your horse has given you along the way. Horses are incredibly perceptive creatures, and they will often provide us with feedback through their behaviour. Acknowledge those moments when your horse communicated their needs or showed trust in your guidance. These are the moments that reaffirm the connection between you and your horse.
As you celebrate your achievements and positive moments, remember that horsemanship is a journey, not a destination. There will always be more to learn. By being mindful and reflective, you can continue to grow.
Learning from Your Difficulties and Failures
Learning from our mistakes and failures is an essential part of any journey, especially when it comes to horsemanship. Horsemanship involves treating the horse with respect and working with its natural instincts and behaviour to create a positive and safe experience. As horse enthusiasts, we often encounter obstacles and setbacks along the way, and it’s important to approach these challenges with a mindset of growth and learning.
Reflect on what techniques and methods have not achieved the outcome you were looking for. Deep dive into the experience and ask your 5 Why’s (tool to analyse root cause) to get to the bottom of things.
It is also important to consider the mental and physical capabilities of both, you and your horse.
- Are there any areas where you may be lacking knowledge or experience?
- Are there any physical limitations that may be hindering your progress?
By identifying these factors, you can seek out the necessary resources or support to fill any gaps and enhance your horsemanship skills. Another important aspect of learning is identify and recognise what our horse in a particular moment would have needed from us.
- What didn’t we give them?
- What did we not observe and see? and
- Why did we miss it?
Test if you did adjust your approach calmly, with fluidity and ease to lighten the situation or was it abrupt and with some panic and forced? Did you focus on what the horse was doing wrong from your point of view, or did you work out what your horse needed from you?
Once you have reflected embrace the lessons learned from your difficulties and failures. Use them as stepping stones towards growth and improvement. Don’t be discouraged by setbacks; instead, see them as opportunities to learn.
So, take a moment and celebrate the good, the bad, and the ugly because each moment has contributed to your growth as a horseman. Lastly, use this process of reflection to fuel your motivation and set realistic goals for the upcoming year.
Assessing Your Current Horsemanship Skills
Now that you have taken the time to reflect and celebrate your achievements, it’s time to assess your current state of horsemanship skills. This step is crucial in understanding where you currently stand in your journey and identifying areas that may need improvement.
Begin by asking yourself some important questions.
- How confident do you feel handling and training your horse?
- How is your rapport with your horse?
- What techniques and methods are you going to apply?
- Are you confident to use the techniques and methods required?
- Another space to consider is the theory versus practice aspect of horsemanship and how it has played a role in your journey. Have there been instances where you have struggled to apply what you’ve learned in a practical setting? Reflect on why this may be the case and how you can bridge the gap between theory and practice.
An accurate evaluation of oneself might be very difficult which the Dunning-Kruger effect ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ explored. Two ways of overcoming this fact is:
- Keep seeking feedback from more experienced persons on your current level of horsemanship.
- Keep riding well-educated school horses as they can shine a spotlight on your skills gaps.
In summary, seek and add input and feedback from others into your assessment.
I nice quote, I once found was ‘Progress always begins where your comfort zone ends’. Remember that one next time when you move through a difficult situation. These moments can be confronting and frustrating but are the moments of truth. How you overcome these hurdles are a direct reflection of your current state of horsemanship and provide valuable insight into your growth and development as a horseman.
Use this assessment as a roadmap for improvement. Take note of the areas where you feel confident and knowledgeable, as well as the areas where you may be lacking. This will help you set realistic and beneficial goals for the upcoming year. Embrace the process of growth and continue striving to enhance your relationship with your equine partner.
Enhancing Your Relationship with Your Equine Partner
Now that you have celebrated your achievements, learned from your difficulties and failures, it’s time to focus on enhancing your relationship with your equine partner. This is where the true magic of horsemanship happens – building a strong and trusting bond that allows you to communicate and work together seamlessly and with grace. But how do you come up with a script for this new chapter of your journey?
Use your findings and start researching, reaching out to more experienced horseman and explore ways of improvement – techniques and methods that fill the gap you have in your toolkit. FTP Coaching can provide you with an individually designed plan for improvement tailored to you and your horse for as little as $99 – Contact us if you interested.
Another great resource is the Equine Research Foundation supports non-invasive research aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the learning, cognitive and perceptual capabilities of horses. The purpose of the non-profit Equine Research Foundation is to further scientific and public knowledge about the learning abilities of horses, and their behaviour, training, care and welfare.
Setting Realistic Goals for the New Year
Setting realistic goals for the new year is a crucial step in continuing your journey of growth and improvement as a horseman. You now have the necessary information to dive right into some goal setting.
Let’s recap:
- We now know what works and what doesn’t work in your training and relationship with your equine partner.
- We know the areas that we need to focus on and will prioritise them based on greatest impact on overall growth and development of yourself and your horse in our goal setting session.
- We know if you need to refine a specific technique or rethink it completely.
- We know what theory you might need to read up on to support your practice and be able to walk the talk.
So, what do you do now? Take all the insights and reflections you’ve gathered and write down your high-level goals for the upcoming year, making sure they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and ‘somewhat’ time-bound (SMART goals).
Connect these to the a ‘Why’ that motivates you and break your goals down into smaller, actionable steps that are manageable to get done so you stay motivated. Make sure you identify your priorities amongst it all to limit procrastination and getting sidetracked. More about setting some balanced and achievable goals for next year in the next blog.
I leave you with a quote: Any goal is possible as long as the horse is in charge of the principles and the timeline (by Pat Parelli).
Merry Christmas and see you for some goal setting in the New Year!
Happy Celebrations!!!
Gaby
