Don Jessop
Here are two fun mental games to play with yourself to help get back in the saddle.
Game one:
When you close your eyes and think about riding, what do you see? Do you rehash an old injury, or imagine the worst, or just feel yucky about it? If so, you're reinforcing negative associations to riding. Try this instead...
When you close your eyes imagine a beautiful scene in front of you. Green pastures, snowcapped mountains, great friends, sun all around, whatever is peaceful and calm, and you're sitting on your horse.
Then... Imagine dismounting your horse to take some photos of this beautiful place.
Then... Immediately open your eyes when you see the image on your phone.
Opening your eyes at the right time matters for this game. Play the game many, many, many times over until its super easy to imagine your fine and pleasant experience that's completely within your control.
Why does this help? It's called "anchoring" in psychology. Most often, when riders start avoiding riding it's because they have negative anchor patterns. In horse training we call it ending on a low note. It happens all to easy. Take a look. Close your eyes, see something unfun, and then open your eyes because you don't want to focus on it internally. Ironically, opening your eyes ends the process on a low note in that scenario. This next time, do it differently, try again. Open your eyes only when you see the positive experience, and its within your control. End on a high note with your own imaginations and notice how your whole outlook changes.
Game two:
Reward yourself for getting out with your horse. This one's fun. What's your favorite treat? Mine's peanut MnM's. If I find myself getting out less and less for whatever reason, I strategically head out to the barn with a bag of my favorite treats and pop and few tasty morsels into my own mouth as I saddle, warmup, and get on to ride. It's a game, not a promise. Play it and have some fun. Make it your own with your own treats and rewards. Incentive to do more of the thing you love comes from stacking positive experiences around it.
Of course, you could focus on all the "shoulds" you have about riding, but that's just stacking more blah blah feelings about the whole endeavor. Make it fun, make it a game, and make sure to write to me one day and tell me how you're riding again because of this article.
Love you all, dear readers. Get out there and stack up the small wins.
Don
​PS. Want real technical support. Click here to Join our new course. It's called the Beginners Guide, and it will change your life one foundation step upon another.
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