CANTERING
WITH CONFIDENCE
Faye Low
Equestrian Confidence & NLP Performance Coach
©Faye Low Coaching Company Limited
Canter
That dreaded word that sends the less than confident quaking in their boots
and all sorts of crazy thoughts start flocking in the brain.
But why? Especially when you’ve been riding for many years and have tons of
experience.
Let’s look at this from two different angles.
What the brain is saying? And,
How the body is reacting?
The Brain:
Lacking confidence means that we are plugged into “problems”. What could
happen? Or, what might happen? Even if it’s a long shot you never know it
just could happen!
Canter is the fastest pace! Yes yes I know you are thinking No it’s not gallop is.
However, canter develops into gallop. So in your head you are fearing the
canter just in case it develops into a bolt and a flat out gallop.
Over time you have filled your brain with lots of information about what could
go wrong. You have provided evidence to your brain on situations that have
gone wrong i.e. friends who have had accidents, seeing it in the magazines, on
the TV, hearing it on the News etc. You’ve made the fear real in your eyes!
Remember the key here is whatever you in-put into your brain is information
that your brain can out-put and reflect back to you at whatever time you wish
to use it based on your question?
If your question to your brain is “canter means that my horse is going to bolt
off” then your brain will shuffle through its filing cabinet and show you all the
files it has on canter, running off bad experience etc.
As a visual effect think about the Google search box and enter the search
words “fast canter” and then what do you think Google will bring back to you?
I bet it isn’t a nice slow controlled paced one.
If your focus is on the problems and what could happen. Then your brain is
going to reflect to you evidence to support that theory.
The Body
Remember that every Thought has an attached Feeling and a subsequent
Behaviour. If your thought is ‘I’m scared of cantering’ your body will
automatically give you the associated feeling and behaviour.
Let’s do this exercise:
Sit in a chair with your feet flat against the floor and you are sitting upright.
Now place your palms face down under your seat bones.
Notice how that feels.
Now imagine you are on your horse and you are about to ask for canter and
you are worried he might bolt off.
What can you feel on your hands?
What are your legs doing?
Where do you feel the emotion?
Usually you can feel your seat bones dig into your hands, your legs tighten and
grip and you feel anxious in your chest area.
Your thought has just activated a feeling and a behaviour.
The Horse
When you are on your horse and you are doing a nice little trot but you start
thinking ‘OMG I’m going to ask for canter’. As soon as you think of the ‘C’
word your body has the automatic response as above, which is fear. This
means that before you’ve even progressed with the canter you have sent your
horse a massive signal that something is about to happen and it scares you.
You are gripping with your legs, you are blocking with your seat bones and
your heart is beating a million to 1 which remember your horse can sense.
He is now on high alert!
You throw yourself into canter and you hang on to the reins, he panics hollows
his back and then rushes off.
It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that something bad was going to happen
and in all honesty because of your thinking process you called this to you.
Where focus goes energy flows!
Your focus was on OMG I’ve got to ask for canter and your thoughts were
linked to all the problems that could happen. So guess what? You had a bad
canter experience.
We have examined the process for why bad canters sometimes happen for a
less than confident rider.
Now let’s focus on how you can get really good at cantering. To make it easy
I’m going to section each part.
Achieving a Great Canter
Rule No.1
Ask, Believe, Receive
Ask for the canter and believe it’s going to happen just as you want it to, then
let it come to you.
Feeding the brain:
The first thing we need to do is feed the brain with the information that we
want it to focus on.
We want to focus on a lovely smooth gentle canter. So let’s gather some
evidence for it.
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Watch friends riding
Watch professionals on TV
Read articles
Look at pictures
Practise on a simulator
Here are some You Tube Video links of some people cantering to get your
started. Feel free to find your own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNrNDXg8AWU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kebnBiDYh90
Now I know you are all letting your brains go haywire and focusing on
problems and one being but I’m not a professional and they have trained
horses etc.
Remember because you are less than confident you are picking out problems
to justify your situation. Just pop those thoughts out of your head for now and
only let’s focus (send energy to) what we want instead.
Your only focus that you are allowed to send thoughts about is that you are
watching and inputting the actual canter into your brain. Nothing else. Just
watch and input everything about the canter.
Watch and feel the rhythm of the canter and say it in a rhythmic way in time
with the canter. Say can-ter, can-ter, can-ter and feel it.
Imagine yourself sitting on that horse and being the rider and focus on the
smoothness and the rhythm.
Watch your chosen video daily for at least 7 days doing all of the above.
This will set a rhythm and stride in your mind and create a new neural
pathway, i.e. your brain will already think it has done it before.
Feel it
This may sound daft but a good thing to do is practice the canter transition at
home (without your horse). By building a process in your head and learning to
control your thoughts off your horse you can then try it on your horse.
Remember visualisation and neural pathways!
With the curtains shut and no one else in the room I want you to walk around
and then jog (this is your trot) and then we are going to canter (this is
skipping).
You aim is to control the feelings and to have mental preparation. Technically
what we are doing is creating a thought (canter) and attaching it to a new
feeling and a new behaviour.
Walk around your room and as you walk I want you to mentally prepare
yourself for the trot transition, stay relaxed and up to trot (jog). Then mentally
prepare for the canter (skipping). Use the process below for your mental
preparation
Rising trot focus on the rhythm 1-2 1-2 1-2 everything stays the same keep the
energy the same.
Sitting trot relaxed focus on the rhythm everything stays the same keep the
energy low sit deep.
Mentally tell yourself you are only asking the transition nothing else just the
transition and everything stays the same.
Ask for canter move into a smooth transition focus on the rhythm can-ter canter can-ter. Everything stays the same, relax legs, relax seat.
When you feel ready come back to trot but keep everything the same keep the
rhythm the same focus on the beat of the rhythm.
Again from sitting trot ask for canter keep the rhythm and keep relaxed let
yourself move with your horse can-ter can-ter can-ter try for a little bit further
keep your weight in your seat and not in your hands.
Relax and focus on the keeping the rhythm the same and back to trot
Do this a few times around your living room. Count out loud if need be go from
1-2 rhythm of trot and move to the can-ter can-ter rhythm.
You are creating a neural pathway in your brain which is to focus and tune into
the rhythm of trot to canter which is generating a new feeling of being in
control and relaxed and behaviour which is relaxed and not tense.
Practise this loads until you feel you are keeping everything the same but you
are mentally asking for canter and back to trot easily and your focus is on the
rhythm and relaxed seat.
Training your horse so that he understands
I’m a big believer in teaching your horse what you mean on the ground first
and then transferring it to the saddle.
With this in mind lunging is a great tool as it gets your horse accustomed to
your voice and energy on the ground first. This takes the pressure of him and
you can visibly see what he’s doing.
But the best part is if you train him to a word he will recognise that and give
you canter so you have less pressure to apply the aids and get it right.
Lunge your horse and start training transitions trot to canter. Give him a verbal
voice cue mine is “and… canter” I use the ‘and’ as a preparation to “this is what
is coming” and it gives him time to mentally engage and prepare to strike off.
This works a treat ridden as I give the ‘and’ just before sitting trot then as soon
as I sit and give the aids he is ready to canter and off we go.
Teach trot to canter transitions on both reins use the same voice cue and use
energy to push him forward but control the speed don’t let him run off
likewise don’t let him slip down to doing nothing. Think forward!
Remember your rhythm even say it out loud can-ter can-ter can-ter and then
who hoo for a slowing down to trot.
Your body language can be upright pushing forward and then on the transition
down your slow yourself down and hunch over a little. I sometimes imagine my
body as a wave pushing up for the up transition and then the wave washing
out for the downwards transition.
Let’s Do it
Now let’s come to riding the canter. Firstly nothing changes from above except
the fact that you are now on your horse.
Practise your trot so that you have a rhythm of 1-2 and it is controlled at a nice
pace and your horse feels relaxed. Carry on doing this on a 20 metre circle.
Your next focus is all we are asking for is the canter transition in rhythm
nothing else. So after the transition you can come straight back down if you
wish to trot or you can go with the flow but what we are focusing on is a
rhythmic transition from 1-2 to can-ter.
Keep a nice 20 m circle and a nice rhythm. When you feel like you are relaxed
sitting trot and ask remember focus rhythm and focus on everything is the
same. Relax when you are ready come back to rising trot and carry on with the
20 metre circle get organised with your thinking and then repeat. Come back
down. Get organised ask again.
By doing transitions in this way we are flooding the brain that canter is not a
big deal and all we are doing is asking for the transition in a relaxed way and
then back. So we have control it is not going out of hand everything stays in
our box of relaxedness.
Then set yourself a target ask for 10 strides of canter and then back to trot
keeping the rhythm and focus at all times. Nothing else. Keep your thoughts
locked on rhythm and pace. Block everything else
Sing a song if need be in time with the canter.
Hey guess what?
You are cantering!!
This is what you need to work on from now on. Keeping relaxed in rhythm.
Repetition is the mother of all things for you and your horse.
The more you do it and it’s not a big deal the easier it becomes and the more
confident you become.
Your horse will start to tune into your aids and become more relaxed as you
become more relaxed.
Practise makes perfect!
Happy Cantering!!!
Disclaimer:
This document has been written by Faye Low and is the result of many years of research and study.
We hope that you will benefit from it and that you enjoy using the information.
This information is given to help the reader become self-aware and for them to be able to help
themselves move forward by giving information which the reader can then action.
This document is protected by worldwide copyright laws.
Whilst composing this document the greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the
information contained herewith.
Faye Low cannot be held responsible for any incorrect information in this document. Faye Low is not
responsible for any damages arising whether directly or indirectly from any inaccuracies, omissions
and/or misuse of the information herein.
Faye Low is not responsible for the improper use of any of the training concepts and techniques. You
are reminded to use your judgement when riding your horse. Please wear the correct riding
equipment and ride a suitable healthy horse.
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© Faye Low, Horse Confidence is a company owned by Faye Low Coaching Company Limited