As human beings, we all have our insecurities. In the horsemanship world, insecurities happen when we get in a streak of bad runs, when we have a bad practice before the rodeo, or when we haven’t developed the confidence we need with a certain horse. Insecurity not only affects us in every day life, but it adversely affects our horsemanship as well. When we aren’t able to devote time to our personal horses and sharpening our competitive skills, it affects our mindset and performance. Whether it be our careers or family obligations that get in the way of our normal practice routine, we tend to develop insecurities that let us fall back into bad habits. Anticipating and micro-managing your horse’s every move is an example of a bad habit caused by insecurity. Your horse is like a chamelion. It will transform based on what you ask it to do. Horses don’t learn from pressure. They learn from release. So, you have to let them have the release. Even if you know the next step may be followed by a mistake, you have to let it happen. Then, you can correct it. The fastest way to confuse your horse is to correct a problem before it happens. If you anticipate a problem and cue your horse accordingly, your horse won’t know what they are supposed to be doing. Don’t be afraid to trust your horse. It is okay to allow them to make a mistake. Over time, your horse will learn your style of communication and will understand how to avoid making mistakes. Most of the time, mistakes with our horses are caused by our own mistakes as trainers. If you want to sharpen your own skills (and, in turn, your horse’s performance), you have to be willing to get uncomfortable. Making these small changes in your performance is not going to be part of your normal routine. It is not going to feel “safe” or comfortable. But, until you let yourself get uncomfortable, the correct actions are never going to feel comfortable. Maybe, getting out of your comfort zone means dropping your hands a little bit. Maybe, it means relaxing your legs. Or, maybe, it means being more aggressive. Whatever it is, you must be willing to analyze your own performance and recognize what uncomfortable steps you might have to take to get to that next level. In doing this, you might be opening yourself up to frustration and embarrassment—but, that is okay. Anytime you feel like you have failed, embrace that, because it means you’re growing.

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