We have our connection with the horse. Now we need to communicate with him to achieve our goals. Not only is communication enabled by the connection but also the right communication can strengthen the connections.
I like to think of a mindset for riding well. There are four parts to this mindset:
(1)Stop thinking about where I should be and focus on where I am now. Take an experimental approach to riding. “I wonder what happens if……” rather than “I must make it like this”;
(2)“C’est pas grave” or in English “it doesn’t matter”. When things go wrong don’t react or blame (yourself or the horse). Just try it again;
(3)Learning from mistakes. Diagnosing what went wrong and why. Trying something different;
(4)No sudden changes. To learn about a system we must test its sensitivity little by little – otherwise we create chaos.