Figure 4-5: Avoid tension in your neck by tilting your head in several directions in .NET

Creating QR Code in .NET Figure 4-5: Avoid tension in your neck by tilting your head in several directions

Horseback riding is as much a mental activity as it is a physical one Not only do you need your brain to coordinate your body so you can balance and send signals to the horse, but you also need to maintain a mental attitude that gives the horse confidence and helps her see you as the one in charge In the following sections, I explain how to conquer fears you may have and project confidence around any horse

If you think about it, the fact that horses allow people to ride them is pretty amazing After all, they re a lot bigger than we are and could just buck us off and run away at any given time But they don t, and there are good reasons for that

Horses live in complex social hierarchies, with leaders and followers Horses are therefore genetically programmed to accept the leadership of whoever seems to be in control Because domestic horses are raised with humans and learn (or should learn) that people are the ones in control, they automatically defer to human leadership Although horses naturally view people as leaders, they re smart and quickly figure it out when someone doesn t really have the chops to be in charge Some horses are bossy by nature (these are the ones who d be the leaders in the wild) and may quickly decide that you aren t qualified to be the leader Be confident and consistent when you re dealing with horses, whether on their backs or on the ground Be gentle but firm, and insist that the horse listen to you Avoid the tendency to let the horse get away with stuff For example, if you ask the horse to stand still while your instructor is talking to you, make sure your mount doesn t walk off until you cue her to do so If you allow her to do whatever she feels like doing instead of listening to your commands, you ll soon be riding a horse who thinks she s the boss And what are the consequences of having a horse who thinks she s head honcho The vast majority of horses would rather be in a stall or pasture eating or hanging out with their friends than working You can t blame them for that If they believe they re the ones in charge, you ll soon find yourself doing what the horse wants to do And chances are it won t be what you had in mind

If you rode as a child, you probably remember having no fear sitting on top of a large animal and trusting her with your well-being But things change as you get older, and fear can begin to creep into your psyche I have childhood memories of galloping along the trail on my mare, sans saddle, and not having a care in the world Now, when I gallop on the trail, a twinge of fear looms in my mind, telling me that something bad may happen If you re like many adult riders, you want to ride but are also afraid of getting hurt Maybe the change happens because as adults, people have others who depend on them to stay in one piece Adults also have an acute awareness of what can happen to victims of riding accidents The story of actor Christopher Reeve s paralysis comes to mind If you re about to start horseback riding (or have already started) and are feeling fearful, take heart Being nervous is normal However, that s not to say you should ignore the feeling Fear can hold you back, affect your ability to enjoy what you re doing, and in some cases, also frighten your horse (Some sensitive equines assume that if their rider is scared, they should be, too See 2 if you want to find out more about how horses think)