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Dissolving Tension in a rider

3K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  xxBarry Godden 
#1 ·
Tension the enemy of all horse riders.​
Some riders who have experienced a bad fall develop a problem with tension and its consequences. Riding a horse is all about maintaining control of the horse and staying up on the horse’s back. Style is fine but it is the alert, relaxed, confidence of the rider that counts. What permits we humans to ride a horse is that part of the brain which controls the muscles and provokes the instinctive responses that counter the forces of motion and gravity which are constantly trying to unseat us.
However there is one emotion in all of us which can bring us to the ground namely: tension. Unfortunately the horse can readily sense any stiffening up or rigidity in the rider and the result is that the sensitive horse itself may become nervous. A tense rider, whose muscles and ligaments have tightened, cannot so readily absorb and redirect the significant forces of motion and gravity generated by a skittish horse. Indeed such forces will be projected and even magnified by any tension in the rider. A rider who is tense is at risk of falling.


My DiDi is a skittish, fizzy mare who, when out on a hack, is constantly thinking of shying at anything from a plastic bag to a bird flying up from a hedge. Following a serious fall a couple of years ago, the problem for me ever since has been to relax. I know a shy will be coming at some stage on the outing; although I also know that it will not be anything that I can’t handle. Nevertheless I start to stiffen up in anticipation. Instinctively the horse senses the change in my posture. My posture loses flexibility, I tilt just a little forwards as body weight is transferred to the stirrup bars; my hands harden; I begin to grip with my thighs. My voice takes a different tone. I am nowadays well aware that suppressed anger is as much a trigger for tension as anger itself.
As a result of my tension the mare lifts her head and her ears ***** up. She too is starting to become tense and fearful of what her master might be fearful of.
The circle has joined - we should think of going home.


So how do I resist getting just a little anxious then jittery, then angry and then tense?
How do I break the circuit?
How do I tell my sub conscious brain not to worry?

When learning to fly I was told to wiggle my toes to avoid gripping the yoke and much to my surprise the suggestion worked.

Are there any such quick solutions for dissolving tension when riding a horse? Any suggestions?


Barry G
 
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#2 ·
Singing is good...... or reciting something they know by heart ie. their phone number or address... mentally block out surroundings..... imagine having a massage.


personally i sing, and it relaxes a tense horse too! they fell calm when you talk to them... or you can even try having a conversation (if your all alone it can even be good to release your troubles to someone) take the weight off your shoulders from life and the tension , and the tension you get fro trying not to be tense ;)
 
#3 ·
Ditto to the singing. I more "imagine" music, and hear it in my head (I have such a pitiful singing voice that it would spook the horse anyway :lol:). Also, if I feel myself tensing, I'll run through my mental "equitation checklist," going through my position, top to bottom, injecting "breathe" between each point, and finish by focusing on feeling the horse, counting the hoofbeats, feeling which foot has just raised, which foot has just landed, and moving with that feeling. I don't like to totally block my surroundings, more stay equally aware of my surroundings, and "amplify" the horse, if that makes sense...
 
#4 ·
i have this as well and have it so bad now that i dont ride anymore, i am intending on learning how to drive. i tried rescue remedy and all other types of things like accupuncture and hypnosis, and it didnt work for me at all. singing ended up with me getting more shakey, and end up crying so i decided it wasnt fair on my horse or on anyone else that might be around me, but try some things that are mentioned in the thread above and see how you get on, i just had three seriuos injuries where i broke both my shoulders and my back and i just lost my nerve
 
#5 ·
Dismount? If mounting back up isn't a problem, walking in-hand is such a relief when things get scary; and after a longish walk, one is often quite eager to get back into the saddle. I find it helps too to remind my horse she's not alone. I find that having a safe option does wonders to relieve stress.
 
#6 ·
I sing but with a twist. My lyrics are something, "I don't feel like dying today. Don't toss my butt in that bush..." The funnier the better. Usually I crack myself up and you can't be stiff if you're laughing.
 
#7 ·
Ha ha, I'm a singer too. :D Though my voice is terrible, anything to keep me off the ground.

My favorites are "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks, "Wildfire" by Micheal Murphy, "Some Hearts" by Carrie Underwood, "So Happy Together" by The Turtles, "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw, and "Heads Caroline, Tails California" by Joe Dee Messina.

My song choices are pretty random, but it still works for me. :D

Another thing is to just simply take a huge breath and walk. Just relax before picking up the trot/canter again.
 
#8 ·
"So Happy Together" by The Turtles
Love this one... it's the perfect tempo for Scout's trot and has a strong beat to help our rhythm!

Anyone know the orchestra tune from the beginning of Mousehunt? That was my tune of choice for my faster gaited gelding. :lol:
 
#9 ·
Now ladies, I very much appreciate the but this singing idea has for me limitations. I can just about manage to remember the words of "Lloyd George knew my father" and "There is an old mill by the stream, Nellie Dean". If I do start singing to DiDi, then she is going to think that I have flipped my lid.
Anyway I am pretty certain that my irritability is going to come through - after all we are talking about voice. I talk to DIDI and I stroke her neck but generally speaking I only talk to her when I sense she is nervous about something. I used to gabble away at Joe but I was told off for doing so - perhaps because I was having lessons from a dressage judge.

The idea of walking in hand does ring a chord though. It is in the human's mind that somehow we come to think that getting off the horse is a sign of weakness. In fact I have dismounted a couple of times in the past but I had waited until I felt it was the final option.
Maybe I should do it more often - after all it gives the horse a break.

DiDi then sees me at head height and if she is nervous then somehow it breaks the spell. It is getting back on without a mounting block which brings the problem. Perhaps I should shrink DiDI down to 14 hands

Come on folks - what works for you?

Barry G
 
#10 ·
I have a thoroughbred that gets freaked out by the sillyest things. and Ive had a bad fall off of him. When I get tensed up like that, I bring him to a halt and take some deep breaths. Breathing in through my nose and out my mouth. I hope this works for you.
 
#11 ·
I have some pretty good tension issues :P I'm used to being flung into walls/rafters/etc.. so when a horse starts acting up I get nervous.
Singing for me is not an option. Neither is dismounting. It would be more than a little rude to start singing, humming, or thinking about something either than what my coach is saying during a $100/hr lesson, let alone dismounting!

What has worked the best for me is kind of like meditating. If you think about it, our position on horse back is much like posturing on a yoga mat. Have a mantra for yourself to help you to relax by moving your body into a correct posture. Not only does focusing on something else help you relax, it really helps your equitation.
For me the biggest thing that helps is opening my chest by bringing my shoulders back and driving them to my hips. Then bringing my legs back from the hips and sitting into the saddle and "plugging in" to the horse. Another thing that is good for lower body tension is to softly bring the whole leg off the horse from the hip and bring it back down to rest again on the horse's side, hopefully in a better position.

Good luck!
 
#12 ·
I regularly trail ride a horse that likes to occasionally throw a bunny hop or stop and turn on a dime or jump off to the side when a random butterfly startles him. This resulted in me once being thrown and landing on my tailbone (OWW!)- which was totally my fault, because we were cantering on a trail and all was great and I allowed my self to get too complacent and loose in the saddle. As a result, when something startled him, he spooked by stooping suddenly and whipping around and I went flying over.

The point is that it is a smart idea to ride in a manner that is ready for something to go wrong, especially on a spook prone horse. But the distinction is that it's not a matter of getting loose or "relaxed", it is a matter of learning to ride with attention but not tension. It is a matter of putting yourself in a physical and mental frame of mind that is keyed into the signals your horse is sending you, so you can respond at a moments notice by tightening your legs extra, or sitting more deeply or collecting your reins. By focusing on your horse and not yourself, you should be less likely to tense up because you're not in your head thinking about tensing or not tensing - which as we all know can create a self-fulfilling spiral.

What I've been doing, and it works for me, rather than tightening up in anticiation of something going wrong, is to think of sitting deeply into my saddle, stretching down through my legs and heels into my stirrups (almost like a dressage seat). Even when my reins are slack, I maintain enough contact with the horse so that I can quickly collect my reins. If I feel my arms or shoulders getting tense, I shake them out - just a quick shrug to help reset everything.

Ive found that when I'm in such a position, even when my horse throws something funny at me, I'm prepared to deal with it - even more so than if I'd been riding as a ball of tension - because I am solid in my seat and balanced on the horse and also because I can often feel the action coming a split scond before it happens. Plus, it is an enjoyable way to ride (I think for both you and the horse) because it really helps you tune out of yourself and into the horse.

And the best part is...no warbling is required. :)
 
#13 · (Edited)
As we walk down the slope to the gates of the yard, she will drop a hip.
My brain will react and I shall adjust.

As we turn right along the lane, she'll suddenly reach down to have a little stretch.
My brain says - "it is going to be one of those days"

As we mosey along past the horses in the field along to the right, a bird will suddenly fly up from the hedge. My girl will do a little hop.
My brain says: "What's that?"

A few yards further on, she'll give a slight hesitation
, her head will be turned to the left up towards the cows in the field.
My brain thinks ; "she's going to do it ]again, any minute"
I'll tense. I'll adjust to a slightly firmer seat.
My feel will move just a degree or two higher.
My hands will shorten the reins
And a quiver will come from those muscles in the under thigh.

So My Girl then says : " What's the Old Man nervous about?"

So she'll tense and I, up on top, will feel her tensing up.

So I'll tense a little more

So she'll tense a little more

So I'll watch and wait

So, she'll watch

And then a truck will come round the corner.

etc
etc

And there was me thinking that singing: 'Lloyd George knew my Father' would help.

Finally we meet the tractor, with the dog in the cab, towing a trailer, in which is a stack of rattling metal gates loaded on top of each other; followed by a car filled with barking dogs; just as a helicopter flies over head and a plastic bags flies along in the wind and a chainsaw starts up over in the woods.

And I get off, cos I am old and frail. And she is laughing, cos I am mad.

No I didn't get a glass of red today.

B G
 
#14 ·
Ahh, I see. You are forgetting something very important......relaxing in between the exciting moments. Every time you have a tense moment, you have to remember to dial it back down once the moment is past. If she sees cows, stop and let her look for a moment, breathe deeply and wait until you are both relaxed to move forward. If she hops at a bird, once you have her under control again, stop and wait until you are both re-relaxed for a moment before moving on. If you make a conscious effort to make sure you are both as relaxed as possible, maybe things will smooth out. If you don't allow the tension to build and build and build with every incident and instead make sure you keep resetting back to neutral before you both turn into a tingling ball of nerves, then maybe you can stop the spiral.

If that doesn't work, maybe just finding a buddy to ride with who has a nice quiet horse? Sometimes horses are more relaxed when they have a buddy.
 
#15 ·
PoohLP

Buddy? - there isn't one horse on the yard that can keep up with her.

I,ve bought her a new $100 Myler bit.
She has had 2 treatments by a pretty young physio thats $175
She's been looked over by a young handsome vet
Her saddle has been restuffed. that was $90 & a 4 hour journey

And I have swopped her stable blanket for a thick quilted one with a waterproof cover that was being kept for the cold weather,

and she's got sugar beet for the first time for months in her tea.

She's got no excuses now.

I am reliably told she has stopped reaching down. That's a start.

We'll see.

I'll try memorising the words of another song other than Lloyd George,

BG
 
#16 ·
My main technique for releasing tension is stretching.

During our warm up, or if I'm having a particularly hard time with Dilly and getting her to relax, I go loose rein and stretch my shoulders, my back. I kick my feet from my stirrup, stretch my feet down, rotate my ankles. I breathe deeply and rhythmically.

It helps so much.
 
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