5 Top Confidence-Busters
1.       An Unstable Posture Nothing makes you loose confidence more than unstable posture.  Just the slightest tilt of your head, with one ear lower than the other, sends signals to the brain that your body isn’t level.  It gives people a ‘sick feeling’, and can really affect your confidence.   Looking down, round shouldered, elbows out in front of you,  heels up, or sitting more on your pubic bone (happens a lot after pregnancy) makes you more unstable and really steals your confidence away. Ask your coach to help you with your posture.  Be honest, tell them you are scared, ask them to put you on the lunge.  Educate yourself, come to watch biomechanics & posture clinics (often they are FREE), look at other sports and other articles and go the extra mile to improve your balance & posture, and your confidence will blossom.
2.       Legs & Heels When your heel comes up and back, your balance just isn't as good, and yoru confidence in your ability to stay on will literally disappear.  A confident leg & heel position is when they are ‘deep and forward’ with the heel down, especially for jumping When your heel comes up and back, not only are YOU unbalanced, but it also spooks and speeds up your horse.  That's why the jumping coach insists  that the heel be down and forward...and the cowboy has exactly the same lower leg to help them stay on. Leg back underneath you is great for 'maximum go & maximum performance' from your horse, but you might not want that.  You might want a more steady & stable ride, and heel down and forward is the way to get it.	3.       Elbows Being pulled forward is one of the easiest ways to come off, and just the feeling of tipping makes you loose confidence.   Often we hear the coach saying keep your elbows  ‘bent’  and keep them back in the traditional European way. The horse can either carry the weight of your arms on the two front feet, or the two back feet.   If they carry them on the front feet, you are putting the horse 'on the forehand'...but worse...your unstable position makes you feel less confident.   Watch this video and see just how far back the elbows have to be...and don't trust yourself.  Get a photo or video of yourself and compare!  You will be surprised how much the elbows affect your balance & confidence.
4.       Fear of Not Turning or Stopping A horse that won’t stop or turn is terrifying to anybody.  Teaching a horse to turn is a big part of developing confidence & control. However, it you get a different result when you ride –vs- when your trainer rides, then look more carefully at their hands.  Do they bring their hand 'out & around', or in towards their tummy? Horses are REAL scary when they don’t turn, and confidence building when they do!   If you turn brining a hand in towards your tummy, the bolting or scary horse won't turn as sharply & obediently as when you bring your hand 'out & around'. To me, this is a MASSIVE safety issue, and turning should be taught to all children before they are allowed in the open.	5.       Fear of Falling Riding can be so much fun if you have no fear of falling.  After all my years of training, I could say that having even 1 or 2 vaulting lessons with a vaulting coach will bring your confidence to a brand new level that you would never believe in such an EASY fun way! And, it’s not just for young gymnasts!  RDA, injured riders and total beginners can all learn to build their confidence in this remarkable way.

 

Teacher Training	Speaking at Your Club	Calendar	Our horses		Free Dressage Music	Lessons	Success Stories	Shop	About Colleen Kelly

©  2010 Colleen Kelly Biomechanics.   www.colleenkelly.net  
All articles & information on this website copyright (unless otherwise indicated) to Colleen Kelly, PO Box 1083, Bacchus Marsh, Vic. Australia.  
All rights reserved.    Last modified: 02/18/10. 
Contact us for general information, or please report any specific website problems to webmaster@colleenkelly.net