Hypnotherapy for horse riders

You and your horse. It’s simple, it’s complex. You know that most of the time, in most ways, you and your horse get on just fine. You’re the best of buddies. But that can all change in an instant.

It’s deep deep in your horse’s psyche. Why? Your horse is a prey animal. For thousands of years, its success has depended on flight for survival. 

We think of it as a horse that spooks. They think of it as self-preservation. Being super sensitive animals you may not notice what’s made them jumpy, but you live with the consequences. They become nervous in certain situations - you become stressed. And part of this self-preservation is their ability to ‘read’ you, the rider. They can tell if you’re tense or anxious.

Eight ways your horse can surprise you

1. Something, anything, just brushes against your horse and it swerves. It becomes jumpy and you’re not ready. Remember horses are extremely sensitive all over.
2. You’re going round and round and round the riding school when suddenly your horse decides to swerve because a pole has been moved, or a pigeon flies out of the rafters.
3. Yet again your horse proves it can move faster than you. You’re out on the road a cyclist goes past and as they slow (yes, they do sometimes) their bike makes a different noise, a mechanical whirr. Your horse moves suddenly to see where the noise is coming from. You’re not ready. And boom. A second later you’re on the tarmac.
4. It’s windy. Leaves blow across your horse’s path. In the leaves is a shiny chocolate wrapper. Boom! Your horse is off. And hopefully, you’re on.
5. Being a creature of habit it doesn’t like new. New hack paths. New fences. New horses around it at a cross country event. Maybe they’ll explore, or maybe they’re ready to flee.
6. Your horse has got into the habit of biting. You don’t know when, but it feels it has the upper hand and can nip wherever it chooses. You go to tighten the girth and unexpectedly it turns and chomps on you.
7. You’ve fallen at a particular fence. Your horse senses that all is not well. Time and time again it swerves, or refuses. You need to relax and show you’re in control.
8. Sadly nothing is for ever. All things must pass. There comes a time when there’s a bereavement. How do you take away the hurt of loss. All that’s left is an empty stable and a saddle and blanket gathering dust in the tack room.

How does hypnotherapy help?

Being incredibly sensitive animals you need to be aware of your own mood. Why? Horses can often mirror, or respond to these cues. For example, if you approach a horse with a calm and confident energy, your horse is more likely to feel at ease and trust you. On the other hand, if you are anxious, tense, or agitated your horse will pick this up.

Hypnotherapy helps you maintain your calmness around your horse, making it more likely that you can create a harmonious and productive relationship with your horse. 

Basically, you’re building trust - and building your own confidence. If you calm down your own anxieties, you soothe your horse and you both can gradually resume riding out happily together.

What is hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is a way to relax deeply. And when you relax deeply you change your ability to be more aware, focused and concentrate more.

In effect, whatever has happened to you and your horse you have the ability to process this to be simply events and learnings. You’re taking away, or dialling down, your stresses and anxieties. And your horse recognises this.

Or to put it another way you’re using hypnosis to change your state of mind for the better - that’s the ‘therapy’ bit. And changing how you think feel and act for the better gives it another name - cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy. It’s a way of handing you a tool kit for your mind, to be calm and more aware of situations. You’re more likely to ‘think ahead’, ‘see things coming’, and react calmly to whatever surprise your horse has in store for you. And you know this better that anyone.