Angie Dickson Finn
By Ange Dickson Finn
If you’re a trainer or riding instructor, I have a quiz for you:
- How many times has your client or student told you he/she was nervous?
- How many times have you responded with a soothing statement like, “Don’t be nervous”?
- One more question: how’s that workin’ for ya?
Chances are, it’s not. Probably, in spite of your reassuring words, your client’s nerves don’t go away. So how would you like to have a concrete plan to help students and clients be more relaxed instead of anxious or fearful?
Fear is the Godzilla of horseback riding. It’s a monster that tears up the skills and abilities that you’ve carefully constructed with your rider and his horse. And nothing seems to stop it.
That’s because fear in humans, just like in horses, occurs at the non-rational level. You can offer rational reassurance or advice, but the rider’s rational brain is not in control. His reactive brain is. When he’s afraid, he’s experiencing the flight/fight/freeze reaction.
To handle fear effectively-whether you are helping a rider regain his confidence after a horse accident, or coaching a client facing a big competition-you need to have techniques to short circuit your rider’s flight/fight/freeze reaction before
the fear Godzilla does a number on all those carefully practiced skills. Relaxation Tapping can do the job.
Three of the most common types of fears for riders are:
- Physical fear
- “Social” fear/show nerves that usually arise when the rider is in competition, being judged or is fearful of making a mistake in public, and
- Performance anxiety which, for this purpose, means the anxiety associated with having difficulty performing a certain skill on horseback.
In this tip, I’ll discuss physical fear, explain the typical “signature” of physical fear, and give you some very quick, effective tools based on acupressure, neuroscience and biofeedback techniques, to help your rider fight it. These tips are from Relaxation Tapping, a self-help method for taming fear and reaching peak performance. To learn more about it, and get tips for handling all three types of common fears listed above, visit www.ride-without-fear.com.
Make sure your rider is well hydrated
before doing this work, for the best muscular and mental function and stamina. Our body’s electrical system depends on water to carry the communications of the nervous system to muscles, and also for nerve impulses to work correctly in the brain.
Which Kind of Fear Are You Dealing With in Your Rider?
Physical Fear
What It Is: Bodily fear of being in danger. This brings out the strongest flight/freeze response in the rider. Occurs at a completely visceral level, and involves the autonomic nervous system.
What causes it: Usually, a bad experience, extreme inexperience, or being overfaced for the rider’s skill level. The body is warning you that you’re putting yourself in a dangerous situation.
Typical signs: Racing or pounding heart, sweaty palms or cold hands, holding the breath, moderate to extreme bodily tension in the rider. Eyes fixed or glazed, may not make eye contact, may focus only on the horse. The more afraid the rider is, the less he or she will be able to hear your instructions or act on them. This is because in a physical fear situation, the rational brain (frontal lobes of the brain) stops working while the reactive brain (limbic system) takes over, to facilitate quick reaction time if needed (much like a horse!).
Fast Fear Fix: Typically, treating physical fear issues requires many small steps as you build the rider’s confidence. While teaching him/her to be safe on the horse, you can speed up the process with one breathing technique and one acupressure technique
First, try to pin down exactly when the rider’s fear peaks by talking her through what she’s going to do on her horse before she does it. Have her tell you, or take care to notice from her face and body, when the fear reaction kicks in as you’re talking.
As soon as the fear reaction begins, have the rider do two things.
1) Take deep slow breaths, concentrating on getting the breath all the way to the belly and on dropping the shoulders
on the exhale. If the rider is standing, have him pay special attention to feeling his feet on the ground while breathing. If mounted, have him concentrate on feeling his seatbones in the saddle and feet in the stirrup. This interrupts his fear response and gives his rational brain a chance to begin functioning again.
2) Using the first two fingers of one hand, have him tap the inside wrist on the other hand just below the wrist creases (or about one inch below where the palm ends) several times. This can be done on either wrist or both. Keep breathing while tapping. This is an acupressure technique to calm fear. If the rider has become so afraid that he’s frozen and not hearing you or carrying out your instruction, you might try gently taking his wrist and tapping the point for him.
The rider should feel less afraid after these two exercises and should be able to move on to the next step of what he’s doing on or with the horse. At each point where the fear reaction peaks, have him stop and repeat the above steps before moving on.
These tips are drawn from Relaxation Tapping, a self-help method that can help defeat fear and remove performance blocks. To learn more, visit www.ride-without-fear.com
or email info@ride-without-fear.com.
Ange Dickson Finn biographical information
Ange Dickson Finn is a freelance writer, and Relaxation Tapping technique teacher. She shows a half-Arabian palomino in Western Pleaure, and is learning to ride English and jump. Visit her at www.ride-without-fear.com. View her profile on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/angefinn.
