Advanced Western Riding. Kara L Stewart

fewer mistakes simply because they have more experience. Over time, you also will develop the feel, timing, and awareness to know when to quit for the day, when to press for just a little more effort, and when to switch to another task.

      Let’s say you’ve been working on walk-lope transitions, and you just nailed one. Your horse is round, soft, happy, and carrying himself well in a balanced lope. You’re grinning at how great the transition was—no swishing tail, no cranky ears. Your horse just collected himself and stepped into the lope without any hesitation.

      Even though there’s a little voice inside you telling you to end the day on that perfect note, you ignore it. The transition was so perfect, you want to do it again and be sure it wasn’t a fluke. You bring your horse back down to a walk, wait a few strides, then cue again for the lope. This time, he swishes his tail, raises his head, and takes two strides of jog before loping.

      Well, you think you can’t end on that sour note, so you regroup and try again. This time it’s even worse. Now your horse is tight and a little crabby, and you’re really angry at yourself for pushing him through this and negating the perfect transition he gave you ten minutes ago.

      This is a perfect example of the consequences of making a poor decision. Would it have been better if you’d simply quit for the day after the flawless transition? To be honest: Yes, that would have been the best decision.

      However, living in the past and regretting your actions doesn’t help you or your horse. The good news is that horses are pretty resilient and forgiving of honest mistakes. When you make a mistake, move on and be gentle to yourself and your horse. Embrace your mistakes and learn from them, but try your best not to repeat them in the future!

      Be fair and considerate when you interact with your horse, and he will be happy to see you.

      Horses without a confident, decisive rider may demonstrate unwanted behaviors such as rearing, as shown here, out of a feeling of insecurity.

      If you’re working with your horse and nothing seems to be going right or your work is taking a downward spiral, stop and take a deep breath. You may want to dismount and take a break. You can even just call it quits for the day. There’s no harm in starting over again the next day with a calm, fresh mind. In fact, this approach can help you get to your goal faster than if you were to push through and cause a fight.

      You may have heard that you have to win every time you’re with your horse and that he must always do what you’re asking. You also may have heard that he will learn to take advantage of you if you quit before he complies. Actually, you’ll have more ground to make up if you lose your temper and push through an issue or if you frighten your horse and cause him to lose confidence in you. Then you’ll have to go back, fix these issues, and regain lost trust later.

      It’s better to approach training at your horse’s pace. Slow down when you feel he’s getting confused or frustrated. By working calmly through an issue, you will figure it out in a way that makes sense to you and your horse.

      It can also be helpful to remember that, as with any long-term endeavor, your progress in riding may sometimes feel as if you take two steps forward and one step back. That’s OK; you’re still making progress! Take heart that the learning process isn’t always a straight trajectory. In fact, learning is often taking place during the difficult phases; you just can’t see it yet.

      Be Confident and Decisive

      Generally speaking, you’ll be fine if you are confident that what you’re asking of your horse is within reason and within his capabilities, that you are acting with your horse’s best interests in mind, and that you and your horse will be OK.

      Problems can arise when you start doubting yourself and not following through on decisions. You may also become so paralyzed at the fear of doing something wrong that you end up doing nothing at all. These two scenarios can result in undesirable behaviors from your horse.

      If you provide no direction or you waffle about what you’re asking for, your horse might react to your lack of confidence in a variety of ways. He may start making the decisions because he feels safer doing so. He may react explosively to small concerns because he’s not confident you can help him. He may stop doing anything you ask because you lack conviction and he’s not going to do all the work himself. These are just a few of the results that can stem from your lack of confidence or direction.

      So make a decision and act on it. If it doesn’t work out the way you wanted, you can always try something different. The important thing is to have confidence in your decision and to move forward.

      Practice Being the Person You Want to Be

      Who you are in the saddle is the same as who you are out of the saddle. For example, if you spend your day feeling harried and stressed from working at a demanding job and sitting hunched in front of a computer, and if you are unfocused with your family and aggressive toward other drivers on the commute, you’ll bring at least some of these traits with you when you work with your horse. It’s just not possible to flip a switch and become a calm, considerate, patient, thinking person when you go to the barn and saddle up if you don’t practice these traits in the other hours of your day.

      If you tend to be angry and uptight, practice being more considerate and understanding of the people (and animals) around you. If you tend to finish other people’s sentences and rush to conclusions, practice being quiet and listening. If you tend to be aggressive, practice being just assertive instead. And if you tend to be passive, practice being a little more assertive. The end result will be well worth it.

      Have Fun

      It’s a fair guess that you got into the horse hobby because you thought it would be fun. Whether your goals were trail riding, showing, or cattle work, the thought of spending time with a good horse made you happy.

      As you become more advanced and seek to continually improve your skills or even start competing, you may find, surprisingly, that you’re having less fun. This may be because you’ve set higher goals or because you expect more from yourself and your horse than you did in the past.

      Goals and expectations are good things, but it may be time to take a step back if you find yourself becoming overly serious and not having as much fun as you used to. Sometimes, when things don’t seem to go right, it may mean that you’re trying too hard. And if you’re not having much fun, chances are that your horse isn’t having a great time, either!

      Try backing off a little. Just spend time enjoying your horse. Go for a trail ride. Treat him to a great grooming session. Forget your agenda and goals for a few days, and see if you can’t regain the joy you felt when you first started riding.

      You may find that, when you keep your dedication to improvement but let go of the all-or nothing approach, you actually progress further and more quickly because the unnecessary pressure is gone. Go ride and smile! There’s no better way to spend time than with your horse.

      Refine Your Riding

      Advanced western riding isn’t about strength, grip, and force. It’s about allowing movement, influencing it without blocking it, and directing that movement and energy into the outcome you want.

      You can attain this by improving your balance, seat, aids, and cues. In addition, the more you can refine your timing, breathing, focus, awareness, and other subtle aspects of riding, the deeper the partnership you can build with your horse.

      Here are a few areas to explore that will help you increase your riding skills as you continue to advance.

      Developing Better Balance