false horse tails Horsemen

The first step being to decide your personal motives for riding, ask yourself these questions as often as you can: What do I want from riding? What do I want from myself when I ride? What do I want for myself?

tip from Emily - For highlighter use a little bit of Vaseline for around the horses eyes, muzzle, and inside the ears. Because it is cheaper and it is not prone to sunburn like Baby oil

This fear causes muscle tension, negative self-talk, loss of focus, and an accompanying array of other harmful thoughts that stand in the way of achieving their own peak performance.

Riding is not only about winning and losing, its also about being in touch with yourself and finding your unique talents and abilities. Think of riding as a metaphor for empowerment, a metaphor for concentration, a metaphor for the strength we all have but dont think we do.

All of this occurs because we expect perfection from ourselves.

When a mistake is made it is important to learn to forgive yourself because you are only human. You must not let these imperfections, either large or small, to get the best of you.

tip from Emily ~ Are you wanting to make your horses coat as shiny as possible? Feed them flax seed.. it is found at Wal-Mart or Kroger... it is cheaper then coat enhancing supplements and it works better.... if you want to make it a more fun and rewarding treat for your horse.. make oatmeal cookies with flax seed in them... they LOVE them!

Once a rider demands of him or herself that they be perfect, it is a downward spiral from there. Not only do they judge themselves against a lse ideal, but they become convinced that other people expect them to be perfect as well. The end result is that the rider feels an extraordinarily unnatural and unhealthy amount of pressure when competing before a crowd. The rider becomes afraid of a mistake because of the ct that it may reveal them as being less than perfect.

Riders believe that it is imperative to nail the perfect spot on the first fence, to perform flawless transitions, and to have perfect lead changes each and every time. When, once in a while, we dont perform perfectly, we feel frustrated, embarrassed, and humiliated. Our performance then goes downhill very st from there as we start to berate and reject ourselves right there in the riding ring.

Perhaps you started out in equestrian sports because you loved horses. Perhaps you took it up for exercise. Maybe it was the competition that originally attracted you. Many equestrians after riding for a while, however, lose sight of their original intent and get caught up in the negative aspects of competition.

To reduce breakage of your horses braided tail, start braiding it at the top, using a French braid; then use a long cover such as support stockings (hose) so you dont have to fold the braid.

If you are a member of the AQHA, you are entitled to $10 worth of FREE Internet records every month. Sign up for your password and visit the membership section.

tip from Donna Canada ~ After girthing up, go to front legs of your horse &able salt; and vinegar and coat liberally on the skin. The salt actually provides a delightful abrasive to scratch the itch while the buttermilk and vinegar seem to neutralize the poisons that cause the itch

If you happen to chip a fence, or miss a transition, remind yourself that the mistake does not reflect on you as a person or an athlete its the way you respond to that mistake that does.

To overcome the problems that occur because of a poor mind-set, I suggest you look at your riding from a brand new perspective. Take a step back. Realize that you are only human and that people make mistakes. The best athletes in the world and the most successful riders make mistakes as well. Remember that very few performances are flawless.

As soon as you find yourself losing sight of what drew you to riding in the first place, take a moment and picture how excited you were the first time you climbed up on a horse. Remember the sights, sounds, and feelings of that day, and remind yourself how excited and lucky you still are to be involved in such a rewarding activity.