Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Confidence With Unpredictability

“The fear of getting hurt isn’t always something you can just get someone to kick on through, no matter how much you believe they and the horse can do what is being asked.”

Welcome to the next installment of Thoroughbred Logic. In this weekly series, Anthropologist and trainer Aubrey Graham, of Kivu Sport Horses, offers insight and training experience when it comes to working with Thoroughbreds (although much will apply to all breeds). This week ride along as Aubrey shares her logic on building confidence in the saddle when the unexpected happens.

I opened my email the other day (which I honestly try to steer clear of at all costs) and was thrilled to see something beyond bills and ads for academic positions that I have no interest in taking. A reader had written in with a lovely note requesting that I maybe write something about how to be “more confident in the saddle during unknown circumstances.” Her point was that she has plenty of riding experience and is solid in the saddle, but the unknown — the what are they going to do when they, for instance, spook — is the challenge.

I have a lot of thoughts on this, but I think the first thing is to get to the category of concern and be able to make the unknown known. If the worry is “I want to know what they’ll do so that I can react correctly,” that’s one thing. If the thought process is “I need to know what they’ll do so I can stay on and not get hurt (again),” that’s a different one. So let’s start there.

This may look like a calm image of Neil (Lute’s Angel) jumping at the Retired Racehorse Project’s TB Makeover, but he landed and leapt into some of the most athletic bucks I have ridden. OK, data point gained, better sit up on landing. Photo by Lauren Kingerly.

Being able to ride through shenanigans is one thing — being concerned… perhaps afraid (though there are, of course, gradations of fear) of the consequences of trying to ride through it is another. I don’t necessarily think these two things are completely mutually exclusive, but they’re nonetheless important to draw out. I’ll spend the majority of the article addressing the first issue — the ability to predict and ride through the ridiculousness. But first, I’ll touch on the concept of fear.

As a trainer, we often deal with gradations of rider fear in some of our students. Meanwhile, for many of us fear is not present (or not as present) while we’re in the irons. It’s a handy thing to have that emotional blind spot… and I’ll hope I never learn to feel it. I feel things like “this is not going to go well” or “no one is here, probably should not try to canter that one today.” There’s a sense that reads the horse under me and helps me make somewhat smart decisions about what I ask them to do that day, but I can’t say that I have ever felt fear in the saddle.

Two stellar students (Katelyn Salyers and Diane Djelaty) doing what one does after successful lessons — passing the flask. Photo by author.

My point here is not some congratulatory BS, but to point out that a lot of trainers and many young, skilled riders are similar. Many are able to swing a leg over anything because we don’t have to deal with the fear and anxiety that comes with riding. Here’s the important point — that very fact may make us less well equipped to address it in our students. I can teach a rider how to better their balance, respond as correctly as possible to bucks, scoots and spooks (see below), and give them the confidence to kick on (forward is ALWAYS safer) when the chips are down. But I’m often out of my depth helping them to fight the fear that shapes their reactions. The fear of getting hurt isn’t always something you can just get someone to kick on through, no matter how much you believe they and the horse can do what is being asked.

In that case, I have found outside resources to be super helpful. Jazz Naprovnik runs a life coaching business focused on helping riders get past their anxieties and I have connected a number of my students with her to help them get through what I simply don’t know how to train. The results have been outstanding. There are other therapists who focus on riders and riding issues as well. And then there are simply some trainers who are better than others at working through rider anxieties. Personally, I’m better sorting out the horses than the humans — but that’s nothing new.

Nothing to do specifically with fear or anxiety, but always loved working with these folks back in GA. Photo by a random bystander.

Back to figuring out the horses

So if we’re trying to increase rider confidence during unknown Thoroughbred shenanigan-ish circumstances, there are a few things that will help. On one hand, confidence comes with knowledge of what you’re dealing with. For that you need to data gather. On the other hand, one can train rider reactions t0 allow one to productively ride through the variety of challenges and unnecessary shows of athleticism, thereby increasing confidence that the unknown and all that athletic power won’t pose a problem.

Here’s the first thing to know — all horses will spook, even the most bombproof. The important part of that thought is that the spook is the reaction. What happens after that split second jolt is the response. At that point there is some thinking happening. We can’t entirely keep a horse from jolting when a sudden loud noise happens, but we can shape what happens after that — when they either settle back down or go causing a bucking ruckus in the arena, etc. etc.

I thought Mo (Mojito Margarita) was going to be a more up, spooky ride for her first go round at mine. Nope, she proved me wrong. Photo by Lily Drew.

Data Gathering:

I spend a lot of time watching and analyzing my horses. The paddock gives you excellent opportunities to learn how they react. When out with a herd and someone spooks, what does your horse do? They’ll likely sprint off with the herd for a second, but as the reaction dims and their response kicks in, do they stand up? Leap and buck? Or do they settle down and trot back over to look at it? That should give you parameters for what you’re working with when reactions are completely unfettered by the rider. OK fine — take that bit of datum and file it.

Paddock shenanigans back before the snow. I don’t think I remember what green even looks like now. Photo by author.

Needles Highway, for instance will gallop off, toss in a big double barrel kick-buck, but by the time he does that you can see that he’s already playing and not worried about the stimuli. Rhodie (Western Ridge), on the other hand, will sprint sideways, bolt off, and then come back around for the next five minutes and blow and snort in the direction of the noise. He doesn’t settle back down for quite a while and is on edge for hours. It’s the same in the saddle. An “up” day for him remains up, while Needles might jump sideways at something but immediately forgets it ever was a problem.

The next question is where are they in the herd? If they’re in charge, what is their spooking/reaction style? Do they yahoo off with the others? And what happens when they settle? If they’re not the lead horse, watch how they respond to the dominant horse’s behavior. When the boss mare settles back to grazing, are they still on their hind legs, or are they relieved to know there’s no danger and settle right back down? All of these data points help shape how things will go in the saddle. You’ll know your horses’ go-to and have a sense of their confidence level in general and the confidence that can be borrowed from others — as the rider gets to be that other.

Knuckleheads. Neil and Bowing Snowman have become buddies, but Neil is in charge and none of my hoods survive. Photo by author.

Translating this back into the arena isn’t difficult — you just have to gain their trust. Ground work is one of the best ways to do this. Spending time quietly putting them through well-mannered ground training exercises crafts a relationship that they can rely on in the saddle. Desensitization to the usual things that they’ll encounter — dogs, flags, other horses riding by, etc. — can be sorted out in hand. That way when you climb back into the irons they’ll be less likely to kick off the reaction (the spook) and when they do inevitably react to something you’ll have a relationship to fall back on as their reaction shifts to a response and they get to think  “Do I want to go gallop off when this creature is telling me it’s fine or not?”

Then for more data gathering, one just has to ride through the unknown circumstances. Confidently trot (yes, trot — not walk or canter — I prefer to keep their feet moving to keep their brain processing) them past the things that may upend the ride and post like it is no big deal. They’ll still look, but they’ll learn to rely on the rider more and more. And if that part — the riding them through the unknown is what stops a rider from hopping on when it is blustery outside or when there is construction, or anytime the horse is ‘up’ — that’s when you call in one of those no-fear-feeling pros or friends to swing a leg over and kick on past they scary things. Watching your horse react and respond with someone who won’t get rattled in the saddle will help define their reactions and help your confidence simply by knowing what the reaction and response looks like.

Jenna The Boss is a fancy, talented ride and we’re working on all responses going forward. Photo by Lily Drew.

For once we know what the response looks like, we can redirect it. A rear? Great, make sure spooks go forward and have a bend to keep them from going up (straight is NOT your friend with a horse who is happy on its hind feet). A bolt and buck? Sit up leg on and turn them in a large circle. A leap or skitter sideways? Stay in the center and leg on to go forward. And so on…

And to close up, honestly the best thing to increase a rider’s confidence through the unknown is to trust their seat and their reaction. I have been sent some “fun” projects over the years. I don’t necessarily trust them, but I can use position and response to keep the horse between me and the dirt (knock on wood). When a horse spooks, or ignites a reaction for whatever reason, my go-to position is to get my butt back in the saddle, sit up, grab mane with my outside rein and open my inside rein wide (direct rein).

Jasmine, in her fun-ridiculous dragon pad (thanks to her kiddo), was a bit up at a September XC clinic, so I hopped on. My position allows her to go forward while staying centered in case there were any shenanigans. Thankfully there were none. Photo by Katie Stewart.

Breaking that down, this “oh sh*t” position works for these reasons: by sitting down and upright, my center of gravity returns to my hips — connected to the saddle and horse. It keeps me over my heels (which are down) and puts me in the best balance I can to stay with the horse — not tipped forward, back, etc. The outside rein closed on a fist full of mane will allow me to ride out any sudden changes of direction or altitude without yanking on the horse’s mouth and causing an escalation in the shenanigans. I have often come out of some good rollicking with a handful of mane, so I’m pretty sure it works.

This was a fun slip and slide of a photoshoot in the snow on Leni (Chooselov), that outside rein on the mane was pretty handy. Photo by Izzy Gritsavage.

The seat and the outside hand let me survive what is coming, the inside rein stops it. I can use that direct rein to guide one in a big circle, or to spin or turn which will keep a horse out of a rear and a big buck. I can also open it wide and kick on to direct them through their speed and ridiculousness into a more regular gait. This position is so useful that on clearly rough, spooky days, I’ll often find myself riding in a soft set up like this the whole time, outside hand with a bit of mane (or right next to it) and the inside rein lightly open, ready to draw the horse in that direction as needed.

Building this (or something similar) as a reaction takes muscle memory, but it can be trained. Instead of responding by diving into a fetal position, riders can condition themselves to sit up and grab mane and put leg on. As always, forward is your friend. And the more a rider trusts their reaction to unpredictable behavior, the more they’ll be able to ride through it with confidence. *And I should note that if a rider doesn’t trust their core strength to be able to get back in the saddle on a split second’s reaction, then training that independently should help. I hear yoga and pilates or the good old fashioned rowing machine work well…

So go ride folks, just remember to keep your heels down, sit up, and always kick on.


About Kentucky Performance Products, LLC:

Elevate®

Performance horses are susceptible to exercise-induced muscle damage. Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, limits the damage caused by everyday oxidative stress. It maintains healthy muscle and nerve functions, and supports a strong immune system in horses of all ages. Elevate was developed to provide a highly bioavailable source of natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate) to horses.

Check out this KPP article: Vitamin E and the Performance Horse – A Winning Combination.

The horse that matters to you matters to us®. KPPusa.com