It takes a lot of athleticism to gracefully and safely control a 1,000-pound animal cantering around an arena. When you stop and think about it, even some of the simplest things that equestrians do are quite impressive. Most of us also recognize that muscle alone will not allow us to effectively manage a horse, some brains are also required. If we relied on our athleticism alone, playing a tug-of-war match with the horse, we would surely lose as horses are much stronger than we are. One other aspect that we do not think about as often is how our emotions effect horses. Horses are very intuitive creatures and can easily detect our emotions. Therefore, it is important to work out our minds and improve our emotional fitness, just like we work on our physical fitness.
Think Positive
It is important to be aware of your emotional intelligence. Your moods play a huge part in the way your mind works. When you are in a bad mood, do you ever notice how every little thing ticks you off and your day goes into a downward spiral? The same concept can apply to your riding. Make sure that you are aware of how you are feeling before you ride and if you should even ride based on your emotions. If you are overly angry, it is not a wise idea to ride, because you might make rash decisions while schooling your horse that could negatively impact him/her. If you are overly sad or depressed, it might also not be a good idea to ride because you may be too worried about what is bothering you to notice what your horse is doing, which could result in some safety hazards if your horse were to spook. However, horses do have therapeutic qualities, and you may find that a cuddle session with your favorite pony may boost your mood enough for you to ride.
Going beyond regulating your negative emotions, you should strive to do something positive every day. Even if your day is not going as well as you were hoping, find at least one thing that positive to focus on. It may be hard to develop a positive attitude at first when you are faced with challenges, but with practice, over time, it will get easier. Some tools you can add to your positivity tool box are:
· Write down or think of 5 things that you are thankful for each morning – starting your day off on the right foot will help guide your day to greatness
· Make yourself smile when your sad – we connect emotions to facial expressions, so using a facial expression that signifies happiness will trick your brain into being happy, or at least not as upset
· Listen to your favorite music – you will be surprised by how much your favorite tune can brighten your mood
When you’ve adopted these positive lifestyle methods into your life, you will notice the power of positivity at work. Studies have shown that people with higher emotional intelligence tend to perform better in their jobs and have better emotional stability. In one study people were shown a funny video to put them in a good mood. There was also a group who was not shown the video. The two groups then had to solve a series of puzzles and the ones who were shown the video to put them in a good mood worked harder and were more successful in solving the puzzles. Working on your emotional intelligence also increases your mindfulness which increase ability to form proper responses in emotional settings. This is extremely important when working with horses, because, as we know, horses can be very reactive creatures, which can cause stressful situations.
Regulate Your Stress Levels
Stress is often thought of with a negative connotation. However, the right amount of stress can actually be beneficial. Constant levels of even low stress can be harmful, as it never allows you a chance to breathe and take time to refuel. Situations like this often lead to people going into a state of crisis or “blowing up”. Too little stress is also not helpful. If you have nothing pushing you forward in life, you will be stuck in a rut and will not experience growth. Think about a time when you got too comfortable in your riding and had to be pushed to get to the next level. That push that you needed was a positive stress that moved you forward. You should seek to have a generally relaxed life style with chunks of stress sprinkled in to help push you to achieve your goals.
Catch Those ZZZ’s
Another aspect that can affect your emotional intelligence is your sleep schedule. It’s no secret that one will feel more refreshed after a good night’s sleep versus just a few hours. But why does our body need sleep. During the day, toxins build up in your neurons. Sleep allows your body to reset and clear out those toxins. It is important that you get a full sleep cycle to properly clear out the toxins in your body. If you take anything to help you get to sleep such as sleeping pills or melatonin, your sleep schedule can be upset which does not allow you to get your proper nightly detox. Blue light from computer, T.V., or phone screens can also mess up your sleep schedule because the light that these devices mimics the light that the sun gives off in the early morning which signals your body to wake up. Because of this, you should restrict the use of electronic devices before bedtime. Or, if you can’t live without them, you can invest in some blue light filtering eye-glasses. Once you clean up your sleep routine, you will notice that you will feel more refreshed, which will allow you to be happier and have more focused and fulfilling ride times on your horse.
Reach into Yourself and Out to Others
Last of all, you need to be able to balance out taking time for yourself and reaching out to others. Taking time for yourself allows you to refuel your batteries and prepare for what you have planned next on your schedule, whether it’s a clinic, show, or taking the next step up in your training goals. It is also important to reach out to others. Nothing beats having a group of close friends that support each other at horse shows or help one another out when one friend feels stuck. Finding your own right combination of time to recharge on your own and the support of your colleagues will enhance your mood and happiness levels.
Once you combine these aspects, you should notice a boost in your mood, as well as an improvement in your ability to regulate your emotions. This will allow you to not let negative emotions or moods to affect your riding and to channel your positive energy into your ride.
Comments