Horse Sport Psychology

and risk in our environment. The second irrational fear is experienced in response to a perceived risk to our selfimage. If you were hiking and turned the corner to discover a mama black bear and her cubs you would experience rational fear. Your body would respond by pumping your system full of adrenaline and other hormones designed to help you fight flee or freeze your way to survival. Now imagine being asked to share a deeply personal story of failure to an audience of 500 strangers. For many of us we would experience the exact same physical response as when we stumbled upon the bear. Yet in this case we are not in any physical danger. In this scenario there is a perceived risk to our selfimage. We are opening ourselves up to judgement and scrutiny.
Fear is a very real experience for equestrians. After all our sport carries with it a legitimate risk. We regularly grapple with the rational fear associated with sitting astride a large animal with its own mind and we also are plagued by the fear of failure of judgement and of not being good enough. These fears are irrational because they are created and perpetuated by holding an inaccurate or simply unhelpful perspective of reality. As these two types of fear come from different places each type requires a different approach and skill set to manage and master
Managing Rational Fear
Step 1 Start managing your breathing. Pull deep breaths right down into your stomach. Youll know youre doing it right if your stomach expands with each breath. Give it a try now! Release this deep breath slowly and intentionally making the exhale slightly longer than your inhale. This type of breathing sends a calming message to the mind and body. It helps us dial back our fear