Personal Awareness

The more horses and people I work with the more I am convinced that personal awareness is extremely important. By being aware of our mental outlook, emotional state and physical well being, we can become more aware of our horses. There is a lot more that goes into training a horse than just physical exercises and maneuvers. Without the right balance of mind and body the task of training the mind and body of a horse can be more difficult than it needs to be.

Our mental outlook covers many different things. As it applies to horse training, it is the way we perceive the training process. The attitudes we take into the process will to a large degree dictate our success. If the mental attitude is positive it will be reinforced with positive physical responses. Combining a positive attitude and positive physical aids can help us be pro-active in our training. A negative attitude will cause more reactive physical responses. Being aware mentally will allow you the opportunity to notice what your horse has done for you or to you. You can then make a decision to respond with an appropriate reward or reprimand rather than reacting negatively to the situation. Mental outlook will also be a factor in the mental discipline that you take into your training program. Discipline is necessary to be consistent and consistency is important to achieve positive results.