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Ovation Dressage Tee $13 Features the dressage-discipline horse logo print. Made of cotton/spandex jersey.

Da Vinci Plain Raised Padded Dressage Browband $20.95 DaVinci Plain Raised Padded Dressage Browband Black Horse Size

Mountain Horse Victoria Dressage Boot $287.1 Exceptional craftsmanship makes the Victoria Dressage Boot stand out from the rest. Designed specifically for the serious dressage rider, the zipper is thoughtfully positioned forward of center on the inside of the boot, allowing seamless contact between your leg and your horse, while still maintaining a streamlined silhouette. An elegant dress boot with classic features and made in supple, full grain leather.THE LEG: Moderate Spanish cut topSoft pigskin napa liningStrong and durable full length YKK Vislon zipper on front, inside calfCovered, inside elastic gusset for a comfortable fitTHE FOOT: Spur restErgonomically-designed removable EVA insoleTHE SOLE: Built-in steel shank for increased stabilityDurable and slim-contour designed outsole has dirt repellent tread zones and provides an enhanced grip in the ironMaterial: Full grain leather.Lining: Pigskin napa.

Passier PSL-D Dressage $4719.95 PASSIER PSL Dressage Saddle PASSIER PSL Dressage Saddle: Classic dressage saddle featuring long stretch leather knee panels on flaps and stretch leather seat. This unique stretch leather expands and molds to the rider’s seat and knee providing extra comfort and a self-conforming fit not available in any other saddle. The flexible cutback PASSIER PS tree fits perfectly on the dressage horse. Long billets prepunched for conversion to short billets for long girth if required. Smooth grain German leather. Regular tree width. Fittings not included with Saddle.

Veredus Piaffe Shield Dressage Horse Boot $204.2 Revolutionary overreach boot designed for protection of the whole heel area. Designed specifically for Dressage. The particular anatomic shape and protective material gurantees a perfect fit on the horse’s heel to give total protection.Anatomically designed protection in an elastic material that conforms perfectly to the horse’s foot, therefore eliminating rotation of the overreach boot itself.Extra carbon protection on heel area, which is at particular risk of injury and bruising.Double point fastening to ensure perfect fitting.Quick-release tips in non-deformable FLEXTAN on stainless-steel hooks.

101 Dressage Exercises Book $30 Dressage Exercises for Horse & Rider features a full arena diagram and step-by- step instructions for each exercise. The exercises address all levels of riders, starting with the basics and moving up the levels. Training tips and masterly guidance make this an indispensable reference for all dressage riders. Even Western riders interested in enhancing their performance will find these foundational exercises useful.

Wintec Elastic Dressage Girth $41.25 Two inches of elastic in the center of the this high performance dressage girth allow it to stretch with the horse as you work. Pressure is evenly transferred over the whole surface of the girth with no pressure points or ridges. Elimination of pressure points combined with soft anti galling material makes the Wintec Elastic Dressage Girth one of the most comfortable girths on the market. Girth has stainless steel roller buckles.

TuffRider Dressage Show Coat Ladies $86 Your ladies Dressage show coat will keep you looking polished in the arena with 4 silver, antique horse head front buttons and a rear, two-button vent. Dry clean. 94% Polyester, 6% Lycra.

Puff Pad Dressage Style $24 Puff Pad Pillow Pads. Authentic Pillow Pad. Soft, pillow pad, top and bottom 100% cotton with thick poly fiber filler. A Puff Pad disperses pressure points, preventing many back problems. All horses benefit from the cushioning effect of a Puff Pad because the fiber filling acts as a shock absorber, breathes absorbing and evaporating moisture, molds to every horse and saddle. No straps. Dressage Pillow Pad. Larger 25 x 40 size for longer flap dressage saddles.

Bates Wide Dressage Cair Saddle $1845 The Bates Wide Dressage Saddle is acutting edge dressage saddle specially designed for the wider horse that supports an optimal dressage position for the rider with unparalleled comfort. It achives unprecedented comfort for the rider, supporting and optimal dressage position.Features include uniquely positioned stirrup bar, utilisation of the EASY-CHANGE Gullet System WIDE, adjustable Y-Girthing and Flexibloc Systems.CAIR Cushion system distributes weight across the panel, virtually eliminating pressure points for better performance and freer movement of horseNew Generation Easy-Change Gullet System Wide helps customize saddle fit to your horse’s wither

Wintec Chafeless Elastic Dressage Girth $47.3 This girth has all the advantages of the original elastic girth but with the addition of a curved shape, which reduces the width of material behind the horse’s elbows helping to prevent pinching of the horse’s skin. The equisuede surface of the Pro Elastic Girth looks and performs stunningly when used to complement the Wintec Pro Dressage or Wintec Isabell saddles.

COLLEGIATE Convertible Intellect Dressage Saddle $1097.95 Great quality craftsmanship made from a great company. This dressage saddle will make you and your horse feel at home in both style and comfort. Elegantly designed saddle suitable for all levels of dressage. Features a deep seat, large flaps, large knee rolls, plus the Easy-Change Gullet System (sold separatly) to provide the best fit for your horse.

Equi-Bette PTD Dressage Saddle $715.95 EQUI-BETTE Model PTD Dressage Saddle EQUI-BETTE Model PTD Dressage Saddle: A classic saddle. The EQUI-BETTE PTD dressage saddle style has been a favorite of world renowned professionals and competitors for generations. The EQUI-BETTE PTD dressage saddle features a cutback head to fit every type of horse. The deep EQUI-BETTE PTD tree fits both horse and rider to perfection, keeping the rider deep in the seat for correct balance and perfect control. Long extended flaps are molded over modest knee rolls on the French panels. Made of premium quality German bridle leather in a dark Brown color with a hand waxed finish.

Ovation Dressage Crank Caveson – Black – Horse $72 Made in Italian hand finished leather.           Color: BlackSize:  Horse

What Every Horse Should Know Book $20 In Cherry Hill’s groundbreaking bestseller, How To Think Like a Horse, she took an in-depth look at how horses think, learn, respond to stimuli, and interpret human behavior. In this fascinating follow-up, What Every Horse Should Know, Hill continues her exploration of how horses learn with a focus on the key skills every horse needs to live safely, confidently, and at ease in interactions with humans. Mastering these skills is critical to bringing out the full potential of the horse-rider partnership. As Hill states in her introduction, Wild horses know everything they need to survive. They are complete. It’s when we domesticate a horse and bring him into our world that he needs to learn new things in order to adapt. What Every Horse Should Know examines the lessons that are vital for every domesticated horse, whether a trail horse, dressage or jumper, rodeo or ranch horse. The book features sections on how to train without fear, how to teach a horse to be respectful and patient, and how to do the actual work a horse needs to do. Written in clear, accessible language, accompanied by photographs, illustrations, and infographics, What Every Horse Should Know addresses all stages of a horse’s life, from foalhood to old age. Readers can choose to follow a sequential training plan for the life of their animal or start at any point in a horses’s life. There are tests for assessing the level of a horse’s knowledge, and a plan to develop individualized tests. The final section of the book provides comprehensive training program checklists showing what knowledge should be expected of a horse at any particular age. For anyone intrigued by the workings of the equine mind and seeking insights into how to enrich and strengthen the horse-human relationship, What Every Horse Should Know is a fascinating and useful reference.

Gold Medal Piaffe Dressage Saddle $2319.95 GOLD MEDAL Piaffe Dressage Saddle GOLD MEDAL Piaffe Dressage Saddle GOLD MEDAL Saddlery has taken the similar design of the popular COUNTY COMPETITOR and Crosby Prix St. George dressage saddles and improved and refined the saddle to a superior high level dressage saddle. The Piaffe is made on a deep seat beechwood laminated spring-tree with narrow twist to put the rider into the seat and give close contact with the horse. A genuine pigskin seat is used because of its durability over grained leather seats which stretch and wear through, thus distorting the rider’s seat. French panels are wool flocked to allow the saddle to mold to the natural conformation of the horses back for the ultimate in fit and a correct seat position. Flap and panel have been designed to promote greater closeness and contact. Long chrome leather saddle billets require a short dressage girth. Saddle flap is looped on backside for billets to restrain flap. Made in England of the finest quality oiled saddle leather.

ThinLine Dressage Bridle with Flash Noseband $242.1 ThinLine padding in the noseband and crown provides equal pressure distribution in the areas your horse needs it most to perform at his best. ThinLine’s anti-fungal feature and breathability make it the perfect lining choice to keep your horse comfortable and their skin healthy. Each dressage bridle comes with a pair of standard 54 ThinLine Reins, which are no-slip and aid in creating soft, supple contact and feel, and this combo will provide a one-two punch to increased performance and scores!

ThinLine Dressage Bridle with Plain Noseband $242.1 ThinLine padding in the noseband and crown provides equal pressure distribution in the areas your horse needs it most to perform at his best. ThinLine’s anti-fungal feature and breathability make it the perfect lining choice to keep your horse comfortable and their skin healthy. Each dressage bridle comes with a pair of standard 54 ThinLine Reins, which are no-slip and aid in creating soft, supple contact and feel, and this combo will provide a one-two punch to increased performance and scores!

Breyer WEG Games Stablemate Para Dressage – BH9122 $4.5 Palomino Para Dressage Horse. This authentically sculpted Stablemate horse represents, in miniature (1:32 scale), one of the eight disciplines of the 2010 ALLTECH FEI World Equestrian Games. Some of the bravest and most determined equestrian competitors are the riders. Often competing on borrowed horses, they overcome a variety of obstacles posed by their disabilities to compete in the Para Dressage event of the World Equestrian Games.

Ovation Airform Chafeless Dressage Girth $30.6 The award winning Easy-Care Airform girth is horse and user friendly. Cushioned and textured for air flow, it stays incredibly soft no matter how much use it gets. Can be sponged clean in seconds. Hypo-allergenic. Made with stainless steel roller buckles to extend the use of the girth straps and your hands. Keeps hold the dressage girth neatly in place.

Professionals Choice SMX Dressage Girth $55.95 Perfect in form and function, the SMx Dressage Girth is practical with elastic and roller buckles on both ends. More comfortable for your horse than traditional leather because it doesnt have to be over-tightened. The non-slip neoprene ensures that your saddle will stay secure and the handy detachable neoprene back makes it easy to wash. Great for training or competition. Available in Black only.

Equi-Prene Three Buckle Lonsdale Dressage Girth $35.95 Pro-Thane Anti-Gall Girths. Rubberized fabric girths designed for the ultimate comfort of your horse. Anti-gall girths made from non-irritating, waffle weave poly-urethane foam that is strong, soft, easily cleaned and will not absorb sweat or bacteria. Stainless steel roller girth buckles. Washes easily in bucket of water and soap. Equi-Prene 3-Buckle Lonsdale Dressage Girth. Classic dressage girth with third buckle set for flap girth.

Equi-Bette Grand Prix Dressage Girth $103.95 EQUI-BETTE Grand Prix Dressage Girth. Patent Pending. The finest girth made for the highest level of dressage competition. Made from full grain English tannage leather, padded and lined over saddler’s felt that conforms with the girth to the horse. Stainless steel roller buckles. Double elastic end.

TuffRider Dressage Shadbelly $180 Elegance made affordable. Properly tailored for a superb look, made in 100% polyester with antique silver horse head buttons. Complete with vest points.

Roma Kool Dressage Whip $9 Roma Brand Quality. Products made from the finest materials with a complete line horse. Depend on Roma products for great quality and price.

Roma Warendorfer Dressage Whip $15.15 Roma Brand Quality. Products made from the finest materials with a complete line horse. Depend on Roma products for great quality and price.

Ovation Pro Dressage Girth $40.5 Keep your horse extremely comfortable. Easy to clean removable no-slip hook & loop backing. Stainless steel roller buckles and double elastic at both ends.

TuffRider Ladies Dressage Show Coat Plus $89.95 Our Popular Ladies Dressage Show Coat Is Now Available In Plus Sizes! It Will Keep You Looking Polished In The Arena With 4 Silver, Antique Horse Head Front Buttons And A Rear, Two-Button Vent. Dry Clean. 94% Polyester, 6% Lycra.

Breyer WEG Games Stablemate Dressage – BH9117 $4.5 This Stablemates horse represents, in miniature, one of the eight disciplines of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Dressage requires a specific type of equine athlete with the capacity to perform demanding movements, like the piaffe and the passage. This WEG line was released spring of 2010, then retired at the end of 2010.

Dressage Loverz Stocking $25 Santa’s Holiday Horse Stockin’ Kits. One-stop shoppping for your equine friends and family. Includes 1 of each of the following:Christmas Stockings – Dapple GreyHorse Head Hand Warmers, Red Arena Board with pen, RedClear Rain PonchoBlue Plush Horse CharmHand Warmers – 1pkToe Warmers – 1pkSuggested Retail – $49.95

Ovation Dressage Tee – Sweet Mint with Storm Cloud – Ladies Large $13 Features the dressage-discipline horse logo print. Made of cotton/spandex jersey.Color: Sweet Mint with Storm CloudSize:  Ladies Large

Tekna Contour Dressage Girth $65.7 Shaped to fit your horse, this sculpted girth allows freedom of the elbow and distributes pressure across a greater area for more comfort. It features elastic on both ends, stainless steel roller buckles, center D-ring and soft waffle weave padding for the utmost comfort. Made of QUIK-CLEAN material.

(2011 Model) Wintec 500 Dressage Saddle with Cair $623.8 The new Wintec 500 Dressage Saddle sets new standards in comfort and performance helping position the rider correctly. New and improved Equileather provides a super soft and grippy seat for greater security in the saddle.Features: A modern, stylish dressage saddle with performance featuresThe perfect saddle for riders progressing in their Dressage careerExtremely comfortable seat that facilitates a well balanced positionPerformance materials ensure superior fit, comfort and stabilityFeatures include Y-girthing, ergonomic stirrup bar, and flexibloc systemFluidly working with your horse’s muscles, the revolutionary CAIR Cushion System replaces traditional fillings in your saddle with air. The cushioning nature of air encourages your horse to soften, relax and engage. Seated closer to your horse, you become simply an extension of one another.Features the EASY-CHANGEGullet system for a custom fit. Saddle comes with medium width gullet – other gullets sold separately.Ask about our TEST RIDE PROGRAM

(2011 Model) Wintec Isabell Flocked Dressage Saddle $1377.1 TheWintec Isabell Dressage Saddleis an updated model designed in conjunction with World Dressage Champion, Isabell Werth. Designed exactly as the Bates Isabell, but made with Wintec’s Easy-Care, Super-Grip Equisuede.The Wintec Isabell Dressage Saddle features include:Traditional flocked panelsDeep seat with an ultra narrow and low waist to support a correct dressage positionRecessed stirrup channcel to eliminate interference with rider’s legEquisuede Seat is extremely comfortable with a surface softer than leather with the perfect level of gripAdjustable Flexibloc System enables the rider to individually tailor their own knee supportAdjustable Y-Girthing System secures the front and back of the saddle with equal pressure. Position of the Y-Girth Points can be adjusted to individually suit the horse’s shape.Ergonomic stirrup bars facilitate closer contactNew Generation Easy-Change Gullet System provides a custom fit for many different horses so you can change your gullet and not your saddleWeatherproof, durable, and easy care to save time and hassle!

(2011 Model) Wintec Isabell Dressage Saddle with Flock $1377.1 Experience the world’s leading dressage saddle, the Bates Isabell, in a synthetic version with the added benefits of being lightweight, durable, easy-care and an amazing value for the money. World renowned Dressage Rider, Isabell Werth’s high performance saddle.My saddle is one of the proudest achievements of my dressage career. I believe we have created the perfect seat for the rider and unprecedented comfort for the horse. Isabell WerthFeatures: Supports a correct dressage position with an ultra narrow waist and deep seatA seamless transition from your seat through the length of your leg offers ultra close contactIdeal for use in all levels of competition and trainingPerformance materials ensure superior fit, comfort and stabilityIncludes an adjustable Y-Girthing and Flexibloc SystemThe Isabell saddle is also available in BatesFeatures the EASY-CHANGE Gullet system for a custom fit. Saddle comes with medium width gullet – other gullets sold separately.Ask about our TEST RIDE PROGRAM

ThinLine Dressage Girth $189 This girth has elastic in the middle with roller buckles on both ends. Girths are in stock in black and sizes (20 inches to 34 inches). Due to metric conversions, the girths actually measure 1inch shorter than listed. If your current size is a close fit, order the next size up. Breathable Anti-microbial No-slip/no-rub ThinLine lining makes this the best girth to keep your horse comfortable and your saddle in place. Easy to clean and very durable!

Ovation Acugel Dressage Square Pad $126 At last, a pad that conforms to both your saddle and your horse, and takes the shocks out of your ride! ,The natual latex rubber Ovation Acugel pad is loaded with features:-Quick Sweat Evaporation to keep the horse’s back cool and dry. -Messagio Technology to relax the most sensitive areas of the horse’s back.-Total Shock Absorbing System to protect the spines of both the horse and the rider from shocks and jerks.-E-Pressure distributes pressure evenly, reducing hot spots and pressure points.

(2011 Model) Bates Isabell Dressage Saddle with CAIR $2916.1 World renowned Dressage Rider, Isabell Werth’s high performance saddle. Effortlessly aligns rider position for superior performance. A deep and ultra close contact seat ensures improved communication. Maximizes freedom of movement and comfort for your horse. Innovations include uniquely positioned Ergonomic Stirrup Bar, adjustable Y-Girthing and Flexibloc Systems.

Equi-Prene Pro-Thane Lonsdale Dressage Girth $31.95 Pro-Thane Anti-Gall Girths. Rubberized fabric girths designed for the ultimate comfort of your horse. Anti-gall girths made from non-irritating, waffle weave poly-urethane foam that is strong, soft, easily cleaned and will not absorb sweat or bacteria. Stainless steel roller girth buckles. Washes easily in bucket of water and soap. Equi-Prene Lonsdale Dressage Girth. Nylon web facing, 3 1/4 wide.

(2011 Model) Wintec Isabell Dressage Saddle with CAIR $1377.1 Experience the world’s leading dressage saddle, the Bates Isabell, in a synthetic version with the added benefits of being lightweight, durable, easy-care and an amazing value for the money. World renowned Dressage Rider, Isabell Werth’s high performance saddle.My saddle is one of the proudest achievements of my dressage career. I believe we have created the perfect seat for the rider and unprecedented comfort for the horse. Isabell WerthFeatures: Supports a correct dressage position with an ultra narrow waist and deep seatA seamless transition from your seat through the length of your leg offers ultra close contactIdeal for use in all levels of competition and trainingPerformance materials ensure superior fit, comfort and stabilityIncludes an adjustable Y-Girthing and Flexibloc SystemThe Isabell saddle is also available in BatesFluidly working with your horse’s muscles, the revolutionary CAIR Cushion System replaces traditional fillings in your saddle with air. The cushioning nature of air encourages your horse to soften, relax and engage. Seated closer to your horse, you become simply an extension of one another.Features the EASY-CHANGE Gullet system for a custom fit. Saddle comes with medium width gullet – other gullets sold separately.Ask about our TEST RIDE PROGRAM

Ovation Klimke II Pro XCH Dressage Saddle $1203 Now with the XCH Interchangeable Gullet System.Designed by 5 time Olympic Gold Medal winner, Dr. Reiner Klimke, this saddle provides the perfect position and balance for any dressage rider. With contour panels to provide freer movement to your horse’s shoulders, synthetic wool stuffed panels, secure girthing system and a knee block that provides a secure position yet allows the rider freedom of movement. Made in a natural finish French leather of unsurpassed quality and durability. Lifetime warranty on tree.

Fritz Thiedemann Gripper Shock Pad – White – Dressage $43.95 Fritz Thiedemann Saddle Pads FRITZ THIEDEMANN Gripper Quilted Shock Pads. The world famous Fritz Thiedemann 1-1/4 diamond quilted saddle pad, made with non-slip small rubber pimple grippers on top of shock absorbong and back protecting center. Back comforting rubber is placed under the saddle panel to distribute the rider’s weight and shock without injury to horse’s back. Cotton twill cover, EQUI-FELT center, self-gripping billet straps and girth loop. Shaped and contoured back to fit perfectly under saddle. Dressage Shape Color: WhiteSize:  Dressage

Roma Leather Handle Dressage Whip $31.5 Roma Brand Quality. Products made from the finest materials with a complete line horse. Depend on Roma products for great quality and price.

Roma Shimmer Diamonte Dressage Whip $20.55 Roma Brand Quality. Products made from the finest materials with a complete line horse. Depend on Roma products for great quality and price.

Roma Golden Spiral Dressage Whip $22.35 Roma Brand Quality. Products made from the finest materials with a complete line horse. Depend on Roma products for great quality and price.

Roma Shimmer Crystal Dressage Whip $11.7 Roma Brand Quality. Products made from the finest materials with a complete line horse. Depend on Roma products for great quality and price.

Roma Leather Grip Dressage Whip $12.6 Roma Brand Quality. Products made from the finest materials with a complete line horse. Depend on Roma products for great quality and price.

Roma Rubber Handle Dressage Whip $10.8 Roma Brand Quality. Products made from the finest materials with a complete line horse. Depend on Roma products for great quality and price.

Roma Smooth Handle Dressage Whip $10.65 Roma Brand Quality. Products made from the finest materials with a complete line horse. Depend on Roma products for great quality and price.

High Point Advantage Dressage Saddle Pad $55.8 Advantage Warmblood-size Dressage High Point Custom Saddle Pad. This is the perfect saddle pad for Large or Warmblood horses. It gives you the Advantage in the show ring, by making your leg look longer and keeping your horse cooler. It is made with two breathable layers which lie between the 7-ounce pre-shrunk poly/cotton top and the underside, which is made of 100% cotton. You will not find a custom pad of better quality! Many body, trim, and piping colors available! Average Pad 23L x 40W front, 31W rear. Large Pad 25L x 44W front, 35W rear.

Finishing Touch Oval Locket With Dressage Cabachon Gold $26.95 Dressage cabochon 25 x 18mm size on oval locket with 18 petite rope chain 14kt gold platedFinishing touch takes a great deal of pride in offering a high-quality product at a low price, and they stand behind their products. Finishing Touch is a 34-year-old Lexington Kentucky corporation located in the heart of Horse country and Horse Jewelry is their specialty. Finishing Touch Jewelry is all costume jewelry and is plated in either durable karat gold or imitation rhodium (gives a nice silver finish without the problem of tarnishing) over white metal or brass. Many items are manufactured right in Nicholasville, KY. Jewelry from The Finishing Touch of Kentucky withstands the test of time when cared for properly.

Aerborn Elastic End Dressage Girth $17 With double elastic at one end, and stainless steel roller buckles. Aerborn girths are made from an extraordinary material knitted from pure Polypropylene yarn. This material provides superior moisture wicking and anti-bacterial properties far beyond that of any other girth material. In addition to having a super soft feel, this fabric gives the body of the girth a natural stretch that provides extra comfort to the horse. The stretch that is built into these girths does not adversely affect the fit of the girth but rather helps the girth conform to the horse and gives a slight stretch when the horse expands its girth.

Riding Star $4.00 Compete head to head against your friends to become a world champion. You must keep your horse well fed, well groomed, and happy / ESRB E Everyone…

Riding Academy 2 $14.00 Ride Into Adventure. In Riding Academy 2, you step into the shoes of Pauline, a student at the nation’s top riding school. Spend your summer days caring for your horse, training with the best coaches, and filling your shelf with trophies from renowned tournaments. But something is amiss at the Academy…. And it’s up to you to investigate its recent string of problems, and get to the bottom of who…

Horse Life $19.99 An original game exclusively for the Nintendo DS™ Horse Life takes the handheld virtual pet category to the next level in 3D graphics. Given to you by your grandfather a former grand champion himself you must keep your horse happy and fit by feeding him cleaning his stall and riding him. Best yet you will put your training to the test by participating in national and international competition…

Lets Ride: Champion’s Collection $94.00 Let’s Ride: Champions Collection features three exciting games for girls. Give the young lady in your life a new gift – the experience of taking care of their own horses. They’ll know the pride and love of the magical world of equestrian sports. They’ll also get teh thrill of competition, as they participate in Show Jumping, Dressage and Cross Country events throughout the world….

Horsez $3.36 Turn your horse into a champion at the new academyProduct InformationThe Beachwood ridding academy has developed a reputation for ruthlessefficiency.  Under the guidance of its mysterious unassuming directorBeachwood has crushed its petitors one by one and its massive financialclout has enabled it to buy out smaller schools and purchase the finestthoroughbreds.Meanwhile at the Sycamore Academ…

Horse Illustrated Championship Season $84.90 This software is BRAND NEW. Packaging may differ slightly from the stock photo above. Please click on our logo above to see over 15,000 titles in stock….

Playmobil Dressage Horse 5111 $9.99 The Playmobil stable has never been busier, the new horse is ready for action. Suitable for children aged four and over….

Playmobil Pony Ranch – Dressage $19.99 This dressage set includes seating for visitors and lots of accessories. Add it to your Pony Ranch for hours of fun! 4 Years +…

Schleich Show Jumping Course $27.77 Show Jumping Course. The Schleich range of farm life accessories are perfect for enjoyable role play in conjunction with your Schleich farm animals and horses – build up a collection for hours of fun. Each fence section measures 15.25cm long. 5 Years +…

Jane Savoie’s Dressage 101: The Ultimate Source of Dressage Basics in a Language You Can Understand $20.82 Jane Savoie’s Dressage 101 outlines a simple, riddle-free system of training that places a high priority on the horse’s physical and mental well-bing. Beginning with the three golden rules of dressage training – Clarity, consistency and kindness – Jane Savoie walks you through her four stages of dressage education….

Nervous Horse Riders and how Self Hypnosis can help

Introduction

Chapter 1. Background to Theory Chapter 2. How Hypnotherapy works Chapter 3. How nerves affect the rider Chapter 4. The process of Hypnosis for the rider Chapter 5. Resistance and Blockages to Process Bibliography

People from all walks of life come to horse riding, sometimes it‘s the realisation of a childhood dream, sometimes the rekindling of a long lost hobby, or the interest arrives by accident, often through cross contamination… “if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them”, but we all have different stories to tell about our fears and anxieties and how they have affected our lives as riders. The fascination we have with the horse is so embedded and entrenched in our psyche as human beings, that often it is hard to explain to someone who has never been bitten by this bug; why those of us who have, are prepared to put ourselves through so much pain, anguish, and discomfort to achieve our goals. Giving up riding altogether is often not a perceived option. In an attempt to hang on to a way of life that we feel lovingly entrapped by, we will continue to keep our beloved four-legged friends as companions or pets, acknowledging inwardly that we feel helpless, frustrated with ourselves and desperate. We live in the hope that just one day, the feelings of fear, and dread that prevent us from riding with confidence, will some how disappear from our minds and bodies whilst we sleep through the night.

Each day we hope that for some reason, something has changed, perhaps because the sun is shining on us, the wind has died down, the road works have finished, the litter has all been collected, that blooming dog is indoors; the jumps are more inviting, the approach more controlled, the poles are more solid; the cross-country ditches seem shallower, the ground is good, or the fences not so high; the dressage judge has missed that spook, you manage to remember to breath, the horse strikes off on the right leg, better still, the horse has read the dressage test beforehand. Any number of reasons as to why today is different from all others, but unfortunately, it rarely is.

So next time your negative thoughts, those automatic ones that jump into your mind before you have chance to challenge them, and they stop you in your tracks, remember, you do have an option, you can change those thoughts, you can change those feelings and you can change the behaviours that they create. You may not become the next John Whittaker, Carl Hester, or Pippa Funnel, but you may enjoy the delights of hacking down a country lane or a main road, or popping over a clear round course or a fallen log, or doing an unaffiliated dressage test, and for many of us, this is as big an accomplishment as receiving an Olympic Gold Medal.

To these people, I dedicate this ebook.

Chapter one

Background to Theory

Most of you reading this I’m sure, will be familiar with those stage hypnotists seen on the television and in the media, or even down at your local pub, but Clinical Hypnotherapy is quite another matter, and it is by no means a new phenomenon, in fact the use of hypnotherapy and hypnosis to solve emotional and psychological problems; in other words therapeutically, dates back as far as 1779, with Franz Anton Mesmer’s theory of animal magnetism, later referred to as mesmerism.

We are still learning about how the mind works as oppose to the brain, and although Clinical Hypnotherapists have been practising for a long time using tried and tested methods, there are still a number of theories as to what the state of hypnosis actually is, and how it works.

I feel that having some theoretical background knowledge about these theories plays an important part in the successful outcome of the process, and its ongoing usefulness for any individual that wants to use it. I am therefore, going to briefly outline the main theories or assumptions about the state of Hypnosis (as there are many more than those listed here) and there are some excellent books available if you really want to get your teeth into the subject in some depth, suffice to say, that recent developments have resulted in a common view that the ‘State of Hypnosis’ is both scientific and phenomenological based. I will explain later what is meant by the conscious and unconscious (sometimes also referred to as subconscious) minds, as this is the cornerstone of Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis.

Disassociation Theory:

Theorists suggest here that the subject disassociates from conscious mental activity and external events, whilst accessing other compartments of the mind with the focus being on internal experience. This theory claims that this can be likened to wakefulness and full conscious activity to sleep and dream activity.

Atavistic Theory:

Suggests that the individual overrides intellectual and critical mental functioning to access a primordial compartment of the brain that operates on a primitive simplicity level; in other words we all have an ancient remnant within our brains that is the left over from when we were a primitive species, and this compartment is tapped into during the hypnotic state.

Hyper-suggestibility Theory:

Suggests that all behaviour, thoughts and feelings are learnt; that individuals are products of conditioning and that our responses to life can only be understood in relation to conscious and ‘out of aware’ stimuli. This theory suggests that our mental processing and our behavioural responses are all governed by internal responses to environmental suggestion, and that the contextual setting for hypnosis heightens the potential for conditioned responses to suggestion.

Altered State Theory:

Suggests that not only is another part of the mind accessed during hypnosis but also in addition, another level or dimension of consciousness is entered into. ‘Hypnosis may be defined as an altered state of awareness affected by total concentration on the voice of the therapist. It will result in measurable physical, neurophysiological and psychological changes in which may be produced distortion of emotion, sensation, image, and time’ (Waxman 1981)

Essentially, theorists fall into two main categories; State Theory and Non-State, but a common understanding and agreement that all theorists share, is that the process of hypnosis can be utilised to benefit individuals psycho-biologically.

Over the past decade, hypnotherapy has established widespread therapeutic use in medical and psychotherapy settings. It is now recognised by the National Health Service in the United Kingdom as an Alternative and or Complimentary Therapy, and can be offered as such to patients as a valuable safe therapy for a whole host of psychobiological disorders.

The model of Hypno-Psychotherapy that I was taught to use is called Ericksonian, because it was developed by Milton H Erickson, M.D. the foundation of his hypnotherapeutic system is his orienting assumption that people have a conscious mind and an unconscious mind. Erickson used the term ‘unconscious mind’ to refer to all the cognitions, perceptions, and emotions which occur outside of a person’s normal range of awareness. He reserved the term ‘conscious’ mind for the limited range of information that enters the restricted focus of attention of most people in everyday life, (and in some of us it’s more restricted than others – but I digress!). Erickson was less concerned about the state v non-state debate; the response of the client to the suggestion was far more important than the question of whether it was a function of conscious compliance or unconscious processes.

Well, now you have some basic knowledge of what the theorists and experts in the field think hypnosis could be, you can perhaps understand why it is so difficult to answer in a few words when people ask me, ‘how does it work’. I guess what you really want to know is ‘will it work for me?’ Well, like all alternative and complimentary therapies, there are no guarantees, much as there often isn’t with traditional medicine, but if you have an open mind and an imagination, there is every chance it will do. It is generally accepted that 90% of the population can be induced into the hypnotic trance state by an individual Hypnotherapist, provided that the subject is willing and not afraid. Analytically minded people that try to work out the why and wherefores of what is happening to them during hypnotherapy, are not likely to find the hypnotic process as easy to relax into as others, but even for these people sufficient depth of the hypnotic state for successful treatment can be obtained, with adequate preparation, patience, repetition and perseverance.

Whether the hypnotic trance state is arrived at through face-to-face Hypnotherapy or through Self-Hypnosis, (using pre-recorded audio CD’s, MP3′s, or Personal Computers) the procedure is very similar. The main advantage though of a face-to-face session is that a consultation process takes place, during which information is gathered so that the language used by the Hypnotherapist during hypnosis, is tailor-made to that of the listener. This increases the intensity of the therapy and depth of the trance state, and can improve the success rate.

Unfortunately, there are few qualified registered Hypnotherapists, who also have first-hand knowledge of what a rider goes through when they have reached an all-time low on the confidence-scale, so face-to-face sessions are rarely a practical option. But with today’s advance of audio technology, which seems to change daily, access to pre-recorded material is as easy now as hitting a button, and far more cost effective.

My Self-Hypnosis CD’s can now be downloaded for use on any MP3 player, (often called an iPod, which is the brand name for Apple’s version) or a personal computer or CD player. However, I must emphasise that no hypnotherapy session should ever be undertaken whilst driving, riding or operating any machinery or doing anything that requires concentration. You need to be in a relaxed, quite environment where you wont be disturbed. Therefore, the portability of MP3′s, iPods and mobile phones really does make it easy now to get away from it all, and really engage in the hypnotic process whenever the opportunity arises.

I must stress here that Hypnotherapy is not a panacea for all ills, and contraindications do exist, one being when a person’s psychological state of mind would make the process unsafe for them; as in the condition of schizophrenia or any type of psychotic personality disorder or psychosis that already causes an altered state of mind, or disassociation or a distortion of reality. If you are receiving E.C.T. or any form of treatment for a psychological problem, I would advice you check with your Doctor before using Hypnotherapy, and as hypnosis lowers the blood pressure, if you already suffer with low blood pressure, and this is being treated with medication, I would advice you to check with your GP first.

Chapter Two How Hypnotherapy Works

Hypnotherapy works by accessing the ‘unconscious’ mind (also called ‘subconscious’); so what is meant by the conscious and unconscious minds?

When we talk about the conscious mind, we refer to the thoughts that are going through our heads right now, the ones that we are aware of as we think about something, the little voice on the shoulder or in the head, the one you can hear right now, as you think of your shoulder. The conscious mind is rather less significant than our unconscious mind. To make it clearer, or not as the case may be, If you compare your mind to an iceberg; an analogy that one of my lecturers favoured, then the tip of the iceberg that you see above the surface of the water is the conscious mind, and the larger more substantial part of the iceberg that is out of sight, below the water line (but supports the tip), is the unconscious mind, a significantly larger part.

The unconscious mind is the seat of our emotions, and directs nearly all our behaviour. Everything that has ever happened to us, and everything we have ever seen, smelt, touched or heard is stored away there for future reference. It contains all our wisdom and intelligence; it is our source of creativity. The number of activities our unconscious mind performs and controls for us is quite humbling and astounding. Whenever we need to remember something, a name, date, place, an instruction, an understanding or insight, up it pops out of our unconscious mind like magic, weather the conscious mind wants it to or not. Without ever being consciously aware of it, we breathe, walk, talk, drive a car and use complicated pieces of technology, never giving a second thought as to where all that knowledge came from. However, the conscious mind constantly takes credit for, and finds explanations for the activities of the unconscious mind, over which it actually has no control and about which it is unaware.

Over many years, the conscious mind becomes very good at this act so that it is able to offer such impressive rationalisations and explanations for its behaviour that we don’t even question it. Nevertheless, the unconscious mind is much more observant, wise, intelligent, adaptive, and skilful than the conscious mind could ever be; it is said that the conscious mind can only hold eight thoughts at any one time; usually in small chunks, which is why we tend to remember numbers more easily if they are in small bundles. The unconscious mind can also delete information from our awareness. It would be impossible to process all the information we receive consciously, so the unconscious mind sorts it and then presents us with a summary of what is taking place. We have all heard anecdotal stories of extreme bravery when someone has badly injured himself or herself, but feels no pain and has no awareness of their own injuries until after the traumatic event. The unconscious mind had sorted through the information and decided what we need to know to help our actions at that moment in time. The interaction between the conscious and unconscious minds is going on all the time and we never give any of this process a second thought. Our conscious mind uses questions to reason, our conscious mind; the voice in our head, is always evaluating – critically and analytically – by comparing, contrasting and noticing, but in hypnosis, and the hypnotic trance state, the conscious mind is dampened down and this allows excellent communication with the unconscious mind, and without it’s critical analytical partner, changes in core beliefs and behaviours can take place.

But this ability of the unconscious mind to accept without critical analyses has a downside, because it can just as easily hang on to negative experiences, so that whenever a similar event to that previously experienced occurs again in the future, the old feelings of discomfort that were felt the first time, are instantly brought back to the conscious mind in an attempt to protect us; this is how phobias start. If you had a bad experience on your horse, your unconscious mind may bring back all the negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviours associated with that experience the next time you ride. This is very frustrating for the rider who knows rationally and logically that there is nothing actually happening in the present time to create these unwanted thoughts and feelings, (it’s a doubly hard pill to swallow when you aren’t even sitting on the same horse anymore because you had to get a new one to satisfy yourself that is was the horse that was the problem!).

So to recap, during a hypnotherapy session, it is the unconscious part of the mind that is spoken to, where new ideas, concepts and affirmations can be implanted, and it is here that old limiting beliefs can be changed. Past phobias and learnt negative behaviours, feelings and concepts can be looked at and laid to rest, allowing the conscious mind to adopt a more rational positive outlook. The subconscious part of our mind has no critical awareness, and is only limited by our imagination.

Chapter Three How nerves affect the rider

Well if you first of all accept that horse riding is potentially a dangerous activity, you are more than half way there to understanding what’s going on inside your mind and body when you ride. Nature has been very clever in installing a small chip into our brains that is designed, amongst other things, to protect us if something life threatening is happening, or about to happen, (the Hypothalamus – part of the endocrine system) and not surprisingly, when we do something that this chip perceives as a potential threat to its host, it starts to react, and this is when we run into problems.

The unconscious mind starts to ask questions like; “why are you doing what you are doing? Do you need to do what you are doing? When will you stop doing it? Do I need to take action?”, and then our conscious mind analyses the situation from the stimulus it receives via our environment and our senses such as smell, sound, sight, temperature touch and so on. If the host – that’s you and me – doesn’t come up with a sensible, rational, logical, objective explanation, and the unconscious mind makes a connection between the outside stimuli and a previous negative experience, the chip in our brain starts to take charge and produces chemicals that will help the body to survive an attack; that’s the flight or fight instinct that all of us horse riders hear so much about.

When this happens we feel the effects in all sorts of places, our stomachs, legs, arms, wrists, ankles, heart and head, and psychologically it causes feelings of anxiety, stress, panic and fear; phobias can be created associated with this perceived threat, that can last for days months and even years. In prolonged periods, it can cause stress leading to distress, and in sever cases, depression, a less effective immune system causing general ill health, and heart problems.

So let’s look in more detail at what’s going on. Stress and anxiety have some rather devastating affects on the human body. When we are stressed, anxious or frightened, the chemicals our brain releases are: Adrenaline, Noradrenaline and Cortisol – an ‘Alarm Reaction’, part of the Sympathetic Nervous system, and this creates all sorts of problems, the eyes adjust to long vision, in preparation for finding an escape route, so that near vision becomes blurred; the skin sweats and becomes pale as blood is drawn from the surface to important organs; muscles under the skin partially contract in readiness to spring into action causing ‘goose pimples’; the heart increases its output and blood pressure goes up so you feel your heart pounding; breathing becomes more rapid so that adequate oxygen can be transferred to the blood; the spleen releases more red blood cells from its store; and non essential systems are inhibited, so the digestive system slows and speech is difficult.

With all this going on in the body, it’s not surprising that we feel sick; we feel hot or cold; we get headaches; our muscles go into spasms; we feel there is as a knot in the stomach and we can’t eat; we are short of breath; our mouth goes dry; we shake; we can’t get our words out; our minds go blank and our concentration starts to deteriorate. Is this sounding familiar?

Well – if it’s any consolation, at least you now know that you and your body will be prepared, and function perfectly normally should a Sabre-Toothed tiger appear in the middle of your dressage arena, pop up behind a show jump, or jump out from behind a bus shelter! Be assured though, that you and hundreds like you feel just like this every time they so much as even think about getting on their horse, let alone actually doing it.

This flight and fight response stuff is understandable, and as I’ve said, acceptable and very useful when faced with something that is actually life threatening, like that approaching Sabre-Toothed Tiger, (I never actually came across one by the way, but sometimes I’m sure my horse did!!) but when there is only a moderate danger, or none at all (other than in our distorted perception) we need to be able to reduce the output of these chemicals, and dampen down the psychological, emotional and behavioural responses they create. Changing our perception of a situation; the way we think, changes the way we feel, and changes the way we behave.

Our thoughts, feelings, behaviour and emotions are so closely intertwined with one another, this sequence is more like an electrical circuit, when the circuit is activated anywhere along its length, it creates a chain reaction that completes the circuit before we even have time to consciously think about. Which comes first is still debated in the medical field, some feel that the chemical response is activated by the mere thought of danger, or by acting as if frightened, others feel the unconscious instinctive part of our brain picks signals up we are not aware of, and then produces the chemicals. But all we need to really concern ourselves with is how do we break this cycle, short circuit it and change the negative direction that the electrical current is flowing in, to a positive one? This is where Hypnotherapy, hypnosis and the hypnotic-trance-state really start to work. Whilst this situation of an over-stimulated flight or fight response will normally only affect our own physiological and psychological well being, horse riders have the added problem of dealing with how their responses affects their horse. A creature that lives and survives by its own acute, more developed instinctive sense of its environment, including the observation of body language of other living creatures around it (visual and non visual), a superior sense of smell, taste, touch, hearing and eyesight and speed of reaction, and it because of these attributes, horse can pick up, like a radar, how we are thinking, feeling and behaving in any given situation, tuning in to every channel we broadcast. What we have to bare in mind then as riders, is that only do we need to conquer our own fears, anxieties and lack of confidence for our own benefit, we need to do it to stop us passing negative signals to our horses. If this isn’t prevented as much as it can be, we run into the problem of the rider actually creating the very situation they are trying to avoid, a nervous horse which then makes a nervous rider, which makes a more nervous horse and a more nervous rider and so on and so forth.

Chapter Four The Process of Hypnosis for the Horse Rider

During the state of hypnosis the conscious mind is bypassed, the unconscious part of the mind is spoken to (and if we stay with the electrical circuit metaphor); the negative current is short-circuited, overridden, and the current is reversed in a positive direction, and then rejoined to a positive terminal. Once we have reprogrammed the unconscious mind, and the unconscious mind reconnects with the conscious mind, our perception alters, we feel different, and depending on the reason for hypnotherapy, we find that whatever blockage was stopping us from achieving our goal, has either been reduced to such a degree that we can now live with it, or it has been removed completely.

The first part of the process of hypnosis is the “induction” of the trance state; a day dreamy state of mind, often experienced when listening to music, or driving for a long time on a boring road, listening to a long lecture, or during meditation. Think how many times you have driven home from somewhere and you can’t remember the actual journey; or in the middle of listening to someone you have drifted off to somewhere else; you are engrossed in a book or TV program to such an extent that you have forgotten the time; that half-awake feeling as you drift to the surface of sleep caught between wakefulness and sleep, these are ‘trance’ states or ‘altered states of mind’.

At this point, I want to lie to rest any misconceptions you may have about the power of hypnotherapy and the hypnotic trance state. Despite publicity in the media, and those that ‘perform’ on the stage using hypnosis for entertainment, hypnotherapy cannot make you do anything, or say anything or behave in any way that is unnatural to you. It cannot override your sense of morality, alter your judgement about what is right and wrong, or make you more susceptible to the unethical behaviours of others. During a hypnotic trance, you will always be aware of your surroundings when you need to be, you will still hear a fire alarm go off for example, and be able to open your eyes, get up and walk away, or respond to a question asked, and answer as normal. You will always be in control just as you are in a fully wakeful state. A hypnotic trance state is arrived at by ‘agreement’, not by way of coercion.

The Induction sequence of a trance state is to allow your body and mind to move into a state of complete relaxation. This prepares your mind and body to transfer on to the next stage of the hypnotic process. Breathing techniques, relaxation, visualisation imagery, use of metaphors or bombarding the critical mind with an overload of information can all induce the mind to start to alter its state of awareness. The old stereotypical image of swinging a watch in front of a subject’s eyes is to some extent valid; it was just another technique to get the conscious critical mind to switch off, to allow the subject to concentrate on what was being said to them and to start to focus on the inner self. Today there are allsorts of hi-tech gadgets about that create moving shapes or noises, but they are just that – gimmicks, and when it comes to listening to Self-Hypnosis pre-recorded material, whether you are using a traditional Hi Fi system, MP3′s (iPods) or via a PC, there is no concrete evidence that using headphones with two different voices in stereo sound, overlaying of voices one on top of another, or special sound effects and subliminal messages, actually increases the success of the process at all, furthermore, clients of mine than have tried these techniques elsewhere, have told me that they actually find these most annoying, and rather than allowing them to focus on the voice it actually distracted them to such an extent that they gave up using the process. Why re-invent the wheel if it works as it is?

The next stage of the hypnotic process is called the “trigger”. Depending on the therapeutic training of the Hypnotherapist and their personal preferences, different techniques will be used to increase the depth of the hypnotic trance state, sometimes a word is offered, or a particular behaviour, such as touching ones ear or pressing a finger and thumb together. This trigger can be used in the normal waking state to reproduce the same state of calmness and relaxation achieved during hypnosis. It can also be used to bring back to the conscious mind any imagery or suggestion that the unconscious mind has visualised or heard during hypnosis. It is always emphasised by the Hypnotherapist, that this “trigger” word or action, will ONLY take on this special significance when used in relation to hypnosis, in all other circumstances the word or action will have the same meaning as it always has.

The next level of the hypnotic process is called the “deepener”, this stage takes the mind through a process that encourages the critical conscious mind, to fade into the background and the unconscious mind to come into the foreground, and a much deeper hypnotic trance state is established. This state is associated with a vivid involvement in imagined events, a shift into a context-free literal understanding of words and phrases, and a removal of the restrictions ordinarily imposed upon conscious abilities and responses. Hypnotherapy is designed to take full advantage of these characteristics. The Trigger and deepener stages are interwoven with each other and the listener is taken ever further from the conscious world.

During the next stage, the ‘therapeutic’ stage of the hypnotic trance state, the unconscious part of the mind is spoken to with more precise language with either direct or indirect suggestions; the negative electric current is short-circuited, overridden, and then rejoined to positive terminals. R. A. Havens and C. Walters (1989) say: ‘As a result of these changes in conscious attitude or state of mind, clients in a trance are able to pay closer attention to their own unconscious resources of potential information and guidance. They also are able to more comfortably accept indirect and even direct statements from the therapist…while in a trance state, clients can experience imagined events with such clarity and relaxed involvement that they undergo many of the same changes in learning, performance and belief that they would in the actual situation’.

Once the unconscious mind is reprogrammed, using a variety of techniques such as deep relaxation, therapeutic language, positive imagery, metaphors, indirect or direct suggestion, and post hypnotic anchors, the unconscious mind can then positively influence the conscious mind in any given situation or series of events. Our perceptions of the situation can be altered, we feel differently about it, and depending on the reason for the hypnotherapy in the first place, we may feel more relaxed, calmer, optimistic, energised, healthier, motivated and more in control of our responses, habits and behaviours. This control increases our confidence. With growing confidence comes the realisation that we can actually achieve those goals that we never thought possible – and the actual subsequent achievement is our biofeedback. However, hypnosis can go further than this, we can actually change the way our body functions, reducing heart rate, improving blood supply and boosting the immune system are but a few.

All through a Hypnotherapy session and the hypnotic trance state, whether it be face-to-face or listening to a Self-Hypnosis Recording, positive language is used to encourage you, to motivate you and reward your achievements, positive confidence building are the foundation blocks of the whole process, and added to this are other more specific elements. Interwoven within the language are suggestions, concepts, and ideas that will help you long after the session has finished. You will experience the actual event or events that you are struggling to deal with, but this time you will only experience positive sensations, you will see the goal you want and actually be there. You will use all your senses, of smell, hearing, taste, touch, and feelings to experience this achievement; feeling all the positive emotions associated with that achievement. All negative non-productive thoughts, concepts, ideas, feelings, and behaviours are reduced or rationalised and put into their true perspectives. Post hypnotic anchors are used to enable you to make an instant connection between the thoughts, feelings, and emotions you have experienced during the hypnotic state, to the here-and-now situation you’re in.

The final stage, “The Termination” is when the hypnotic trance is brought to an end, and the subject is gently brought back to full consciousness and wakefulness. During this process, the subject is offered the option of bringing back with them into their conscious world, all the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that they have experienced during the hypnotic trance, and they can also leave behind any that they do not want. This suggestion allows the subject to decide for himself or herself what feelings, thoughts, and emotions they have found most pleasurable and beneficial, that they may wish to hold in their conscious mind.

When the session is finished, you should be left feeling very calm, relaxed and peaceful. The positive feelings of motivation and confidence can often take some time develop. There doesn’t seem to be any particular reason why hypnotherapy works instantly for some people, but takes time for others. And even when it feels that nothing at all has actually happened, you’ll be surprised at just how much has changed, but this is only noticed in retrospect when you look back at how you were before you started using hypnosis. Often during hypnosis, you may experience various physiological and biological changes. Your Legs and arms may feel particularly heavy as if they weigh more than normal, or they may feel light as if they are floating or you experience a tingling sensation in them or sometimes they feel as they are not there any more. You may be aware of your heartbeat slowing down and your breathing becoming shallower. Sometimes the stomach can start to bubble and gurgle and be quite noisy. There maybe increased watering of the eyes and fluttering of the eyelids. Others report that they feel as if they have become at-one with the chair or couch they are resting on, there can be a reluctance to move, and there is a distortion in the passing of time (often an underestimation of the time spent in hypnosis). As you start to drift back from the hypnotic state, you may experience a feeling or euphoria and wellbeing.

Chapter 5 Resistance and Blockages to Process. For some, Hypnotherapy, and particularly Self-Hypnosis, does not work, and there are different theories as to why this is, as mentioned earlier, those people that are very analytical, and question everything to such an extent that they find it impossible to accept a concept that they perhaps don’t fully understand, may find the hypnotic state eludes them. If you find loosing control or enjoying yourself doesn’t come easy, then this is can also make relaxing into a hypnotic state very difficult. Sometimes hypnosis fails because we self-sabotage the process, and I know this sounds odd when you really are convinced in your own mind that you want something to change, but just imagine this scenario. If you are nervous about riding out, and therefore avoid it by staying in a safe environment, such as the arena, removing the issue that is creating this situation also means that a valid excuse has been removed. When you no longer have an excuse to avoid a situation, you are then faced with the reality of actually having to do something. So in this case, you would now have no excuse for staying in the arena and not hacking out; but just suppose that you really rather liked the convenience of riding in the arena, because it kept your horse cleaner, dryer and you could save time and energy. Perhaps you don’t actually have the inclination or energy to hack out, but up until now, you could always convince yourself and others this wasn’t the case.

Alternatively, perhaps you have been avoiding competitions because you felt too anxious and panicky when you did, but in actual fact, you are not really that competitive, but others feel you should be. Perhaps a partner or parents are pressuring you to justify the expense of your hobby if you don’t compete, and it’s easier to say you are fearful, than you really aren’t that interested. On the other hand, perhaps you are more worried about failure, or not living up to others expectations’, so avoiding the situation altogether is a safer alternative.

If there are other underlying reasons for the preservation of a phobia or fear, then these really need addressing, if the desire to hang on to these thoughts, feelings and behaviours is very resistant to removal, it maybe that they are serving a useful purpose.

Another blockage to this process could be that the issues around riding are only a reflection of what is going on elsewhere in your life. If you are a nervous, anxious person generally, and you find situations at work, home or socially provoke similar feelings of panic, nervousness and fear, then it’s a lot to expect that in this one area of life, riding, you are suddenly going to become a very confident, self-assured calm, relaxed person. Finding help to deal with a non-horse related issue in your life, could lessen or remove the horse related problem.

However, taking all this into consideration, for most people the hypnotic trance state is attained easily and the process works well. For many it has been the last clutch of the straw before throwing the grooming brush to the floor and hanging up the boots for good!

END

Bibliography: Waxman, D., (1981). Hartlands medical and Dental Hypnosis. Baillier Tindall, London. Thompson, A., (2001). Handbook for students. Salford College, Manchester, England. Havens, Ronald A., and Walters C. (1989). Hypnotherapy scripts. Brunner/Mazel Publications, New York. Greenberger, D., and Padesky A. (1995). Mind Over Mood. The Guilford Press, New York. Looker T & Gregson O. (1997). Managing Stress. Hodder and Stroughton. London. Lloyd, P., Mayes A., Manstead, A., Meudell, P., Wagner, H.,(1990). Introduction to Psycholog. Fontana Press, Glasgow.

Introduction

Chapter 1. Background to Theory Chapter 2. How Hypnotherapy works Chapter 3. How nerves affect the rider Chapter 4. The process of Hypnosis for the rider Chapter 5. Resistance and Blockages to Process Bibliography

People from all walks of life come to horse riding, sometimes it‘s the realisation of a childhood dream, sometimes the rekindling of a long lost hobby, or the interest arrives by accident, often through cross contamination… “if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them”, but we all have different stories to tell about our fears and anxieties and how they have affected our lives as riders. The fascination we have with the horse is so embedded and entrenched in our psyche as human beings, that often it is hard to explain to someone who has never been bitten by this bug; why those of us who have, are prepared to put ourselves through so much pain, anguish, and discomfort to achieve our goals. Giving up riding altogether is often not a perceived option. In an attempt to hang on to a way of life that we feel lovingly entrapped by, we will continue to keep our beloved four-legged friends as companions or pets, acknowledging inwardly that we feel helpless, frustrated with ourselves and desperate. We live in the hope that just one day, the feelings of fear, and dread that prevent us from riding with confidence, will some how disappear from our minds and bodies whilst we sleep through the night.

Each day we hope that for some reason, something has changed, perhaps because the sun is shining on us, the wind has died down, the road works have finished, the litter has all been collected, that blooming dog is indoors; the jumps are more inviting, the approach more controlled, the poles are more solid; the cross-country ditches seem shallower, the ground is good, or the fences not so high; the dressage judge has missed that spook, you manage to remember to breath, the horse strikes off on the right leg, better still, the horse has read the dressage test beforehand. Any number of reasons as to why today is different from all others, but unfortunately, it rarely is.

So next time your negative thoughts, those automatic ones that jump into your mind before you have chance to challenge them, and they stop you in your tracks, remember, you do have an option, you can change those thoughts, you can change those feelings and you can change the behaviours that they create. You may not become the next John Whittaker, Carl Hester, or Pippa Funnel, but you may enjoy the delights of hacking down a country lane or a main road, or popping over a clear round course or a fallen log, or doing an unaffiliated dressage test, and for many of us, this is as big an accomplishment as receiving an Olympic Gold Medal.

To these people, I dedicate this ebook.

Chapter one

Background to Theory

Most of you reading this I’m sure, will be familiar with those stage hypnotists seen on the television and in the media, or even down at your local pub, but Clinical Hypnotherapy is quite another matter, and it is by no means a new phenomenon, in fact the use of hypnotherapy and hypnosis to solve emotional and psychological problems; in other words therapeutically, dates back as far as 1779, with Franz Anton Mesmer’s theory of animal magnetism, later referred to as mesmerism.

We are still learning about how the mind works as oppose to the brain, and although Clinical Hypnotherapists have been practising for a long time using tried and tested methods, there are still a number of theories as to what the state of hypnosis actually is, and how it works.

I feel that having some theoretical background knowledge about these theories plays an important part in the successful outcome of the process, and its ongoing usefulness for any individual that wants to use it. I am therefore, going to briefly outline the main theories or assumptions about the state of Hypnosis (as there are many more than those listed here) and there are some excellent books available if you really want to get your teeth into the subject in some depth, suffice to say, that recent developments have resulted in a common view that the ‘State of Hypnosis’ is both scientific and phenomenological based. I will explain later what is meant by the conscious and unconscious (sometimes also referred to as subconscious) minds, as this is the cornerstone of Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis.

Disassociation Theory:

Theorists suggest here that the subject disassociates from conscious mental activity and external events, whilst accessing other compartments of the mind with the focus being on internal experience. This theory claims that this can be likened to wakefulness and full conscious activity to sleep and dream activity.

Atavistic Theory:

Suggests that the individual overrides intellectual and critical mental functioning to access a primordial compartment of the brain that operates on a primitive simplicity level; in other words we all have an ancient remnant within our brains that is the left over from when we were a primitive species, and this compartment is tapped into during the hypnotic state.

Hyper-suggestibility Theory:

Suggests that all behaviour, thoughts and feelings are learnt; that individuals are products of conditioning and that our responses to life can only be understood in relation to conscious and ‘out of aware’ stimuli. This theory suggests that our mental processing and our behavioural responses are all governed by internal responses to environmental suggestion, and that the contextual setting for hypnosis heightens the potential for conditioned responses to suggestion.

Altered State Theory:

Suggests that not only is another part of the mind accessed during hypnosis but also in addition, another level or dimension of consciousness is entered into. ‘Hypnosis may be defined as an altered state of awareness affected by total concentration on the voice of the therapist. It will result in measurable physical, neurophysiological and psychological changes in which may be produced distortion of emotion, sensation, image, and time’ (Waxman 1981)

Essentially, theorists fall into two main categories; State Theory and Non-State, but a common understanding and agreement that all theorists share, is that the process of hypnosis can be utilised to benefit individuals psycho-biologically.

Over the past decade, hypnotherapy has established widespread therapeutic use in medical and psychotherapy settings. It is now recognised by the National Health Service in the United Kingdom as an Alternative and or Complimentary Therapy, and can be offered as such to patients as a valuable safe therapy for a whole host of psychobiological disorders.

The model of Hypno-Psychotherapy that I was taught to use is called Ericksonian, because it was developed by Milton H Erickson, M.D. the foundation of his hypnotherapeutic system is his orienting assumption that people have a conscious mind and an unconscious mind. Erickson used the term ‘unconscious mind’ to refer to all the cognitions, perceptions, and emotions which occur outside of a person’s normal range of awareness. He reserved the term ‘conscious’ mind for the limited range of information that enters the restricted focus of attention of most people in everyday life, (and in some of us it’s more restricted than others – but I digress!). Erickson was less concerned about the state v non-state debate; the response of the client to the suggestion was far more important than the question of whether it was a function of conscious compliance or unconscious processes.

Well, now you have some basic knowledge of what the theorists and experts in the field think hypnosis could be, you can perhaps understand why it is so difficult to answer in a few words when people ask me, ‘how does it work’. I guess what you really want to know is ‘will it work for me?’ Well, like all alternative and complimentary therapies, there are no guarantees, much as there often isn’t with traditional medicine, but if you have an open mind and an imagination, there is every chance it will do. It is generally accepted that 90% of the population can be induced into the hypnotic trance state by an individual Hypnotherapist, provided that the subject is willing and not afraid. Analytically minded people that try to work out the why and wherefores of what is happening to them during hypnotherapy, are not likely to find the hypnotic process as easy to relax into as others, but even for these people sufficient depth of the hypnotic state for successful treatment can be obtained, with adequate preparation, patience, repetition and perseverance.

Whether the hypnotic trance state is arrived at through face-to-face Hypnotherapy or through Self-Hypnosis, (using pre-recorded audio CD’s, MP3′s, or Personal Computers) the procedure is very similar. The main advantage though of a face-to-face session is that a consultation process takes place, during which information is gathered so that the language used by the Hypnotherapist during hypnosis, is tailor-made to that of the listener. This increases the intensity of the therapy and depth of the trance state, and can improve the success rate.

Unfortunately, there are few qualified registered Hypnotherapists, who also have first-hand knowledge of what a rider goes through when they have reached an all-time low on the confidence-scale, so face-to-face sessions are rarely a practical option. But with today’s advance of audio technology, which seems to change daily, access to pre-recorded material is as easy now as hitting a button, and far more cost effective.

My Self-Hypnosis CD’s can now be downloaded for use on any MP3 player, (often called an iPod, which is the brand name for Apple’s version) or a personal computer or CD player. However, I must emphasise that no hypnotherapy session should ever be undertaken whilst driving, riding or operating any machinery or doing anything that requires concentration. You need to be in a relaxed, quite environment where you wont be disturbed. Therefore, the portability of MP3′s, iPods and mobile phones really does make it easy now to get away from it all, and really engage in the hypnotic process whenever the opportunity arises.

I must stress here that Hypnotherapy is not a panacea for all ills, and contraindications do exist, one being when a person’s psychological state of mind would make the process unsafe for them; as in the condition of schizophrenia or any type of psychotic personality disorder or psychosis that already causes an altered state of mind, or disassociation or a distortion of reality. If you are receiving E.C.T. or any form of treatment for a psychological problem, I would advice you check with your Doctor before using Hypnotherapy, and as hypnosis lowers the blood pressure, if you already suffer with low blood pressure, and this is being treated with medication, I would advice you to check with your GP first.

Chapter Two How Hypnotherapy Works

Hypnotherapy works by accessing the ‘unconscious’ mind (also called ‘subconscious’); so what is meant by the conscious and unconscious minds?

When we talk about the conscious mind, we refer to the thoughts that are going through our heads right now, the ones that we are aware of as we think about something, the little voice on the shoulder or in the head, the one you can hear right now, as you think of your shoulder. The conscious mind is rather less significant than our unconscious mind. To make it clearer, or not as the case may be, If you compare your mind to an iceberg; an analogy that one of my lecturers favoured, then the tip of the iceberg that you see above the surface of the water is the conscious mind, and the larger more substantial part of the iceberg that is out of sight, below the water line (but supports the tip), is the unconscious mind, a significantly larger part.

The unconscious mind is the seat of our emotions, and directs nearly all our behaviour. Everything that has ever happened to us, and everything we have ever seen, smelt, touched or heard is stored away there for future reference. It contains all our wisdom and intelligence; it is our source of creativity. The number of activities our unconscious mind performs and controls for us is quite humbling and astounding. Whenever we need to remember something, a name, date, place, an instruction, an understanding or insight, up it pops out of our unconscious mind like magic, weather the conscious mind wants it to or not. Without ever being consciously aware of it, we breathe, walk, talk, drive a car and use complicated pieces of technology, never giving a second thought as to where all that knowledge came from. However, the conscious mind constantly takes credit for, and finds explanations for the activities of the unconscious mind, over which it actually has no control and about which it is unaware.

Over many years, the conscious mind becomes very good at this act so that it is able to offer such impressive rationalisations and explanations for its behaviour that we don’t even question it. Nevertheless, the unconscious mind is much more observant, wise, intelligent, adaptive, and skilful than the conscious mind could ever be; it is said that the conscious mind can only hold eight thoughts at any one time; usually in small chunks, which is why we tend to remember numbers more easily if they are in small bundles. The unconscious mind can also delete information from our awareness. It would be impossible to process all the information we receive consciously, so the unconscious mind sorts it and then presents us with a summary of what is taking place. We have all heard anecdotal stories of extreme bravery when someone has badly injured himself or herself, but feels no pain and has no awareness of their own injuries until after the traumatic event. The unconscious mind had sorted through the information and decided what we need to know to help our actions at that moment in time. The interaction between the conscious and unconscious minds is going on all the time and we never give any of this process a second thought. Our conscious mind uses questions to reason, our conscious mind; the voice in our head, is always evaluating – critically and analytically – by comparing, contrasting and noticing, but in hypnosis, and the hypnotic trance state, the conscious mind is dampened down and this allows excellent communication with the unconscious mind, and without it’s critical analytical partner, changes in core beliefs and behaviours can take place.

But this ability of the unconscious mind to accept without critical analyses has a downside, because it can just as easily hang on to negative experiences, so that whenever a similar event to that previously experienced occurs again in the future, the old feelings of discomfort that were felt the first time, are instantly brought back to the conscious mind in an attempt to protect us; this is how phobias start. If you had a bad experience on your horse, your unconscious mind may bring back all the negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviours associated with that experience the next time you ride. This is very frustrating for the rider who knows rationally and logically that there is nothing actually happening in the present time to create these unwanted thoughts and feelings, (it’s a doubly hard pill to swallow when you aren’t even sitting on the same horse anymore because you had to get a new one to satisfy yourself that is was the horse that was the problem!).

So to recap, during a hypnotherapy session, it is the unconscious part of the mind that is spoken to, where new ideas, concepts and affirmations can be implanted, and it is here that old limiting beliefs can be changed. Past phobias and learnt negative behaviours, feelings and concepts can be looked at and laid to rest, allowing the conscious mind to adopt a more rational positive outlook. The subconscious part of our mind has no critical awareness, and is only limited by our imagination.

Chapter Three How nerves affect the rider

Well if you first of all accept that horse riding is potentially a dangerous activity, you are more than half way there to understanding what’s going on inside your mind and body when you ride. Nature has been very clever in installing a small chip into our brains that is designed, amongst other things, to protect us if something life threatening is happening, or about to happen, (the Hypothalamus – part of the endocrine system) and not surprisingly, when we do something that this chip perceives as a potential threat to its host, it starts to react, and this is when we run into problems.

The unconscious mind starts to ask questions like; “why are you doing what you are doing? Do you need to do what you are doing? When will you stop doing it? Do I need to take action?”, and then our conscious mind analyses the situation from the stimulus it receives via our environment and our senses such as smell, sound, sight, temperature touch and so on. If the host – that’s you and me – doesn’t come up with a sensible, rational, logical, objective explanation, and the unconscious mind makes a connection between the outside stimuli and a previous negative experience, the chip in our brain starts to take charge and produces chemicals that will help the body to survive an attack; that’s the flight or fight instinct that all of us horse riders hear so much about.

When this happens we feel the effects in all sorts of places, our stomachs, legs, arms, wrists, ankles, heart and head, and psychologically it causes feelings of anxiety, stress, panic and fear; phobias can be created associated with this perceived threat, that can last for days months and even years. In prolonged periods, it can cause stress leading to distress, and in sever cases, depression, a less effective immune system causing general ill health, and heart problems.

So let’s look in more detail at what’s going on. Stress and anxiety have some rather devastating affects on the human body. When we are stressed, anxious or frightened, the chemicals our brain releases are: Adrenaline, Noradrenaline and Cortisol – an ‘Alarm Reaction’, part of the Sympathetic Nervous system, and this creates all sorts of problems, the eyes adjust to long vision, in preparation for finding an escape route, so that near vision becomes blurred; the skin sweats and becomes pale as blood is drawn from the surface to important organs; muscles under the skin partially contract in readiness to spring into action causing ‘goose pimples’; the heart increases its output and blood pressure goes up so you feel your heart pounding; breathing becomes more rapid so that adequate oxygen can be transferred to the blood; the spleen releases more red blood cells from its store; and non essential systems are inhibited, so the digestive system slows and speech is difficult.

With all this going on in the body, it’s not surprising that we feel sick; we feel hot or cold; we get headaches; our muscles go into spasms; we feel there is as a knot in the stomach and we can’t eat; we are short of breath; our mouth goes dry; we shake; we can’t get our words out; our minds go blank and our concentration starts to deteriorate. Is this sounding familiar?

Well – if it’s any consolation, at least you now know that you and your body will be prepared, and function perfectly normally should a Sabre-Toothed tiger appear in the middle of your dressage arena, pop up behind a show jump, or jump out from behind a bus shelter! Be assured though, that you and hundreds like you feel just like this every time they so much as even think about getting on their horse, let alone actually doing it.

This flight and fight response stuff is understandable, and as I’ve said, acceptable and very useful when faced with something that is actually life threatening, like that approaching Sabre-Toothed Tiger, (I never actually came across one by the way, but sometimes I’m sure my horse did!!) but when there is only a moderate danger, or none at all (other than in our distorted perception) we need to be able to reduce the output of these chemicals, and dampen down the psychological, emotional and behavioural responses they create. Changing our perception of a situation; the way we think, changes the way we feel, and changes the way we behave.

Our thoughts, feelings, behaviour and emotions are so closely intertwined with one another, this sequence is more like an electrical circuit, when the circuit is activated anywhere along its length, it creates a chain reaction that completes the circuit before we even have time to consciously think about. Which comes first is still debated in the medical field, some feel that the chemical response is activated by the mere thought of danger, or by acting as if frightened, others feel the unconscious instinctive part of our brain picks signals up we are not aware of, and then produces the chemicals. But all we need to really concern ourselves with is how do we break this cycle, short circuit it and change the negative direction that the electrical current is flowing in, to a positive one? This is where Hypnotherapy, hypnosis and the hypnotic-trance-state really start to work. Whilst this situation of an over-stimulated flight or fight response will normally only affect our own physiological and psychological well being, horse riders have the added problem of dealing with how their responses affects their horse. A creature that lives and survives by its own acute, more developed instinctive sense of its environment, including the observation of body language of other living creatures around it (visual and non visual), a superior sense of smell, taste, touch, hearing and eyesight and speed of reaction, and it because of these attributes, horse can pick up, like a radar, how we are thinking, feeling and behaving in any given situation, tuning in to every channel we broadcast. What we have to bare in mind then as riders, is that only do we need to conquer our own fears, anxieties and lack of confidence for our own benefit, we need to do it to stop us passing negative signals to our horses. If this isn’t prevented as much as it can be, we run into the problem of the rider actually creating the very situation they are trying to avoid, a nervous horse which then makes a nervous rider, which makes a more nervous horse and a more nervous rider and so on and so forth.

Chapter Four The Process of Hypnosis for the Horse Rider

During the state of hypnosis the conscious mind is bypassed, the unconscious part of the mind is spoken to (and if we stay with the electrical circuit metaphor); the negative current is short-circuited, overridden, and the current is reversed in a positive direction, and then rejoined to a positive terminal. Once we have reprogrammed the unconscious mind, and the unconscious mind reconnects with the conscious mind, our perception alters, we feel different, and depending on the reason for hypnotherapy, we find that whatever blockage was stopping us from achieving our goal, has either been reduced to such a degree that we can now live with it, or it has been removed completely.

The first part of the process of hypnosis is the “induction” of the trance state; a day dreamy state of mind, often experienced when listening to music, or driving for a long time on a boring road, listening to a long lecture, or during meditation. Think how many times you have driven home from somewhere and you can’t remember the actual journey; or in the middle of listening to someone you have drifted off to somewhere else; you are engrossed in a book or TV program to such an extent that you have forgotten the time; that half-awake feeling as you drift to the surface of sleep caught between wakefulness and sleep, these are ‘trance’ states or ‘altered states of mind’.

At this point, I want to lie to rest any misconceptions you may have about the power of hypnotherapy and the hypnotic trance state. Despite publicity in the media, and those that ‘perform’ on the stage using hypnosis for entertainment, hypnotherapy cannot make you do anything, or say anything or behave in any way that is unnatural to you. It cannot override your sense of morality, alter your judgement about what is right and wrong, or make you more susceptible to the unethical behaviours of others. During a hypnotic trance, you will always be aware of your surroundings when you need to be, you will still hear a fire alarm go off for example, and be able to open your eyes, get up and walk away, or respond to a question asked, and answer as normal. You will always be in control just as you are in a fully wakeful state. A hypnotic trance state is arrived at by ‘agreement’, not by way of coercion.

The Induction sequence of a trance state is to allow your body and mind to move into a state of complete relaxation. This prepares your mind and body to transfer on to the next stage of the hypnotic process. Breathing techniques, relaxation, visualisation imagery, use of metaphors or bombarding the critical mind with an overload of information can all induce the mind to start to alter its state of awareness. The old stereotypical image of swinging a watch in front of a subject’s eyes is to some extent valid; it was just another technique to get the conscious critical mind to switch off, to allow the subject to concentrate on what was being said to them and to start to focus on the inner self. Today there are allsorts of hi-tech gadgets about that create moving shapes or noises, but they are just that – gimmicks, and when it comes to listening to Self-Hypnosis pre-recorded material, whether you are using a traditional Hi Fi system, MP3′s (iPods) or via a PC, there is no concrete evidence that using headphones with two different voices in stereo sound, overlaying of voices one on top of another, or special sound effects and subliminal messages, actually increases the success of the process at all, furthermore, clients of mine than have tried these techniques elsewhere, have told me that they actually find these most annoying, and rather than allowing them to focus on the voice it actually distracted them to such an extent that they gave up using the process. Why re-invent the wheel if it works as it is?

The next stage of the hypnotic process is called the “trigger”. Depending on the therapeutic training of the Hypnotherapist and their personal preferences, different techniques will be used to increase the depth of the hypnotic trance state, sometimes a word is offered, or a particular behaviour, such as touching ones ear or pressing a finger and thumb together. This trigger can be used in the normal waking state to reproduce the same state of calmness and relaxation achieved during hypnosis. It can also be used to bring back to the conscious mind any imagery or suggestion that the unconscious mind has visualised or heard during hypnosis. It is always emphasised by the Hypnotherapist, that this “trigger” word or action, will ONLY take on this special significance when used in relation to hypnosis, in all other circumstances the word or action will have the same meaning as it always has.

The next level of the hypnotic process is called the “deepener”, this stage takes the mind through a process that encourages the critical conscious mind, to fade into the background and the unconscious mind to come into the foreground, and a much deeper hypnotic trance state is established. This state is associated with a vivid involvement in imagined events, a shift into a context-free literal understanding of words and phrases, and a removal of the restrictions ordinarily imposed upon conscious abilities and responses. Hypnotherapy is designed to take full advantage of these characteristics. The Trigger and deepener stages are interwoven with each other and the listener is taken ever furt

About the Author

Sharon Shinwell Dip Couns. Dip HP. Dip. CBT. Dip Sup. MBACP., is a qualified, Integrative Counsellor, Clinical Hypnotherapist, and Clinical Counselling Supervisor. She is a Co author of ‘Ride with Confidence’ and the producer of The Confident Rider Series of Self-Hypnosis audio CDs and downloads for nervous riders.

Self hypnosis recordings for nervous riders

 

Has anyone got any good dressage tips?

I am entering into the Chiltern and Thames Qualifier Preliminary 4 2002 Dressage Test.
I have only ever entered into 2 dressage tests prior to this and am riding an older slow horse.
Any tips on how I can get top marks?

Thanks

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Memorize your test, and look at all the movement required. Work on the ones that you have trouble with. (You did keep your previous test results, didn’t you?) Remember, transitions are as important as the movements themselves; even if not formally scored in the test you are riding, they impress the judge. Don’t bore your horse by riding the test over and over, but ride and incorporate the elements that you will be showing.

Repeating bad moves only ingrains them in your muscle memory, so work on doing it right. Don’t accept in practice what you don’t want the judge to see in the ring.

Every corner and transition is an opportunity to rebalance your horse, use lots of half-halts. Think and prepare for the next movement BEFORE you get there; when you are 3/4 of the way down the long side, it is pretty much too late to fix anything, so start thinking about the turn and transition coming up.

You can actually mentally prepare at home. Ride the test in your mind, reviewing the movements and how you will cue them, how you will sit them, how it will feel.

Good luck.