It is normal to feel some fear now and then when riding horses. You are astride an animal that outweighs you by a ratio of anything between 1:12 and 1:30, and that animal happens to be extraordinarily muscular, fast and sensitive.

Do you realise that some gratitude will go a long way in destroying those fears?

To start, bear in mind that more than 99 % of your fears are never realized. Given this scenario it is rather pointless to worry and fret and lose sleep over issues that will always stay restricted to your imagination. I think it was Mark Twain who said “I have been thru some appalling things in my life, some of which actually occurred.” He said it rather well.

Ditch the worrying habit. Instead , focus on the tons of things you’ve got to be grateful for… You can be grateful to oneself for everything positive in your life. Instead of worrying about getting bucked off, be thankful you are doing something millions of human beings aren’t: spending quality time with some of the most wonderful animals God ever made. Rather than worrying over whether you are making an ass of yourself at some competitive event, be thankful that you have got the physical and psychological faculties to actually participate in the event. Are you afraid of breaking a leg or an arm? Be grateful you have all 4 limbs intact and in working condition. Don’t like your job? Be grateful you aren’t out on the streets with a begging bowl in your hands.

Accept it or not, positive feelings like gratitude attract more things into your life that you’re going to have reason for feeling appreciation for. Try it out: get going with a gratitude journal. Each day, note down everything you should feel grateful for. See for yourself if this list grows larger as time goes by.

On particular devastating days, you would probably snarl “Nothing” for an answer if you’re asked to name some things you are thankful for. You would come up with more conclusive answers if you were asked what you could be thankful for.

Let’s see now, what are we able to come up with off the bat?

– Acts of kindness from strangers

– Your family

– Your wellbeing

– Your favourite horse

– Having the ability to afford to eat out tonight

– Dreams and daydreams

– Toilets that really flush

– A cleansing, calming rain

– Getting some appreciation after doing a good job

– Air conditioning

– Music

– The scent of gardenia

– A snooze

– Your pet dog

– Rainbows

– Popcorn while watching flicks

– Sunshine

– Electricity

– The lack of agony

– Old friendships

– Chocolate

– Home gadgets

– Good books

– Hot showers

– The scents of life (flowers, your child’s shampooed hair, the earth after rain)

– Eyesight

– Days off and vacations

– Laughter and giggling with others

– Rocking chairs

– A safe flight

– Breathing!

Eliminate fear with thanks. After you learn how to feel genuine gratitude, you will find that your horse’s behavior is abruptly not so frightening. His jumps won’t be too high or rather too long, the obstructions on the course won’t be so impossible and the judges won’t look quite so much like dragons in disguise.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers read more