Source | www.horselistening.com
It’s tempting to watch other horse people and feel either somehow deficient, or somewhat rushed. Many of us end up avoiding new learning because it takes us out of our comfort zones.
However, it helps to think of “competition” not as an aggressive, winner-take-all, loser-get-none scenario, but as a process of self-development and education. In other words, the quickest route to winning might be to “compete” against yourself instead of others – in all areas of riding and horsemanship.
Not just in the show or competition arena, but in everything from horse management, to ground skills, to training and skill development, to doing the most fun things you’ve always wanted to do with horses – like a weekend camping trip, a trail challenge, or a swim at the beach.
If you regularly look for ways you can expand your skills, you will surely be on track toward making progress as you build in step by tiny step into your regular routines. Here are 6 ways that you can improve by competing against yourself.
Watch Others
In this day and age, you don’t even have to watch a rider in person (although you certainly can do that too). Search for your topic of interest and you’ll likely find many videos on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. Look for clinic videos, major shows (that are often live-streamed) and training videos put up by professionals from all around the world. Watch them and see what you would like to emulate, and what you would definitely like to avoid doing. Then take some of those ideas back to your horse and start practicing.
