Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

When the brain gets involved too much in the decision making for the 
body in athletic events is when one usually screws up. You think Barry 
Bonds thinks about crushing a baseball thrown from 60 feet away at 100 
mph - no it just happens. You think the good rodeo riders think much 
about each move on a ride - they focus on the ride not the buck. Ski 
racers focus four gates ahead not each turn. Tennis players focus on the 
ball, not the stroke.

I heard a golf instructor once say the reason golf was so hard for some 
people to master is that they though about the stroke instead of doing 
it. The more they thought about it the worse it got. Tennis instructors 
will tell you the same thing.

So to me the way to get over fear in riding is to focus on the trail 
ahead and feel the horse with body and let your body ride the horse - 
not your brain. Knock on wood I don't come off often and it sure isn't 
because my horse is calm and non spooky. I try to focus on the trail 
about 100 meters out and let the horse do it's job and my body do it's 
job and keep my brain out of the equation.  Same principle as focusing 
on the third turn down the slope when you are skiing. If you do this the 
first thing that goes away is fear of falling and the second thing that 
happens is your body tends to be able to "feel" what the horse will do 
and can react much faster to stay with the horse.

Truman

Howard Bramhall wrote:

> I do believe fear of falling is something that can be overcome.  It's 
> a mental block, usually resulting from a really bad fall.  And, you 
> don't want to do it again.






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