Why is horse riding confidence training needed? If you talk to riders from just about any equine discipline and ask them what they most need to work on most of all – the #1 answer will be confidence. That could be confidence in their horse, confidence in themselves, but mostly it is in both. But the secret that most riders don’t know, is that the easiest way to help both you & your horse build confidence, is by using groundwork for horses. You can actually massively improve your riding confidence levels – by doing groundwork & in hand work as part of a rider confidence course. Let me explain everything.

Building confidence – horse groundwork

Have you ever been in a situation where you were riding your horse when they got worried? Where your horse riding confidence levels started to drop? You could probably feel your horse breathing hard, you might have been able to feel their heart beating under your legs. Your horse’s head was probably high in the air, they were maybe jogging or even trying to spin in a circle. You can tell that their confidence is gone and they aren’t listening to you.

Maybe, like me, you’ve also been told by “experts” that when this happens you shouldn’t get off because it’s not safe and the horse will “win”.

I 100% disagree with this. Very often horses – and their riders – will feel more confident and safer when the rider is on the ground to help the horse. People who fear that they will lose control of their horse if they get off have missed out some education that is crucial for horses and their humans – horse groundwork exercises. When we establish good quality, consistent groundwork with our horses we have created a language between us that we both understand, a language that will help us when things get challenging.

As for the horse “winning” – nobody wins if a horse is forcibly made to accept something that is frightening them. We win when horse and rider can deal with the unexpected together and come through it feeling confident.

Building confidence – how do we know a horse isn’t confident?

The spooky horse

A factor factor that affects our horse riding confidence levels is how confident our horse is. People often think of spookiness in horses as being something that happens when they are ridden. That is certainly the case, but of course it can also be an issue on the ground. Out riding this is the horse that keeps us on our toes every minute we are with them. On a trail ride they are always on the alert, even though sometimes it isn’t that obvious. They might jump away from a bird flying out of a bush, they might jump because a shadow on the ground moved!

On the ground a spooky horse can be interesting to deal with as well! One minute you’re happily walking across the yard to put your horse out, the next minute they’ve jumped sideways at 100 miles per hour because someone walked out of a stable.

Spooky horses are telling us that they don’t feel confident about much, and understandably that rubs off on us humans.

The barn sour horse

The barn sour or herd bound horse doesn’t feel confident away from their mates. It’s understandable really because herd animals get security in numbers, but it’s challenging for the human to deal with. It’s not easy to deal with a horse that jumps around and calls for their friends any time they are taken out of the field. Riding a horse that is calling and wanting to go back to their friends is not much fun either. Helping a barn sour horse to change isn’t just about wanting to enjoy leading them out and riding them. It is also vital so that they are prepared for the times when they just have to leave their friends, maybe for a trip to the vet or something similar.

Pushy horses

Another major factor for our horse riding confidence levels is personal space, or the lack thereof. Maybe you and a new horse are getting to know each other. Or maybe you’ve had your horse for some time and they just tend to push you around. This sort of behaviour often happens when the horse doesn’t feel confident about the situation they are in. Maybe something they aren’t sure of has caught their attention. Maybe they are worried by being taken to a new place. They start to stress and then they behave as if the human next to them isn’t there. Often their lack of confidence – in themselves and us as their leaders – will result in them pushing us about. They might get ahead of us and block us, they might push on us with a shoulder shoulder to move us.

Sometimes people assume that a pushy horse is being “dominant” but it’s far more likely to be that they aren’t feeling confident and therefore can’t relax and just be.

How can we build confidence? (In the horse and human!)

Of course there are other ways that horses show that they aren’t feeling confident, but I feel that these are the main areas where most horse owners struggle. I learned a lot about helping a horse that wasn’t confident over years of working with my Connemara, Ozzie. He showed how unconfident he was in many ways, from being spooky to rushing away from jump poles, from being pushy to not wanting to move forward.

Ozzie taught me a lot, and so did my mentor Stephen Halfpenny. I wanted to share the learning with other horse owners who wanted to be more confident themselves and have more confident horses. So I upped and went to Australia and filmed a whole course with Steve that was specifically designed to help with confidence! We had great fun putting it all together and then hundreds of people have enjoyed helping their horses and themselves though the Trail Brave course (previously the 100 Mile Challenge).

Building confidence – training

Who is confidence training for?

Confidence training is for anyone who owns a horse or handles horses regularly and finds themselves in a situation where their horse’s loss of confidence makes them challenging to handle. It’s for anyone who finds that their horse’s lack of confidence is rubbing off on them. Confidence training can help all breeds of horses from arabs to cobs, from draught horses to quarter horses. It’s for horse people from any discipline, the dressage riders, the jumpers, the happy hackers – everyone.

Which horses need confidence training?

The pushy horse, the spooky horse, the barn sour horse and any horse that gets worried and hard to handle when they meet something unexpected or new – they can all be helped by confidence training.

What does the horse need to know before starting confidence training?

I recommend that a horse must be at least 3 years old before starting the training.  The horse needs to be OK with wearing a halter and being led about, but the groundwork exercises give a great foundation to green horses as well as helping older horses.

So – how do we go about training for confidence?

For me it’s definitely about getting a great foundation through horse groundwork. A series of simple exercises that we work through on the ground that establish personal space, direction and control. They prepare us to venture further from home and be safe. When we produced the confidence training course Steve and I included 12 step by step groundwork exercises designed to achieve these skills.

It’s also about understanding how to avoid getting a horse into a situation where they feel so unsafe that they can’t deal with it and can’t learn. We talk about 3 zones in the course and consider how to use them to help our horses.

Where can we do our confidence training and what equipment do we need?

You don’t need much space to start confidence training and you don’t need to spend a heap of money on equipment. I recommend using a rope halter with a 12 foot line attached (without a clip) and a “flag” which is usually a piece of fabric attached to a stick. Sometimes people improvise with what they already have to get started, but they usually find that it’s worth using this recommended gear as they progress.

You can start confidence training anywhere. You start in a place where your horse feels safe. That might be an arena, but it could also be a small yard, a round pen, or a clear area of ground.

What are the common mistakes and pitfalls in horse riding confidence training?

I think the #1 mistake we all make with confidence training is trying to do too much too quickly. Humans love results, horses love to rest and think. We need to take our time over the training, break it down into small steps and give big rewards when our horses “get it”. Better to quit when one hoof has moved in the way we have asked than carry on asking for the whole horse and confuse things!

Another pitfall to be aware of is forcing the horse to deal with an object or situation, rather than allowing them to take their time. For example if you are asking your horse to deal with a rope on the ground that worries them, introduce them to the rope gradually in a way that allows them to move towards and away from the rope. Don’t tie it to the horse in any way in an attempt to make them just deal with it. We want to avoid the horse loosing confidence, as that is going to also affect our horse riding confidence levels also.

How do people feel about confidence training?

The rider confidence course

Trail Brave is a rider confidence course which includes membership of a private Facebook group where students can access expert mentorship and guidance, while being supported by everyone there who is on the same journey to confidence. It’s great to hear about their progress and how much building confidence has made things better for them and their horses! And you can see how everyone is improving their horse riding confidence levels.

I also hear from students by email and via surveys, who tell me what a difference the Trailbrave rider confidence coursehas made for them.

Deborah from the USA said:

“So many people just have no idea how effective groundwork can be to help a horse.”

“I have a three year old horse, who is a very fast learner. Before I decided to enroll in this challenge, I was worried that the challenge was possibly too basic for me and my horse. But once I started this rider confidence course I realised I was wrong. The challenge showed me a new communication with my horse. In fact, it doesn’t take a lot of time to do this with your horse. We need to spend quality time just like this with our horses!”

It’s also a great idea to track your progress with an equestrian journal.

This rider confidence course includes useful groundwork lessons & exercises to help six specific horse situations…

• The Pushy Horse: Struggling with a horse who walks into your personal space uninvited? Where you think one day they could knock you over?
• The Spooky Horse: Got a horse who spooks dramatically when a bird flies out of a tree? This is a fast way to lose confidence & end up in a dangerous situation. 
• The Hungry Horse: What do you do if you are leading your horse with lead rope & they put their head down to try to eat grass every few steps?
• The Slow Horse: Got a slow horse who sets out at snails pace? Even if you increase your energy then you’re dragging him and he still doesn’t speed up.
• The Fast Horse: Got a fast horse, who takes big steps? And they are leaving you behind? How can you teach them to mirror your speed & slow down?
• The Herd Bound Horse: Many horses find confidence when they are with their herd mates. When you take them away on their own… it all goes pear-shaped!

“Loved it! I am finally enjoying my horse again” – Mary, Canada.

“Steve’s programme is a clear and structured way to build confidence and horsemanship. My horse bolted when he saw a cow appear over a hedge. My world shrunk when I lost my confidence. The structure is clear, manageable and enjoyable, enabling me to become a better leader so we can progress again. I am enjoying my horse again and have already recommended the challenge to my friends. Thank you Steve”

This Trailbrave rider confidence course is also designed specifically for 3 types of horses:

• Horses who are a little pushy and come into your space uninvited, new horses who you are building a partnership with, or both horses their riders who need to improve their groundwork skills. 
• Horses who struggle with spookiness in the paddock, arena or trail, who lack confidence in themselves, or who struggle to focus on you when you are together, and this affects your horse rider confidence levels.
• Horses who are herd bound or barn sour, & horses who panic or get worried when taken away from their friends, or when their friends leave.

Here is what some of our Trailbrave rider confidence course students said

If you are ready to improve your horse rider confidence levels AND build confidence in your horse, you are welcome to join our Trailbrave rider confidence course.