Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance
Welcome back to another wonderful week of horsemanship! This week we are continuing to focus on confidence and communication. Today, we brought our horses through an obstacle course. While guiding the horses through the course, it’s incredibly important for us to give the horses clear instructions as the horses will want to go through the obstacle course in their own way. A strategy that can help us do so, is planning. When we plan how we want to do something before doing it, we are able to give ourselves time to troubleshoot! As a big part of our jobs while working with our horses is clear communication, planning can help give us the confidence to provide that communication while we are riding.
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This week we’ve learned how much confidence and communication go hand in hand. If we are not confident in the actions we are taking, our horses are not going to respond as they know we are unsure. As a result, we’re starting to learn that if we can be confident with our horses, we can take that confidence into our everyday lives when we face situations that require us to use our decision-making skills. A good question to potentially ask your campers is, what are some ways that you can help yourself be more confident? Practicing positive self-talk is a very powerful way to aid in your confidence building. Can you think of any other strategies?
This week we will also continue to work on our interpersonal relationships with our horses and each other. Recognizing other people’s emotional states and responding accordingly through verbal and non-verbal communication is an important step in fostering friendships. When we treat others well by respecting their space, listening to them, and help support them, we will be able to work together really well as a team. Sometimes, this means that we are thinking about the needs of others and our horses. For example, even though we may be thirsty after a trail ride, we always make sure our horses have water before we have ours. When working with other campers this can also look like taking turns as to who goes first, cheering each other on, and asking for help if we need it.
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That’s all for now, but we can’t wait to see you all tomorrow!