Calm Horse, Confident Rider

Fall is that beautiful time of year when the leaves change, the sun feels less brutal to ride in, and parts of the arena I've ridden by four hundred times before is suddenly.... suspicious. Those changing leaves are blowing around, the softening sun means shadows are changing by the minute, and now that the barn has new autumn and Halloween decor even on the jumps, it's easy to understand why my horse might spend a little more time looking around.

Now, I know I can’t control every surprise my horse encounters, but I can control how I respond to those moments. A calm, prepared rider can make a big difference when the environment feels unpredictable. Now, my methods are not foolproof and nor are they only solutions, but I have a few things I do to help stay grounded and give my horse the best chance to stay calm, too.

Start With My Own Calm

Spooky season is already full of change, in temperature and light and even riding routines. My horse doesn't need every other part of the day to feel unpredictable, too. When possible, I try to remember to keep some familiar pieces of the routine in place. I groom in the same area and follow the same pattern, I use equipment my horse knows well, I follow familiar barn routines like picking hooves in the arena or following the sugar tax. I try to give myself enough time to settle into my usual rhythm before introducing something new, and when I can, I even try to slow my rhythm down, not the easiest task during the shortest season of the year.

While I love fall, I'm also aware that the days are getting shorter, temperatures are changing, and suddenly I'm trying to squeeze a ride, a really good grooming, the last bath of the season, and a full tack clean while it's still sunny outside into the last 45 minutes of daylight after work. So amidst all that hurry and scurry, it's worth giving myself a chance to settle in before the ride even starts. Giving myself that extra breathing room within the familiar routine before a ride can also make it easier to change plans if the conditions aren't what I expected. Maybe the wind is stronger than it looked like from the grooming stall. Maybe sunlight changed in the time it took me to enjoy my grooming routine and the arena's shadows have changed. I try to remember that I don't have to force the original plan just because it was the plan.

The plan might be to get in a really great schooling ride, to brush up on foundations, or even just to enjoy a quiet hack. But before I can get to that, I try to take enough time that I can ask myself:

• Am I rushing through grooming instead of letting it ground me?
• Am I distracted while tacking up when I should be watching my horse's ears, eyes, and communication?
• Am I already tensing up at the sound of a particularly crunchy leaf while walking to the mounting block?

Once in the saddle, after stirrups are adjusted and the girth is checked, I pay attention to my breathing and body position. I try to feel the connection through my seat and saddle, flexing my fingers on the reins, and rolling my shoulders back and down with a big deep breath in and out. That grounded calm may not last through the whole ride, but I can at least start out on a confident, positive stride. And if I do find spooky or tense moments, having started from a place of calm means I have something I can come back to at the walk or the halt anytime I need it!

Know Your Horse's Spooky

Just like I have my own list of spooks (wasps, pineapple on pizza, vet bills), every horse has their own list, too. Some couldn't care less about Halloween decorations but are convinced that a plastic bag is dangerous. Others are perfectly happy to walk past a flapping tarp but suddenly notice every leaf blowing across the arena. When I'm able to, I try and track the things that get my horse's attention, especially during the fall.

Some of the horses I ride feel a little extra "up" when the wind picks up, some prefer to go out for a ride during certain times of day to avoid particularly terrifying shadows. Sometimes, it's something as simple as knowing I need to give my horse a few extra minutes exploring the ring in-hand before a lesson. Sometimes, I work with my trainer to try different exercises to keep my horse's brain engaged when we encounter something that catches their eye. But knowing my horse's particular spooky season triggers helps me plan ahead rather than being caught completely off guard and leaving us both startled and scattered.

Part of that mental prep work can also be taking a quick look around the riding area before tacking up. I like to to take a quick peek in the ring before I ride to scan for anything new or unusual: decorations, tarps, flags, construction materials, fallen branches, machinery, or anything else that might look different from the last time my horse saw it. I'm not someone who removes every potentially spooky object (my trainer and barn manager would not thank me for that!). I just like to know what might be coming up to give myself a chance to create a little preemptive steadiness instead of both rider and horse being surprised.

If something catches my horse's attention, I try to return to that place of grace I wanted to give myself from the beginning and assess what's happening first:

• Is my horse simply curious? Are they snorting but not darting away?
• Is my horse tense in the spine but still flicking their ears back at the sound of my voice?
• Is my horse already one foot out of the arena and it's time to regroup before we re-approach?

But that all said, sometimes my horse is just going to spook, so repeat after me: my horse spooking doesn't mean I've failed as a rider. Sometimes my horse needs a moment to look, so repeat after me: my horse looking at something isn't a problem that needs to be solved immediately.

Learning to tell the difference has taken a lot of time (and more than one failed assumption on a snort vs a spook), but it's helped me get to a point where I can often avoid escalating a relatively small moment. If my horse looks at a blowing leaf and I immediately become tense, shorten the reins, and start expecting another spook, the situation can become much bigger for both of us. So instead, when it's safe to do so, I try to take a breath and give both of us a chance to process the moment. And like I said before, I try to remember that I don't have to prove anything on a particularly spooky day! If the wind is howling, leaves are blowing everywhere, and my horse came in from turnout already on high alert, there's nothing wrong if I choose a quieter environment or changing my plans. Some days, I defer to the best chance of having a productive, enjoyable experience rather than overcoming adversity. That might mean riding in the arena instead of heading out on a trail. It might mean choosing a quieter time of day. It might mean spending some time on the ground instead of getting on. For me, there's no prize for picking the most challenging possible option for every single ride.

And, of course, no matter where I'm riding or what the risk of spooking looks like that day, I hold on. Sometimes at the end of the processing, and calming breathing, and quiet environments, there's still a spook. And that's okay! (That's what full seat breeches, sit-tite, and a neck rope are for.)

Calm ≠ Unbothered

I don't expect my horse to march through the 'Ber months without ever looking at anything (and if yours does, tell me your secrets!). A little spookiness is part of being a horse, just like a little tension after spookiness is part of being a human. My goal isn't to make every strange object invisible or convince my horse that absolutely nothing is scary. Instead, I try to focus on creating situations where I can stay in the moment, make good decisions, and give myself and my horse time to process what's happening.

I know some days will be easier than others. The wind might die down tomorrow, the leaves might stop blowing, the shadows might even become routine. But until then, I take a breath and remember that I don't have to meet every spooky-season surprise with a perfectly executed plan.

Most often, the best thing I bring to the barn in the fall is the commitment to doing my best to be a calm presence, have a little extra patience, and allow myself the ability to change course when our horses will benefit from it.