EN
DEAs a sports scientist specializing in sports psychology, I know how important the emotional connection to animals is for building a trusting relationship with them.
For a rider and a horse to communicate, the horse must first learn to understand the rider’s intentions. At the same time, the rider must know and intuitively feel which aids to use at the right moment to elicit the desired response and performance from the horse.
Advanced riders should have acquired a certain degree of self-control and developed an awareness of their body perception as well as good body awareness. Only in this way can they correctly assess their horse’s individual movements when executing the exercises correctly. Only when the rider has acquired, cognitively processed, and stored comprehensive knowledge, technical skills, emotional sensitivity, and psychological self-confidence over many years of training - drawn from a wide range of experiences with the horse - can the proper riding feel develop and be refined. Only then have these experiences been internalized by the rider’s entire body system, and only then can they become second nature.
Since an athlete’s positive self-image - in terms of body awareness and emotions - has a tremendous impact on overall athletic performance with the horse, it is important to emphasize this aspect and explain it in the context of nonverbal communication with the horse.
Nonverbal Communication
The body language between rider and horse, the process of getting to know and understand one another over the years, and a strong foundation of trust, love, and partnership are the keys to long-term athletic success and performance. This means that the rider understands their horse’s individual needs and can skillfully apply their emotional intelligence and sensitivity while riding to influence the horse’s movement with feeling, technique, and dexterity, adapting to each specific situation. Only through skillful body language, self-awareness, and self-confidence is the rider able to perceive the nuances and effects of their aids on the horse, refine them, and translate the coordination of these aids with the horse - through body communication - into athletic performance. The horse must understand and implement the nuances of the rider’s subtle aids, as well as the rider’s posture and the tension and relaxation of the rider’s muscles. The intelligence of the sport horse, its mental capacity, and its enjoyment of daily training with its rider also play a decisive role in performance progress and learning ability.
Connection, Trust, Love
In order to harness a horse’s energy in a targeted manner to build performance and direct it into the correct movement patterns, the fundamentals of good physical and psychological-emotional communication are essential. Communication is primarily understood as an exchange of information between rider and horse, with the focus on establishing mutual understanding. Even during the very first ride in training, the rider’s mood is miraculously conveyed to the horse. Through the seat, muscular tension, emotional aura, the manner of driving, and the contact of the reins with the horse’s sensitive mouth. In a fraction of a second, horses sense and recognize their rider’s emotional state and mirror it accordingly. This form of communication is based both on an emotional, psychological, and mental connection to the horse and on physical cooperation, with the human body serving as the medium of communication. This bond with the horse has special psychological value, as the horse perceives the physical signals in the form of sensory perceptions and emotional sensations.
It has long been recognized in the equestrian world that, in training, there is an interaction between rider and horse through their physical and mental attitudes, and that interacting with the horse influences both the rider’s mind and body. More than any other art, the art of riding is connected to the wisdom of life. Many of its principles can serve as guidelines for conduct in life at any time. This insight clearly demonstrates the extraordinary educational value of equestrian sports. However, knowledge must always precede action! (Alois Podhaisky, in: The Classical Art of Riding: Riding Instruction from the Beginnings to Perfection, 2009).