Jumping to Conclusions

Recently, I observed a captivating phenomenon. Although I've noticed it before to some extent, I've never seen it unfold in such an intriguing way. My daughter, who rides horses, was at a show. Her event was scheduled for later, so while she was warming up, I watched another event. It was a pony hunter jumper competition, primarily featuring tween and teen girls. My daughter's trainer had advised the girls that, due to the recent dry weather, the ground was hard, and they needed to clearly communicate to their ponies when they wanted them to jump.

The first rider's pony stopped at the initial jump, prompting the rider to turn around and try again. The pony refused once more. After a third attempt and refusal, the rider and pony were excused from the ring. The second pair entered and also stopped at the first jump. They managed the first jump on their second attempt, but the pony refused the second jump twice, leading to their dismissal from the ring. While some riders completed the course, many faced repeated refusals. What was happening? It's not unusual for the same horse and rider to stop at the same jump multiple times, but this seemed to spread like a contagion.

Horses, like many animals, are highly sensitive to our body language and emotions. A pony refusing a jump is startling and triggers anxiety and panic, which the horse perceives. The pony's refusal activates the rider's sympathetic nervous system, increasing heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and muscle tension. The horse senses these changes and becomes anxious too. The next rider, influenced by the previous rider's experience, also experiences sympathetic nervous system activation, signaling the pony that there is something to worry about. This rider-pony interaction resembles a biofeedback loop, with the pony essentially telling the rider to calm down.

How can we teach our girls to handle this? In situations triggering a sympathetic response, riders need to quickly engage their parasympathetic nervous system. Doing so will lower heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and muscle tension. For a rider in the ring, there's limited time before the next attempt. A fast-working strategy is paced breathing, where exhalation is significantly longer than inhalation. Slow, controlled exhalation activates the vagus nerve, promoting immediate relaxation. A common method is the 4-7-8 technique: inhale through the nose for a count of 4, hold for 7, exhale for a count of 8, hold for 7, and repeat. Three cycles should activate the parasympathetic nervous system, calming both rider and pony. For those waiting their turn, I suggest using the breathing technique, drinking something cold, and performing a quick body scan. These strategies will help soothe the rider and reassure the pony.

These techniques aren't limited to equestrian activities but can be applied to any stressful situation, such as other sports, performances, or exams. Practicing these and other calming strategies regularly makes them easier to implement when needed.