Assignment 19 - Anna Baskin

My favorite piece of advice was actually never intended for me – or for humans at all. It was intended for horses. My horse instructor told me once, during a particularly frustrating lesson for both me and my equine companion, that the most important part of riding was keeping the horse “in a learning frame of mind.”  She explained how horses pick up on your state of mind and tend to mirror your frustrations and fears. Once a horse has latched onto these negative emotions, you’re never going to get a good ride out of them, and even if you do somehow manage to whip them into shape, the lesson won’t stick. Instead, we as riders need to scope out how the horse is feeling at any given time and make sure the ride is positive and encouraging to make sure the horse stays in learning-mode instead of stress-mode.

This advice was helpful in my riding, but invaluable in my life. After all, horses may have brains the size of peas and thought processes as complicated as “eat, sleep, poop” but we’re essentially wired the same way. Shouldn’t it make sense that I also keep myself in a learning frame of mind? This idea has prompted me to step back from stressful situations and reevaluate my mindset, which has helped in school and at home. Almost like there’s a separate part of my brain that’s the logical “rider,” when the animalistic side of my brain freaks out, the “rider” can step in force the direction of my thoughts to change to a more positive, learning-focused attitude.