More Fun! And Why it's Important

Fun! Its the reason so many of us are drawn to horses. It seems obvious... so why write an article on it? Because often fun seems to be forgotten by both horses and riders. The deep trenches created around countless arena rails are the telltale signs of hundreds of laps carried out and the drudgery that accompanied them.
I want to share with you some ideas on how to have more fun in order to bring out the best in you and your horse. Horses are universally known for being playful and by watching them in a pasture you can see how playing racing and chasing are key elements of their lives. When I see the exuberance and focus horses have with each other I think of how I can get my horses to be more like that with me.

It is our responsibility to determine the approach we take when we are working with our horses. Our attitude is the single most important factor that will govern the amount of enjoyment we and our horses experience. Our attitude and how we respond to our horse is the key that unlocks the door to excellence.
Let us consider the opposite of fun frustration fear or even anger. The frustrated fearful or angry person cannot bring out the potential in horses because of these negative emotions. The first prerequisite to having more fun is to get control of our own emotions in order to change our response in situations when things dont go as planned.
Human nature causes people to be focused determined and goal motivated. While these are good qualities to have they can cause people to get locked on to goals they are trying to achieve and become very sharp and restrictive to horses in the process. This can lead to the flight instinct of the prey animal taking over.  Horses then become more herd bound flighty and overreactive to every little thing. While I stress the importance of safety and control at all times it is important to differentiate between a strong leader and a ruthless dictator. I encourage riders to look at their emotional response when something does not go as planned and try to change the way they look at the situation.
I like to have an attitude that allows me to freely play. That means to play or train without consequence in the typical sense of the word. I will