Be careful what you wish for

Have you ever thought...

'Why does this always happen to me?'

We've all experienced these moments where we had a 'gut feeling' that things are not going as well as we hoped for.

For example, let's say you are going out for a nice casual Sunday afternoon ride. The sun is shining and the birds are singing, you and your horse are blissfully happy and relaxed and life just couldn't be better.

As you come around the corner you see an older man walking his dog coming towards you. Immediately your warning bells go up. 

'What if the dog starts barking when I ride past? Then my horse might get a fright or even worth the dog might break loose of his lead and start to attack my horse who would no doubt take off and I most likely will end up in the dirt.'

Now while these thoughts start to take shape in your mind your body subconsciously is going into survival mode...

your groin starts to get tight...

your knees start gripping the saddle...

and your arms are getting tense and hanging on to the rein.

Up until now, your horse was unaware of the dangers that lay ahead of him but now, thanks to your warning, is quickly getting into a state of high alert...

the head is coming up, the ears prick and the nostrils double in size...

the back stiffens and all the blood is being pumped into the legs to allow for a quick escape should the danger approach any closer...

the strides are getting shorter and quicker to allow the ability to jump sideways at any given time.

At this stage, your horse still isn't exactly sure where the danger is coming from but simply feeding off your anxiety.

Now, of course, you are very conscious of the reaction from your horse. After all, you are sure he is thinking the same thoughts you are in regards to the approaching dog...

your whole leg is now gripping the saddle, your heal has come up and is digging in the horses' side (sorry horsey, I didn't mean it but just couldn't help it!!)...

you have stopped breathing and your breath has lifted into your chest...

with your weight coming out of the saddle which makes it impossible to sit deep...

your hands are grabbing the rein and you are desperately trying to get the situation under control.

After very careful observation of the immediate surroundings, your horse has concluded that the only possible danger has to come from the dog and the old man! After all, there is nothing else.

The flight instinct clicks in and after spinning around on his hocks your horse is off in a panicked gallop towards home. After all, now that you, the rider has abandoned him by bailing out at the onset of his survival technique he is all alone scared and frightened and home seems like the only safe place to go.

Never mind that it is at least 2 km away.

In the meantime, you are sitting in the dirt, wondering what went wrong, after all, it started to be a lovely relaxed Sunday afternoon ride.

As the man and his dog come closer you notice that the dog looks very scared and timid, not at all the 'attacking' type.

You answer the old man's question of "Are you all right?" with an embarrassed nod and ignore his comment of "lovely horse you've got, such a shame you can't ride it."

As you make your long way home you have plenty of time to ponder the following questions.

Could it be your thoughts that had triggered a subconscious body language only your horse could read?

Could it be that the anxiety you felt so clearly in your body was simply triggered by your thoughts of the seemingly harmless dog?

Could it therefore, be that potentially your horse would have walked passed the timid looking dog without any issues if you had kept your thoughts from creating a scenario that didn't exist?...

We know that we create what we focus on, so be careful what you wish for!