Do you remember a time when you needed to be at your very best, so you took along a friend for support? Did you choose someone who was constantly nervous, someone who picked at you, or someone who didn't believe you would do well? Or did you take someone who was quiet, helped you just enough, and had a calming effect on you?
Horses need great partners, too. A calm, competent rider helps the horse be successful.
Since you are his support and leader, your horse constantly reads your body language and responds to it. If he feels your back get stiff, hands get harsh and your legs tighten, it will make him more apprehensive.
Besides telegraphing stress, those signals tell the horse very different things all at once. Squeezing with your legs means "move," but then you ask him to stand still by pulling on his bridle. He is confused, so he becomes nervous.
It's not just when you're astride the horse that he reads you. He's tuned into the way you move around him, the tone of your voice, and other actions. Your nervousness will give him a negative feeling about the situation.
This is why it's important to be a good actor. If you are nervous, you have to be able to convince your horse and everyone around you that you're not. You don't want to telegraph nervousness to your horse. Instead, you want to reassure him with your calmness. In doing so, you also convince yourself.
Don't buy into feeling nervous. When you feel your hands get shaky or your heart beating faster, don't think: "I'm so nervous, I know I'll mess up." Instead, think: "This is what it feels like to compete, and adrenaline can make me react quickly and move better." Don't fight the butterflies, accept and learn to use them.
You don't want your horse to wear himself out by the time he runs. Being nervous takes a large amount of energy out of your horse. His heart rate and respiration increases, and by the time he actually gets to compete, he has less energy and can't perform as well.
In competition, the nervous horse is more anxious and less able to concentrate, initially resulting in timing errors-like going a little too far past a turn or shutting down early. These mistakes can lead to worse habits in the pen. Your horse could start missing turns, hitting barrels or poles, or becoming completely resistant at some point during the run.
