Flowers for confidence

White Chestnut-not only beautiful but good for calming the mind.

Tomorrow is one of my workshops for building confidence between horse and rider for trail riding and obstacles. I look forward to helping participants build trust, communication and safety with their horses. We will be covering safety, FUN!damentals, Obstacle negotiation and Fun! The first part of the day will be in the arena and the second part will be taking what we learned out to the trail. If you are interested in hosting this type of clinic at your farm or organizing any other custom clinics, Contact me at http://www.fdhorsemanship.com/#!contact

I wanted to give some tips on how Flower Essences can help with fearful and unconfident feelings in people. Many riders are battling fear and confidence and I have found several flower essences that can help calm destructive, negative thinking, and fears as well as boost confident feelings.

Here is a list of some very helpful Flower Essences that I recommend to many people:

• White Chestnut-is a very good essence for when you constantly worry about things. What is my horse going to do? What if he spooks?, What if I fall off? etc. These are what I call projections and they take us out of the "Present" and put all kinds of "wishes" we don't want out there. It helps quiet and calm the mind.
• Rock Rose-is for when you feel panicked or terrified by things. If you need this, you find yourself getting beyond fear to a panic level when confronted with certain activities with your horse.
• Mimulus-is good for fear in general if you are aware of the things you are afraid of and can name them like I am afraid to go out of the arena, I am afraid of jumping, I am afraid of falling off.
• Larch-is good for when you lack confidence in your skills and feel like you will not do well. You may feel you are not good enough to do certain things and don't have the confidence to even try. 
• Rescue remedy is always a good all around essence blend when you are unsure of what you need. It helps with stress and nerves and is good after an accident. A good first aid kit remedy. 

Here is a short list of Essential oils that can help with fear and confidence as well. I suggest you "self select" the essential oil which is most beneficial by inhaling it. You will either feel like you want to keep inhaling it or you may want put it on your person (you may need to dilute stronger oils). Scents you find not so attractive are probably not the right ones at that moment. They can change though!

• Lavender
• Valerian
• Chamomile
• Tangerine
• Lemon Balm
• Vetiver
• Geranium
• Bergamot

Here is a link to shop for flower essences if you would like http://www.fdhorsemanship.com/#!services/vstc3=flower-essences/vstc1=other-services If you are attending the clinic tomorrow, See you there! I look forward to the upcoming down unda trip and seeing how people are doing and meeting some new faces!
www.fdhorsemanship.com

Sign up for FDH virtual clinic here:
http://fdhorsemanship.com/virtualclinic/
Upcoming Clinics:
Oct 27: FDH Building confidence for trail riding workshop Granby, CT
Nov 10: FDH Building confidence for trail riding workshop
Middlefield, CT
Nov 22-24: FDH Clinic in Australia Strath Creek, Victoria, Australia
Nov 30-Dec 2: FDH clinic in New Zealand: at Taralee stables, Carterton, NZ
Click here to go to my Events http://www.fdhorsemanship.com/#!calendar

Confidence on the trail

Do you dream of this one day?

A lot of people get into riding and see themselves riding in the wide open fields, trails, beaches and woods. The actual reality of this can strike fear and panic into some riders.

One of the tips I have for people who are feeling unconfident riding out, is take baby steps, ride with supportive (not pushy well meaning "know it alls") people or even just take your horse for a walk in hand or on lead. Only do as much as is calm, relaxing and fun. If you are feeling extra confident, then you can try raising the bar a bit with no expectations or pressure on yourself or your horse.

I find that people are often not prepared mentally or connected enough to their horses to go out on the trail safely. They have not got their FUNdamentals firm enough and are setting themselves up for potentially bad, unnecessary experiences because they do not think about what can happen on the trail. Did you know having your Fundamental basics and good communication and connection can not only help you have fun on the trail but it could be the very thing that keeps you safe in a potentially dangerous situation.

Many trail riders complain about arena exercises and Fundamental practice saying it is boring and pointless. Then when they come unstuck on the trail, they don't know why. I am hear to tell you not only will I not ride a horse on the trail that does not have good fundamentals and communication, I do not feel safe on a horse that doesn't have these key pieces.

There are several exercises every horse and rider should know to keep safe and communicating even through stressful experiences. Before I take a horse out of the ring, I have to have confidence in our Connection, Communication and FUNdamentals.

In light of all this and by popular demand, this fall I will be doing a series of workshops dedicated to taking your Connection, Communication and FUN!damentals out of the arena. These one day Playshops will be geared towards all aspects and safety to go out and have fun. All disciplines are welcome. Hope to see you there and check back for additional dates being added!

Also remember next week FDH is back in the UK at the New Horse for my second clinic this season. Register and get info here http://www.eventzilla.net/web/event?eventid=2138983059
Fiona Habershon (http://www.fionahabershon.com/) will also be back for the October 3 day Clinic so if you missed getting a session with her or would like another session, Contact me at http://www.fdhorsemanship.com/#!contact

http://www.fdhorsemanship.com/
Click here to sign up for FDH Virtual Clinic
http://fdhvirtualclinic.vidmeup.com/
Upcoming events:
Sept. 20-22: FDH UK Clinic at The New Horse, Motcombe
Oct 13: FDH one day workshop
Greenville NY
Oct 18-20: FDH Horsemanship Clinic: Plainfield, MA
Oct 27: FDH Building confidence for trail riding workshop Granby, CT
Nov 10: FDH Building confidence for trail riding workshop
Middlefield, CT
Nov 22-24: FDH Clinic in Australia Strath Creek, Victoria, Australia
Nov 30-Dec 2: FDH clinic in New Zealand: at Taralee stables, Carterton, NZ
Click here http://www.fdhorsemanship.com/#!calendar