Can Hypnosis improve your Horse Riding Confidence ?  Research Results

As a divorced mother of two girls and a horse rider for the past 40 years, I am no stranger to life’s ups and downs - sometimes literally - and I think I was initially attracted to a career in Therapy because I recognised that I sure needed it !!

But it was as a result of an “AHA !!” moment donated by a friend of mine, that really motivated me to action.

My friend had suffered with M.E. for 37 years, when she recovered her health, after completing a three day training program known as the “Lightning Process” (Mary King’s daughter also used this to recover from M.E.). My initial reaction of...”yeah right ...let’s not hold our breath...”  was soon over ruled by amazement  as she continued to flourish over the next months  - and still does to this day.

I had to know more!  So I went to study with Phil Parker, the brilliant man who put together the program, and began my initial training in Hypnosis, NLP and Life coaching. l learned how to teach clients, how to use their brain to influence the chemistry produced within their body, and recover their health (Psycho-neuro immunology or PNI)

But it suddenly occurred to me one day whilst poo-picking (some of my best decisions have been made whilst doing that job!!)  - that the knowledge and techniques I had learned, combined with my professional and personal experience as a rider and teacher,  could be applied to change the emotional state of riders, and help them to increase their confidence, or  allay their riding fears and anxieties.

As a past competitor and producer of young horses, and having also experienced a loss of riding confidence after a personal crisis, I was very aware of how confidence in riding can be the difference between success and failure, in whatever area we wish to have fun with our horses. In my experience, the majority of riders will suffer some loss of confidence or increased performance anxiety at times in their riding career.

As we rider’s already know - our horses are acutely aware of our emotional state, as we constantly transmit our feelings to them via our unconscious muscular responses (an ideomotor response), our sensory and chemical messages (such as pheromones) and our communications on an energetic level.

So when I had the choice of which area I wished to research, for my dissertation project, as part of a  Bachelor of Science Degree in Clinical Hypnosis,  I jumped at the chance to research how hypnosis could affect confidence – and Horse Riding Confidence in particular. Amazingly this particular area of Sports Psychology has received very little prior research attention.

With the help of volunteers solicited from local riding clubs and from an article placed in “Pegasus” equestrian magazine, a study was set up to examine the effects on riders, of a SINGLE SESSION OF HYPNOSIS , designed to increase riding confidence. 

A huge thank you goes to the wonderful volunteers who agreed to take part in this research. They were 21 amazing women - horse riders, from novice to professional, aged from 20 to 62. Interestingly, although participation was open to riders of either sex, only girls applied. None of the volunteers had ever received hypnosis for horse riding confidence prior to this study.

The volunteers were split into two groups, and were given a questionnaire to complete before their session.  Answers were recorded on a subjective numeric scale and questions were designed to measure the main components of sporting confidence.

One group received a single session of hypnosis.

The other group (which was the control group, although they didn’t know this) were given an educational presentation about fear, anxiety and the stress response, and riding confidence.

Both groups were then sent away to take part in their normal riding activities, and were required to complete the same questionnaire approximately two weeks later.

The data measured was the overall increase of each participant’s score on a numeric scale.

The results were surprising, overall, ten of the eleven participants in the Hypnosis Group reported an increase in their confidence level, of a group average of 16% - in one case finding that riding confidence could be increased by up to 51% with just one session of hypnosis. 

But it was also interesting to note that seven of the ten participants of the other group, who only had the educational presentation, also reported an increase in their confidence level, of a group average of 5%. 

The reason could be that because, by explaining what happens during the stress response, participants felt that they were not unusual, and as one participant commented “I understand why I get scared now, which is a massive help”.  

After the study, participants of both groups were given the opportunity to experience the other intervention and they completed the questionnaire again. The participants then reported an additional increase in confidence of between 7 to 11%.

The results appear to support my experience that the use of both interventions, such as in an un-mounted workshop training, is a very effective way of improving riding confidence, and is an ideal way to “get the rider’s head in the right place” -  to be the best partner they can for their horses.

The results of this research are clearly relevant to any riding instructors and coaches, and suggest that -  as sporting confidence has also been linked to sporting performance, hypnosis also has the potential to help increase the performance of our competition riders.

Hypnosis has been described as a completely natural, altered state of consciousness and awareness, where the mind is relaxed, but focused and receptive to suggestion. During hypnosis, specialised techniques are used to help the client communication with their unconscious mind, and make the changes they wish in their habits and behaviours, focus and emotional states.

One volunteer’s feedback  ......“It was a great pleasure and relaxed experience; I was put at ease and am glad that I answered the advert to take part, a very positive experience, I have never had hypnosis before and did not know what to expect, I have found that by stopping the negative thoughts alone has made a tremendous difference and is showing in all aspects of my life, Sherree did not make me feel uncomfortable in fact exactly the opposite. Thank you.”