A sport horse that jumps in competition presents an interesting mixture of courage and fear. It must be brave enough to go to the fence and jump it, but be fearful enough of hurting itself that it will make sufficient effort not to knock anything down.

Long and careful training sessions are used to instill confidence in the horse, which is essential to a successful career. But a single colossal wreck can undo months of this careful training — and sometimes that damage can be permanent.

Horses are incredibly intelligent and will remember disturbing events and places for the rest of their lives and lose their courage.

One of the things that will take the heart out of a good horse is a fear of slipping and falling. Sure footedness is very much an individual trait as any rider can tell you.

An experienced rider can sense in a heartbeat when a horse feels like it is on roller skates on the turns and is sucking back going to the jump. When that happens, the next step is usually a stop, a rail down or, still worse, landing in a fence.

Traction For Confidence

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