It’s easy to get over confident in your own abilities in whatever your chosen career or interest is in. Take me, for instance, 4 years spent training and working at a BHS approved riding school, a student of a number of online horse/equine learning courses and a countless number of years reading avidly about horses, and what have you got? A potentially, over-confident minefield of information and knowledge.
English: A horse icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If I was the kind of person that loved myself, was over-confident, a loud-mouth, brash and cocky, I dread to think what this could produce. But, I’m not. However, I do feel that in myself I’m becoming just a little bit too confident. Woah! Me? Confident?? Never!! Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
I’m hoping that I can keep a lid on this bubbling volcano. I reckon I can, because my self-confidence is at an all time low meaning that I don’t rate myself and my knowledge high at all. So, I’m highly unlikely to express it. An example of this would be very recently when I experienced what I perceived as a harsh verbal and unwarranted criticism. It took me several weeks following this event to even think of feeling okay about it. Me=a visibly upset pile of flesh and bones. Useful.
I’m the type of person who will willingly look up to those I consider more knowledgeable than myself. I’m very quick to place my work colleagues in a category that only I know about, but necessarily in order of importance or hierarchy. If that person(s) in authority (that I see as someone higher than myself) gives me an instruction, I abide by it and watch out to anyone who questions it and my actions whilst following it. Odd? I’ve no idea but it has caused a problem in the past for me with horses. I will say more about that later.
So, what was that all about?
I have an automatic innate position of power and I’m not, and will probably never feel, at the top. So, the chances of me getting too over confident is nil.
And, anyway, you never know everything there is to know about horses. Ever. You are constantly learning.
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I would hesitate to say that ‘overconfidence’ is a recipe for disaster. You must quantify it. If you say “I’m so confident in my abilities to handle a horse that I am going to stand right in front of this snoozing horse and pop a balloon”, then yes, I would say, you’re an accident waiting to happen.
But if you mean ‘confident’ in that you understand horses and your own abilities, then I would argue that you are not in danger. Horses are timid critters and if you project an aura of self confidence, it gives the horse the feeling that Someone is in charge and won’t allow him to be hurt. They want a leader, someone who will willingly tackle the sabertooth lurking in the barrel at the end of the arena.
Every one who is honest with herself will tell you that there are times when the horse you are on is scary. Even if the horse is one you’ve ridden a hundred times. They’re big, fast, and not wired too tightly.
And lets not forget the opposite: we all know that a horse that thinks you are a weeny will walk right over you.
There’s a big difference between self confidence and cockiness. I think you are in the former category.
What you said has made things a lot clearer for me. What I should be blaming is my training
I feel that I have such a wealth of information bubbling up inside of me and I’m not in a position to release it. I’m only a once a week volunteer so no one looks up to me for advice or knowledge. Yet, I see poor riding/schooling and management and I can’t do anything about it….