My barrel horse sometimes wants to run a little too fast, and to slow her down, I usually do a one-rein stop.  But I am afraid to do a one-rein stop when she gets really fast, because one time I did and she fell over.  She's not very surefooted.  Anyway, I usually end up bumping on her mouth to get her slowed down, or bumping up with one rein, but I don't like to be jerking on her mouth.  I was just wondering if there's any way to fix this mare's problem and boost my confidence.

I was just fine with my new horse Carrie Bradshaw all the way up until last weekend at a horse show. I was standing by friends when a young girl on an out of control horse came tearing and bucking up to us and dumped her on the black top with no helmit. I was fine when I called the ambulance and helped her and her parents and I was fine all the way up to the point I had to get on my own horse. Carrie B. is a big wonderful Belgain Paint cross and as gentle as a lamb, and I just flat out paniced. I couldn't breath, thought I was going to be sick and wanted to jump off. My trainer is helping me because there is nothing that is going to keep me off my girl, but this just seems so odd. Has anyone ever expereinced this before, being afraid to ride after seeing a bad accident? I know I will ride again just fine, but this just caught me so off guard I don't know what to think.

I'm similar to Romeo's Classic: I've had two of my horses fall on me in a turn at the canter. Now any sort of sharp turn at even a trot makes me extremely nervous and I lean really heavily to the other side, and I also get tense most of the time and brace for a fall. The falls were both 3+ years ago, but I'm still nervous about turns today. I'm not really sure there IS a fix? Either way, it doesn't hinder my riding too too badly unless I need to circle my horses to gain control if they get out of hand, which then makes me nervous. I'm not sure how to handle it?

 he doesnt want to canter and doesnt want to work in the saddle either

Im just goin to say that i dont have a full anwser to this question but that it matters about how ba YOU wat it....... how bad u want to continue riding because as far as u know your horse could get injured tomarrow to were u cant ever rie him again what would u do?????  I hope this helps i know how it feels but i wanted it bad enough that i just got o another horse and it all came together but thats only because i wanted it.   hope this helps???    

                                                                                                                            Katie M.

(MY CAPS LOCK IS BROKEN, I APOLOGIZE!!! :}  ) MY ADVICE: PICTURE A GREAT RIDE THAT YOU HAVE HAD IN THE PAST. BEFORE YOU MOUNT, REMEMBER THAT RIDE THE BEST YOU CAN (IT CAN BE FROM YEARS AND YEARS AGO :)) THINK ABOUT HOW YOU FELT DURING AND AFTER THAT RIDE, AND USUALLY, THAT MAKES PEOPLE SMILE. FOR ME, I THINK ABOUT THE FIRST RIDE ON MY MARE, HOW CALM AND RELAXED WE BOTH WERE, AND IF MY HORSE IS IN A "MOOD", OR I HAVE JUST FALLEN OFF THE RIDE BEFORE, I "RELIVE" OUR FIRST RIDE, AND TRY TO PRETEND THAT I HAVE GONE BACK IN TIME AND THAT I REALLY AM RELIVING THAT RIDE. I'M NOT SURE IF THAT WILL WORK FOR YOU BUT IT ALWAYS DOES FOR ME! :)

 8:57:38 PM CST(CAPS LOCK STILL BROKEN, SORRY :} ) I EXPERIENCED SOMETHING SIMILAR, BUT NOT QUITE AS DRAMATIC. I WAS AT A SHOW, AND A GIRL I KNEW WAS DEALING WITH HER DIFFICULT HORSE IN THE HOLDING AREA, AND THE HORSE REARED HIGH IN THE AIR. THE GIRL STAYED ON, BUT I BECAME SCARED OF GETTING BUCKED OFF AT A SHOW. I MADE MYSELF THINK THAT MY HORSE WAS UPSET AT THE LOUDSPEAKER AND THE NEW SURROUNDINGS, BUT IT WAS REALLY JUST ME BEING SCARED THAT THOSE THINGS WERE GOING TO HAPPEN. MY HORSE STARTED REACTING TO MY BEHAVIOR, THINKING THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING TO BE AFRAID OF. IT TOOK SOME ENCOURAGING WORDS FROM MY MOM TO HELP US. I NOW WALK MY MARE ALONG THE RAIL OF BOTH THE SCHOOLING RING AND SHOW RING JUST TO CONVINCE MYSELF THAT SHE WASN'T GOING TO SPOOK. NOW, ITSIT'S JUST PART OF OUR SHOW ROUTINE :)

I've been riding since I was 4 (now 26), and I started in the hunter/jumper/equitation rings before moving to eventing.  I competed up to the Prelim/CCI* level, but after one too many serious falls and trips to the emergency room, I decided it was time to find something else - lope slow and sparkle.  I spent a year just taking lessons, and then bought my horse and spent two years with him in training.

We've been competing at PHBA shows for the last two years pretty successfully at the Novice level, but one thing I really miss from eventing is all the conditioning work I did outside the ring.  Unfortunately, riding outside on trails is making me panic.  My horse is super quiet, and normally doesn't care about anything going on.  As soon as we get outside, all I think about is all the crazy OTTBs I rode and how many times they took off across the field with me.  My legs go numb, I start hyperventilating, and Izzy gets nervous because of it.  I'm riding out with at least one other super calm and quiet horse, and we're only walking.  I just can't relax and enjoy it!  What can I do?

I wonder if once a rider crosses that line from trepidation and fear to confidence if she has will continue to ride in confidence in the same way that runners cross that invisible barrier of endurance that lets them go on to run marathons.

I am a pretty confident rider these days. But that hasn't always been the case. I can't tell you how many times I reached for a phantom seat belt in the first few years returning to riding after a 30-year hiatus. Or course, I was told all those things new riders are told: breath, talk, breath. Don't forget to breath. Sing if you have to, even if no one particularly cares for it. I sang "Kumbya" so much that, now, I can't get out two notes without my horse looking around like there's something he should be afraid of. 

There were all those nugets of wisdom about how to sit right. What your core, your seat bones, your shoulders should be doing when you ride. Where and how your feet should fit in the stirrup, pointed in or pointed out but never pointing up, apparently? I bought boots a size too big should I accidently get my foot entangled in the stirrup like I've seen in all those breakaway commercials. In fact, for a long while, I was uber ready to launch out of the saddle at any sign of trouble, which I did often enough. I was known to be a better "faller" than rider.  That's when  I started to wear a helmet. My first helmet felt like a bowling ball wrapped around my head -- forget good riding form, if I so much as moved an inch to the left or right, that helmet was sure to tip me off balance and get me off that horse. 

At some point, I even bought a pair of full-seat riding breeches -- okay, two pairs -- because I heard that they helped you stick to the saddle like glue ... should you need to stick to the saddle like glue. And, don't even get me started on saddles. If there was such a thing as a saddle with super glue, I would have bought it.

Not so much any more. These days, I'm pretty much fear-free. I'll have the occassional "what if" thought cross my mind, but it's usually useful -- like, when another horse is acting up on the trail. I'm not sure why riding is not as fearful as before, but I suspect all that time in the saddle has something to do with it. I trust my horse more because perhaps I trust myself more. Muscle memory helps too; it's always useful that your body knows what to do in a spook or a runaway or whatever comes along. 

I'm not ready to ride out any marathons just yet. But I sure hope that I stay on this side of the fear barrier and that I never have to cross it again.

 

 

      

I got hurt several yrs ago coming off a horse and didnt get back on for 15 yrs.  I really want to ride and once I get on I am  usually just fine but actually making myself get up on any horse is really hard.  I catch myself making excuses like not having the time or being busy doing something else, or the weather, etc.  I have two that I trust explicitly and I know in my head that I will be ok but it doesnt keep me from getting stressed out to the extent that I am a nervous wreck.  I know to stay in my comfort zone once I am on but that doesnt help me get on.  I do everything possible to be safe but I just have this irrational fear that I cant seem to get past.  Is there anything you know of that will help? 

Fear is the thing I battled the most when I returned to riding after so many years later. I have since come to the conclusion that the only way to gain confidence is to gain knowledge.. about horses, about riding and about your frame of mind. I did a lot of ground work at first. That taught me about the nature of the horse. It is truly remarkable how much control we can have over our horses. That's what ground work teaches us. Don't skimp on this.

 At first I had to literally force myself to ride, which seems rediculous now. Then, my goal was to ride only long enough to call it a success. A success meant I relaxed for a time, even if for only 5 minutes. When I ran into a particularly scary situation, I played it back in my mind of all the right things I did or could do, rather than how scary it was. Memory is elastic, remember that (??) Slowly as time went on, I was riding for longer periods and enjoying it more. It became, "Man, do I need to go for a ride today to unwind," instead of "Whew, made it through another ride, let me kiss the ground." I am the mother of two teenagers, and I can tell you that I really don't know how I'd get through the week without at least 10 hours in the saddle. It's that much of a stress reliever for me today.

I still have the occasional mishap, but I always try to understand what happened and why.  For example, what I learned is that when things get especially scary, all I can think about is GETTING OFF THE HORSE, which, of course, I do in the most painful way possible. After one particularly bad fall, my brain now switches into stay-on mode, and I'll do just about anything to ride it out. 

So, you see there are good things to come of falls and fear and failure. My fearless riding partner (every scardy cat should ride with one) always tells me I am so connected to my horse and I believe the reason why is my built-in fear barameter. I still get afraid sometimes and probably always will. But that's not stopping me from enjoying hours in the saddle every chance I get.

Hi, I have been almost always fearless about riding horses, and always ready to 'get right back on' when I take a spill. I've been riding for eight years now, on my beloved horse I trust with my life. Until...

A couple weeks ago, I was riding bareback, and my riding pants rubbed against my mare's winter coat. Big static electricity shock, I went flying over her neck and landed hard. I got up, determined that I was fine, got back on, no big deal. But recently, I've been feeling much less than confident. I enjoyed being with my mare on the ground, but when I saddled up my panic made me feel totally disconnected. I didn't actually realize that I was struggling with fear until a couple days ago; now I feel better admitting my problem, and am looking for solutions. Got any?

Thanks,

SayDeeLover17

I broke my jaw in a riding accident in 2004 riding a friends shorter quarter horse. After the accident I was unable to ride for 4 months. When I started riding again it was on my 16 hand 4 year old TB. I know I can ride a tall horse (15.3) or over with no problems, but when it comes to riding a short horse I panic. My new horse is right now only about 14.2 ( he is only 2). I can ride him but I have a severe case of nerves. I am unsure how to get my confidence back. I have ridden the horse that broke my jaw since and while I had anxiety I managed to overcome it, I have ridden other shorter horses but my anxiety still lingers. Any help would be greatly appriciated.

I have a 6 year old QH/Walker that has had two 30-day training sessions. He's behaved beautifully both times, interested and curious and eager to please. He has also learned to lunge in a round pen.

I live next door to my horse, I rent a stall from my neighbor and my horse lives with a young stud. It's a pasture with clay (south Louisiana) and no round pen. I have tried briefly to lunge him, but it's been so long that I can't get him to do it. I just end up going in circles backwards. I am afraid to get him going by being a little more animated with him because I'm afraid that he'll end up pulling away and dragging me. Which he has done before while leading.

Also, I had to buy a new bit because my neighbor took his back for one of his mares, so I bought the same one and installed it onto the bridle wrong. Poor Dusty took it for about 20 minutes of riding, then promptly bucked me off. Was my first time falling off, and the trainers who had him always said he'd never ever bucked or anything like that with them. I know it was the bit, and that is fixed now, but my confidence is shattered. I've been on him once after that (2 months later when my bone bruise healed) and everything was fine.

 I'm afraid to lunge him to get some energy out because he'll pull away. I can see it. I'm afraid to ride him at a trot because that's the gait he was in when he bucked. I've loped him a time or two, but got the feeling that he was unbalanced and that we'd hit the fence. Again, afraid!

I used to show horses and rode for a trainer on the trails to pay for lessons, but that was 15 years ago and now I'm scared. I've known him since birth and he's just so sweet but young and a little flighty and knows not to trust the scared chick. I'm wasting him by leaving him to graze his whole life away.

Any ideas??

Ok so I know this is an old thread, but lately I have been having confidence issues.  I have been so disappointed with myself.  My horse is WONDERFUL, my issues are completely my own, and totally neurotic.  He has a bit of a spook, but generally takes care of me and we have a wonderful relationship.  I took him to school a couple months ago and he was a straight angel, didn't even look sideways at anything.  I was too afraid to canter around the cross country course or try anything other than a few small logs. Why?! He has never refused a jump for me, has never tried to throw me off, has NEVER taken off with me, I mean I can ride this horse in a rope halter with just the lead all over the farm.  I also get afraid to canter around the farm where I board.  Again, there is no rational reason for this, he has never given any indication that he would take off with me.