Cofident Horse Back Riding?

Question

Allright, I've been riding for many, many years and I just recently started competing in some Show Jumping. It's been a while since I last fell but last weekend the owner of the farm I ride at, was moaing the lawn and Falcon (my horse) was spooked by the noise. I was caught off guard and he began bucking and galloping full speed around the ring. Since he suddenly burst out I totally forgot how to ride and bent down low to not fall off and since I was bending down and squeezing with my knees he thought I wanted him to go faster and so he did. Well I fell off and now I'm just so scared of cantering or galloping. Believe it or not, I'm even scared to do sitting trot. I need help on how to get my confidence back. Any advice would help.

Answer 1

I would suggest going back to groundwork. This is not only beneficial for the horse, but beneficial for you as well. Through groundwork you will learn to trust each other again, and you will build confidence in your ability to read his reactions.

You may have to train yourself all over again, just like a horse going through rehab training - take it slow and don't put yourself into any positins that may result in you getting hurt. Take your time, and take a lot of time to desensitize your horse. Gradually you will build up your confidence and at the same time, your horse will improve. When you are back in the saddle, continue with this attitude. Don't worry about cantering yet, just get familiar with the arena again at a walk, going faster only when you are ready. If you go through desensitizing lessons again once you are mounted at a walk, you will gain confidence, and then you can move up to a trot and go through desensitizing again, and so on.

As for your emergency brake - disregard the notion of bracing in your stirrups and pulling with both hands on your horse's face. All that does is give your horse something to brace against, and he can buck harder. Similarly, if he is running away with you, pulling on both reins is not going to save you. Learn a one rein stop. You can get the foundation of this on the ground when you are doing your ground work, get Falcon nice and soft on both directions so he can bend his nose right around to his shoulder when you ask him to, with one rein. The one rein stop will disengage his hindquarters, taking his power away from him. If you are in an arena with a good fence, or in a round pen, turn him INTO the fence (and hold on!) Out in an open area, turn his whichever way seems safest. Open your legs, sit deep and pull one rein, straight up from the pommel of your saddle, while holding the pommel with your free hand if necessary for your stability. This will disengage him and he will not be able to continue his escapades for long. Then you take him back past whatever was the problem, and ease his up to it. For a full training lesson, you're going to have to ask another question or something, I could go on forever!

Answer 2

hey there,I know where you're coming from.Two months ago I was riding a horse for the vet ,stupidly I "gently"tossed the crop I was carrying to the side cause horse was getting strong.Was that ever a mistake.I dont think the horse was scared but saw this as an opportunity to take off.He went into full out gallop.This guy was 16.3h.I tried for dear life to do a pully rein,but he had grabbed the bit and was off with head down bucking.The worst part was that we had a course set up and i was trying to manouver him around jumps.I tried running him into the wall but he was too strong.There was nothing I could do but go along for the ride.Once he tired himself out he came back to me.I never rode the horse again and he went to a field because he had wobblers.After this incident I was nervous getting on any horse.So I took babysteps,worked on leg yeilding,transitions,and lots of circles.
My advice to you would be to get back on Falcon but just go slow.If your worried about him grabbing the bit and taking off maybe you should consider a pelham or cimberwick.These bits will give you brakes when you need them but at the same time if you have a soft hand will do no harm.Just dont ream on his mouth.You dont have to use these bits forever,just untill yoou get your confidence back.Maybe start by just walking with a little tro.Once you feel comfortable doing that put your original bit back on him and continue working at walk and trot transitions.Once you are confident enough to canter put the pelham back on for the first while untill youre comfortable.Then go back to pelham.Once youre canter feels good go back to original bit again.Remember a bit is as hard as the riders hands.
good luck

Answer 3

Well. I don't know much about horse racing. but I think I'm a good person to give advice on confidence.
First thing first......confidence
1. Believe in your horse as he was scared just like you. If believing in yourself brings self doubt then think about how you were before the incident.
2. Its true what they say" If you can't make it fake it" but watch out cos' your horse will sense it.
3. I think you should talk to your horse. let him know what your feeling cos' deep down inside he knows where your coming from.

Secondly
Look at the bigger picture
It was an accident .......that's why they call it accidents cos' I'm sure if you had it all over again you would act different. Let me tell you it will happen again difference will be how you look at this matter now will determent how you act when it comes around again.
I truly believe you need to look into the past and see just how confident you were and the more you think about that the more you will grow in confidence again.

P.S
Good luck and I'd love to see how it pans out 4 u.
You can drop me a mail at [e-mail] if you'd like.

Answer 4

well i ride western so jumping not really my thign but whenever i ask my horse to do sumthing her name being (princess) which she think she is, she just stops dead in her tracks and bucks once or twice in a row. one time it was late and i was finishing up and she was tired it was a good ride and all of a sudden we no lie did a full 360 and i stayed on the thing i did was ujst sit there ask if she was done and then walked her around again and when shed stop i'd make hre turn in a circle really tight and now i have less of a problem it's all about the confidence. you'll get it

Answer 5

Don't give up! I have been riding for a really long time as well, and I still all off all the time. =) To gain you confidence make sure your horse is calm before you ride him. If you need to lunge him before you ride, then go for it. When you get on him don't let him give you any trouble. Let him know you are the boss. when you go to trot and canter try to keep his head up if you are nervous. In order for a horse to buck his head must be down. If your horse does get spooked sit back in the saddle and keep you heels down while pulling back on his mouth. Also try talking to him and when he behaves reward him.

Answer 6

Get your trainer to give you lunge lessons. Are you scared on all horses or just Falcon? If it's all horses, if your trainer has a nice, mellow schoolhorse, see if you can ride him to boost your confidence. Take it slow, don't push too much because your horse will pick up on your insecurity. Falls are part of riding, I've been thrown more times than I can remember, and I've also been flipped onto twice, along with getting launched into a wall. Take small steps to build your confidence back up. Good luck.

Answer 7

i've been riding since i was 5 and i'm almost 16 now. just about 4 days ago i had a fall it. it wanst bad but it's one of the things that happens. sometimes there is noting you can do over it. what it sounds like happend here is like what happend on a pony i was on one time. this pony odis hated alot of movement above his head except i was too hot and decided to unzip my jacket. he did i 180 pivot and started galloping across the arena. he then stoped and pivoted when he realized there was a huge metal cattle fence in his way... except i didn't stop... i flew almost 15 feet, caught my back on teh mounting block and knocked the wind out of me, and then smashed into the metal fence and moved it back about 3 feet. if the fence hadn't moved i think i would have broken my knee.

anyways.

i was terrified of that pony. i knew i was going to ride again but i wasn't going to ride him. i think i'm a good rider. not great, but good, but there are somethings i'm just not going to push. and i decided not to ride him again. even getting on a diferent horse it was hard for me. i was tense... waiting for the horse to run out from under me or something. it's a fear that i belive is always gonna be there after you have a bad fall or you see someone have a bad fall, you say that could happen again, or that could have been me. but i think that is somehting your going to ahve to accept if you want to be a horse back rider. i accepted it, and yeah, some horses are a little nuts and i'll still try to ride them. i'm probally increasing my own risk of injury, but i love riding. it's somehting i've grown up with and something i need everyday.

i guess what i'm trying to sy is that even if you have a bad fall if your a true rider you will be able to accept your fear and ride with it instead of shoving against it and letting it reflect in your riding.

Answer 8

i've been riding 4 a LONG time..Just try on a slower, easier horse and just try the basics walking and after u feel confident try a slow trot and just keep on building....hope this works 4 u

Answer 9

Elephant journey amuses greater than horse rides , its satisfactory to look elephant bending his frame and you're mountain climbing most sensible of it and also you feeling like long past to the height of mount everest ! .

Answer 10

Try walking on a street with lots of cars. He will become used to the noises. My horse was afraid of plastic bags. I fed him carrots out of plastic bags and he no longer has that problem