building confidence riding new horsey

[Firehorse]

i've had my new horse just over a week and ridden him 4 times now. twice with a friend, twice alone. each time he has been very good, certainly not done anything naughty. however, we've had a couple of spooks and he got very excited on tuesday and felt like he was gonna take off, but didnt. he was going sideways and doing bunny hops and jogging. i made him walk for a while before letting him have his fun.

as i say, he's not done anything naughty, but each time i ride, especially when i go alone, i feel very nervous to start with. i lost a lot of confidence with my previous mare who reared. i am capable of riding my new horse through his moments, and i know i need to learn to trust him that he wont tank off, buck or rear, which will take time. its just what goes on inside my head!!! he's absolutely 100% on the road, its just on the Downs.

how can i build up my confidence to handle his moments without a second thought?

 

[zelli]

Imagery!!!

I advise you google it, but basically its a sport psychology technique, it is under deabte as to how it works, but there is scientific research that suggests it actually helps to make the pathways to the muscles so that although they havent actually carried the process out before, its like they have... But basically, find a quite room and sit, first practice by imagining various pictures etc (im sure you will find all of this on google, if not pm me as i have written an article on it as part of my degree...) then choose a hack route and first imagine yourself riding the hack faultlessly, how it will feel etc, then add in the issues, places he would normally get excited or spook and imagine yourself dealing with them effortlessly etc. It really does help to put your mind at ease!

 

[ladyearl]

zelli is spot on!!!

I'd call it NLP but she's probably got the tech term correct as she's an academic!!

This really does work. I'm chilled now but when I started with my new horse I was like a wreck every time I got on her. not great for her or me. I have known her a long time and had all the "wee" stories from her owner so knew everything I needed to know but still the nerves were there.

I remembered this technique from using it before and decided to apply it again. It worked a like a dream. I imagine the entire route or (believe it or not) the schooling session I'd like to have. I tend not to predict where spooks might happen etc. but have imagined how I'd deal with each type. i.e spook and stop/spook and bolt/spook and spin!

 

[ladyearl]

ps I think Pippa Funnell used this technique to deal with event nerves

 

[zeuscleoharmony]

Hi - I was very interested about the imagery technique as I am recovering from an accident which was completely my fault but I am being totally irrational about getting back in the saddle again. I try to imagine the lovely hacks we will go for but just the thought of a spook or incident makes my heart thump out of my chest. How can I start to imagine dealing with them when I feel like this? By the way, my boy is so laid back he's almost in a coma when being ridden but my mind is full of 'what ifs?' xxx

 

[Firehorse]

thnkyou guys. in actual fact i just jumped on friday night, took my usual route and apart from a couple of small spooks, we had a perfect ride, plus a controlled flat out gallop. this has given my confidence a huge boost!! i've jst gotta keep doing it and each time it gets a bit easier.

thx for the tips, i had used the imagery thing a bit too!