completely lost confidence to canter after horse bolted :(

lincolnlady

lincolnlady

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hi guys dont know if you will remember my post back in feb about my loan horse bolting with me and throwing me into a tree but ive been back in the saddle since end of march and taking him back out again. im fine riding my boy as ive had him five years so know him inside out and have no problems but riding my loan horse im absolutely terrified of cantering him again.

walk and trot im absolutely fine in company im fine also on my own riding him im fine (although a little nervous still) but i just can not bring myself to canter him i took him out on my own today and had at least 5 chances to canter him but lost the bottle and just trotted :( before he bolted with me i had cantered him plenty of times with no problems but now i just cant do it when i got back from my ride today i was proud of myself for riding alone but also very upset that id chickened out of cantering.

i still suffer with daily back pain due to the fall im now wearing a body protector when i ride but im still scared :(

so anyone got any advice for a big wimp? thanks in advance x
 
Well done for riding today...just don't beat yourself up...just wait until you feel ready...it's a hobby you should be enjoying and you had a horrible accident. You will canter again when the time is right. Have fun!
 
Summer pudding said:
Well done for riding today...just don't beat yourself up...just wait until you feel ready...it's a hobby you should be enjoying and you had a horrible accident. You will canter again when the time is right. Have fun!
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thank you i think im being silly but my friends are absolutely amazing and dont mind just tootling round with me but i feel like they might start getting peed off with me after a while of just walking n trotting i used to be so confident and cant believe one fall can make me lose it even thought ive had plenty of falls before :( x
 
Don't feel bad about it, it will come with time, just stick to what you feel comfortable doing until the time is right.
I had a similar experience after an accident, didn't canter for quite a long time because I just didn't feel confident, then one day I asked for trot on the road, horse popped up into canter instead (he's barefoot so its not a problem for him) and that was that!

Don't push it and hopefully one day it will just happen naturally and you'll be over it. :)
 
What's the rush wahtyou did hacking out alone is an achievement its amazing infact ! You are very brave for getting back on at all lovely ! Just take things slow and only canter when you feel ready to no point getting worked up over it :)

x
 
hollybear said:
Don't feel bad about it, it will come with time, just stick to what you feel comfortable doing until the time is right.
I had a similar experience after an accident, didn't canter for quite a long time because I just didn't feel confident, then one day I asked for trot on the road, horse popped up into canter instead (he's barefoot so its not a problem for him) and that was that!

Don't push it and hopefully one day it will just happen naturally and you'll be over it. :)
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thank you :) hes a little bit like that sometimes (hes also barefoot) and will canter on roads when hes meant to trot so hopefully one day he will just do it n ill be fine lol x
 
Don't canter if you're not happy to, and well done on going back out on him!
I was scared of cantering my first pony after being bucked off too many times. I gave it up and just trotted - I rode a few horses and just didn't canter them. That was about ten years ago and I'm still not as capable of confident in canter, but I can do it now because I've had ten years of lessons and riding loads of horses! So don't beat yourself up, give yourself a pat on the back for getting on again, and take it slowly until you've got a bit more confidence back :)
 
Universal agreement then...well done, take the pressure off and do it when the time feels right. I had an accident on the road, dumped and the horse took off into the traffic - she wasn't a bad 'un either...and I never got on her again....that's being a wimp as I wasn't hurt like you! Chill..most riders lose confidence, some just don't admit it!
 
Well done for being able to hack him out again :) There's no rush to canter, like others have said you'll know when the time is right. Is there a school you can have the first canter in? It might make you feel a bit safer if you know he can't really go anywhere.
 
tessybear said:
What's the rush wahtyou did hacking out alone is an achievement its amazing infact ! You are very brave for getting back on at all lovely ! Just take things slow and only canter when you feel ready to no point getting worked up over it :)

x
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thank you i am very proud of myself for getting back on so small steps :) theres no rush just wanted to see if anyone else had similar as i feel really silly but thank you for your kind words xx

Silmarillion said:
Don't canter if you're not happy to, and well done on going back out on him!
I was scared of cantering my first pony after being bucked off too many times. I gave it up and just trotted - I rode a few horses and just didn't canter them. That was about ten years ago and I'm still not as capable of confident in canter, but I can do it now because I've had ten years of lessons and riding loads of horses! So don't beat yourself up, give yourself a pat on the back for getting on again, and take it slowly until you've got a bit more confidence back :)
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thank you i do ride other horses ive got my own boy then i also help my friend exercise hers so ill get there :) x


Summer pudding said:
Universal agreement then...well done, take the pressure off and do it when the time feels right. I had an accident on the road, dumped and the horse took off into the traffic - she wasn't a bad 'un either...and I never got on her again....that's being a wimp as I wasn't hurt like you! Chill..most riders lose confidence, some just don't admit it!
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he took off after he dumped me he bolted down the bridleway onto a main road then back to his field x

Spiritedly said:
Well done for being able to hack him out again :) There's no rush to canter, like others have said you'll know when the time is right. Is there a school you can have the first canter in? It might make you feel a bit safer if you know he can't really go anywhere.
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yes we have a grass school never thought of that to be honest as i never use the school but thank you i will book it in morning for later over the weekend and get my friend to come in with me then if he starts playing up she can catch me lol x
 
when my girl came off her pony when she asked for canter ( new pony had only had him 2 weeks) , he ran off and bronked till he got her off, afterwards she was understandably v nervous of riding him, although would walk trot and canter on our other pony, it took her a good 4 weeks to even ride him out in trot, she also needed to see someone else canter him before she would think about it, they are now back having fun, even took him for a gallop over the fields today, just takes time, especially as you were hurt much worse and tbh we don't bounce back quite as quick as adults , even though i hate to admit that :p, it will come and you will know when you feel ready xx
 
showley1 said:
when my girl came off her pony when she asked for canter ( new pony had only had him 2 weeks) , he ran off and bronked till he got her off, afterwards she was understandably v nervous of riding him, although would walk trot and canter on our other pony, it took her a good 4 weeks to even ride him out in trot, she also needed to see someone else canter him before she would think about it, they are now back having fun, even took him for a gallop over the fields today, just takes time, especially as you were hurt much worse and tbh we don't bounce back quite as quick as adults , even though i hate to admit that :p, it will come and you will know when you feel ready xx
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aww well done to your daughter made me giggle about not bouncing back thank you :) x
 
It's not confidence you've lost as your still riding, it's trust and it takes time to trust again.
Your loan horse has to earn your trust and until you feel you can trust him you'll be nervous of cantering him.

Only canter in a place you feel safe and preferably with company in case anything happens.

Do you know why he bolted last time? If you know why it happened it might help you to understand how to overcome the cantering wall you have built in your mind.

It took me months to trust my youngster enough to try cantering in an open field but I remember that feeling of "I did it" and couldn't stop smiling for hours after...I'm glad I pushed myself to do it in the end.

Take your time and do it when you feel ready.
 
Spit That Out said:
It's not confidence you've lost as your still riding, it's trust and it takes time to trust again.
Your loan horse has to earn your trust and until you feel you can trust him you'll be nervous of cantering him.

Only canter in a place you feel safe and preferably with company in case anything happens.

Do you know why he bolted last time? If you know why it happened it might help you to understand how to overcome the cantering wall you have built in your mind.

It took me months to trust my youngster enough to try cantering in an open field but I remember that feeling of "I did it" and couldn't stop smiling for hours after...I'm glad I pushed myself to do it in the end.

Take your time and do it when you feel ready.
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it was partly my fault he bolted as we had cantered one way with my friend then we crossed the bridleway and turned round to walk back but he decided he wanted to canter so i pulled him up and my friend didnt quite stop her horse in time and cantered two strides past him then stopped i wasnt quite ready n he just went for it thinking we were racing i couldnt stop him although i had my hands nearly on his bit!! then when we got to the end i thought he will stop as there were trees but no he spun to avoid them n threw me out the side door smashing my back against a tree :(

when i spoke to his old owner (she sold him to my friend who i loan off and still rides now n then) she said if you canter him one way you should always let him canter back or he just goes for it which i think has also added to me not wanting to canter him although id never be so flaming stupid to canter him one way then turn round again lol x
 
There are no time limits to you cantering, just do it when your ready...you'll probably find that when out on a sunny day the urge takes you over and you give it another go...I know it doesn't feel like it now but afterwards you'll wonder why you waited so long ;)
 
Don't worry - lots of us seem to have had the same problem!

I lost my nerve on my lad after he ran off with me not long after I'd bought him - and the horse I tried before him decked me badly :(

I had lessons on other horses to help me decide whether it was riding in general, or just him I was scared of and decided it was him... So I carried on with lessons at a school whilst I decided whether I wanted to keep him.

Decided that I wanted to try and work things out, and it didn't matter how long it took me. There was no timetable - if it took me a year to canter him again, so what?

I used his laziness to my advantage, and when I started trotting by myself, then cantered, I rode the long side of the arena towards the gate, knowing full well that left to his own devices, he would try to slow by the gate so less worried about him charging off :)

When I eventually cantered outside again, I chose carefully - worked him hard first,then fenced uphill path with a friend standing at the end to 'catch'.

Took me a while but we're there, and the time gave me a chance to get to know him in other ways - we did lots of groundwork and polework...
 
Don't panic! You've had a shock and your brain is reliving the shock. Just take it easy and eventually you'll fall back into it. Don't rush it either or you'll just shake yourself up! Hope you're okay, sorry about your fall! X
 
lincolnlady said:
when i spoke to his old owner (she sold him to my friend who i loan off and still rides now n then) she said if you canter him one way you should always let him canter back or he just goes for it which i think has also added to me not wanting to canter him although id never be so flaming stupid to canter him one way then turn round again lol x
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What a ridiculous way of carrying on! Some people have the daftest ideas!

OP, if I were you I'd make sure that all hacks are circular. I'm sure you'll be fine after a while but recommend finding a nice uphill spot to canter him on the first time.
 
Time and time - I had a really bad accident with my tb bolting with me in the school, ended up with severely broken ankles (this is 5 years ago, I just had more surgery). I never did get the chance to ride him again but have struggled with cantering since. I had just very slowly built it up, on horses I trust and gradually built up how much I do. I still get a bit of nerves cantering, especially in the school (it happened in the school) but am improving the more I do.
I found it helps to go out with supportive friends who will canter in front at a steady pace and listen so they can pull up if you shout - this helps your horse pull up and makes you feel a bit more confident.

Be patient with yourself and do a little bit outside your comfort zone every time and gradually you will increase said comfort zone
 
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