Confidence problems

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BlackBoris

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I'm having major confidence problems hacking on my own. The horse is really good although only 5 and he does tend to look at things and does occasional shy to the side. My problem is i seem to see a problem before it happens. I even think about going riding at the beginning of the day and then start worrying about going on my own and start to feel physically sick. This is obviously transmitting to him and I don't want to start having problems with him. Unfortunately at the mo I haven't got anyone to hack out with and I'm fine when I'm in company. Any suggestions on how I could help this? has anyone tried or had any sucess with rescue remedy?
 
Poor you, I completely understand how you feel as hacking alone fills me with fear too. I am fine off-road but really struggle with going out on the roads alone - although I did manage my first quick wander down the road last week.

I used to use rescue remedy when i rode my previous horse and it did help a bit. I find positive visualisation helps - running through possible scenarios in your head and bringing them to a positive conclusion.

Is there no way anyone can hack out with you until you gain a bit of confidence?
 
My other half will come out walking with me and we thought about him riding a bike. Sometimes even if he is with me I start to have a panic though. I just feel that he has got other things he could be doing and i am tying him down to come out with me. At the moment there is no one to hack out with as the mare I normally ride with is being covered by the stallion and won't have her shoes back on for about 3 weeks
 
Hi, I have just answered a thread a little further down the list re riding a spook! it may be worth you reading through it. What I would suggest if you do go on your own is to learn the complete lyrics to one of your favourite songs and just sing out loud! Believe me it works and really settles the horse. I have a little Dressage horse that was an absolute nightmare (or gelding!!!) to hack on his own, he started from my drive all the way around the village and part way back. I started singing out loud and noticed him calming a little so I did this every day for 2 wks doing the same hack route and he ended up really good, now I hack without having to sing and he just gets on with the job. The theory behind singing is that it regulates your breathing so the horse can't detect your fear!
 
i know exactly how your feeling, im going through this too, panicking about all the what ifs and mights, we need to keep telling ourselves that the what ifs and mights arnt going to happen, i managed to go down our track last week, the horse was fine but as soon as i started feeling nervous i turned round and came back, im thinking about venturing out again but at least im thinking about it rather than dismissing it, take it slowly to start with just go for a nice walk and keep it short for now, hope you manage it soon.
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i think as well going for the 1st time will be the hardest, after that there will be no stopping us, we just need to take the plunge and go for our 1st hack alone.
 
Thank you for all your replies. It is so nice to be able to talk to other people about it on this forum. its also nice to hear that other people have the same issues that I have been having. I am going to try and go out over the weekend so I'll keep you updated. Definately going to try the singing. My old instructor used to make me recite nursery ryhmes when I was jumping and that really helped!
 
Talk to him if you cant bear to sing. It works really well as your voice will calm him and talking takes your mind off it. There used to be one horse I rode for someone else who was a nappy as hell and just looked for trouble all the time when you were on your own. Consequently I hated hacking him by myself which in turn, I imagine, transmitted it to him. One day I had a big presentation to do at work the next day and started 'giving a practice run through' on the hack. He was so much better and I forgot to expect trouble.... either that or he was genuinely transfixed by how a new rating engine would help his insurance business
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I can sympathise so much with your problem! I have never been a brave rider, and last summer had a very bad riding accident. I couldn't afford to buy another horse, and then in November had to have major surgery and so couldn't ride anyway. Six weeks ago I finally was able to get back into the horsey world where I belong and bought an almost 6 yr old cob gelding. I can now walk and trot in the menege on my own and hack round the roads in walk with company. Last weekend a friend rode him out on his own and I just walked with them to see how he got on. He was fab, and I was so proud of him. I think that I am going to try the same route on my own this weekend and I will definitiely be singing, its always "ten green bottles", god knows why, but it does definitely help. The point is to do it slowly, be kind to yourself, and know how far to push yourself and try not to get upset if you cant manage to do everything as quickly as you would like. I have a list of stuff in my head that I would like to do again and hopefully I will manage it, although I'm not quite sure how long it will take me. Good luck
 
I can totally sympathise with you I've spent the last 3 years building my confidence up to hack alone and go to shows etc. The singing idea does work and I do it myself when I start to get the wobbles and it really does settle the horse. I sing my own version of wheels on the bus
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. I think you should set yourself really small goals and congratulate yourself when you achieve them. At the end of the day you ride for fun and you should do only what you are comfortable doing. You can do this you just need to take your time xxxxx
 
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